Rethinking Tourist Perceptions in Urban Heritage Destinations: A Systematic Review and Multidimensional Framework

Abstract

Urban heritage destinations play a crucial role in sustainable city development yet understanding of how tourists perceive these sites remains fragmented. This study presents a systematic literature review of 95 peer-reviewed articles from Scopus and Web of Science, following PRISMA guidelines and adopting an integrative approach. The review examines tourists’ perception dimensions, dominant theoretical frameworks, research methodologies, and key influencing factors. Findings conceptualize perceptions as a four-part system encompassing cognitive appraisals, affective responses, experiential meaning-making, and social co-presence. Four recurring theoretical frameworks are identified: authenticity-based meaning-making, value-satisfaction-loyalty chains, experience- and emotion-centred perspectives, and behavioural-intention frameworks. Survey-based quantitative designs, particularly SEM/PLS-SEM, dominate the field, while qualitative and mixed-methods studies remain limited. Influencing factors span visitor characteristics, destination attributes, situational conditions, and digital mediation. Persistent gaps include single-lens modeling, limited cross-context understanding of authenticity, and scarce longitudinal or integrative studies on social and technology-mediated interactions, highlighting avenues for future research. The review further reveals persistent gaps, including single-lens modelling, limited cross-context understanding of authenticity, insufficient integration of social and technology-mediated interactions, and limited attention to temporal dynamics. By synthesizing current knowledge and identifying future research directions, this study contributes to a more integrated understanding of tourist perception formation in urban heritage destinations.