How are value orientations toward intangible cultural heritage important to local cultural festival development?

Despite its widespread use as a primary theoretical framework for exploring residents attitudes and support towards tourism, and being acclaimed for its significant explanatory potential, Social Exchange Theory (SET) faces scholarly critique for its lack of comprehensiveness and limited ability to fully capture residents perspectives. Studies indicate that various factors, notably value orientation, significantly shape residents attitudes towards local cultural festivals. This study aims to assess the influence of value orientations towards Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) on attitudes and support for local cultural festivals. By utilizing the Values-Attitudes-Behavior Hierarchy, it seeks to enhance the analysis of residents responses within the SET framework, aiming to uncover insights into how these value orientations shape residents attitude and support. Analyzing responses from 449 UAE residents using PLS-SEM, findings revealed the significant influence of value orientation on positive impacts attitude, leading to support for local cultural festival development. Discussion on the theoretical and practical implications, limitations of the research, and recommendations for future inquiries are also presented.