Digitally sourced data on popularity broaden the picture of tourism threats to natural World Heritage sites

Abstract In this study, a novel measure of interest in all (264) natural or mixed World Heritage sites sourced from an online platform is contrasted with the degree and number of threats as formally identified by the UNESCO (in its State of Conservation database) and the IUCN (in its Conservation Outlook Assessment reporting), when typical site characteristics are accounted for. Information on TripAdvisor reviews is the digitally sourced measure, and the site characteristics originate from the UNESCO World Heritage database including size, year of inscription, kind of site as well as a distinction between mixed and fully natural sites. Results reveal that the number of reviews and threats both relate to years of inscription, kind of site and to a certain extent continent. The degree of threat reacts to all site characteristics except continent. The analysis reveals that TripAdvisor measures the popularity of the site, although this does not automatically mean that it is also threatened.