Online promotion of UNESCO heritage sites in Southern Europe: website information content and managerial implications

Specific and Destination Websites of UNESCO Heritage Sites (WUHS) located in France, Italy and Spain are analyzed to investigate if the management of UNESCO is able to promote heritages efficiently in the World Wide Web. Empirical evidence supports the idea that WUHS ranking depends on the type and localization of the site and the quantity and quality of WUHS information influences the time spent by a user visiting a website-page. Therefore, managers could be able to improve the role of websites through: a) a more efficient and incisive promotion of a site or a destination; b) a WUHS design based on target markets’ needs and the type of information that markets perceive as useful. An “adequate” WUHS is thus intended as a virtual place where tourists can find all the relevant information.