Examining how companies’ support of tourist attractions affects visiting intentions: The mediating role of perceived authenticity

As public funding for the restoration of tourist attractions decreases, assistance is often sought from the private sector in the form of corporate social responsibility (CSR). However, research has yet to understand how such CSR activities impact the beneficiary, namely tourist attractions. Thus, extending past CSR literature, we explore whether differing company CSR motivations can influence a tourists’ visiting intentions. The results of two experimental studies show low company altruism (e.g., demanding to acquire naming rights of the site), compared to high company altruism (e.g., demanding nothing in return), decreases visiting intentions. Furthermore, we show that perceived authenticity of the site mediates this effect. Finally, we find the negative effect of low altruistic CSR is mitigated in the case of no heritage. Based on the results, we show tourist attraction managers should be wary of companies displaying nonaltruistic intentions, as such activity may have harmful consequences.