Tourism is viewed as an essential element of the global economy with enormous potential for growth and development. Recent decades have seen an increased desire to learn and experience new places and societies. This change has been the driving force behind the newly found popularity of heritage market segment which has made it a global phenomenon. The popularity of the heritage market segment has had both positive and negative effects on heritage sites. The quest to protected heritage sites against the negative effects brought by increased tourism activities, has resulted in several international agreements and programmes. Since its enlistment as a world heritage site in 2013, Namib Sand Sea (NSS) gained attention and it has become a drawing card that sustains the tourist industry throughout Namibia. However, simultaneously growing concerns have also arisen about managing the increased demand for visitor access to the site. Research have shown that these concerns have necessitous a need to create a balance between visitors’ expectations and experiences in order to ensure memorable tourism experiences (MTEs) and achieve long-term sustainability. The challenge for NSS is therefore to ensure that visitor experience is sensibly managed in order to minimise harmful impacts at a site, while capitalising on satisfaction, understanding and appreciation of the resource through suitable but sustainable access. Although the literature in tourism clearly recognises the importance of MTEs to the industry, it is largely silent on the significant of memorable experiences as key success factors (KSFs) in managing world heritage sites, especially in Namibia. In order to fill this gap, the current study set out to conduct a quantitative research at NSS world heritage site by means of a self-administrated questionnaire. A total of 312 (n) questionnaires were obtained during the research period, and these were used for the statistical analysis. Factor analysis, Mann-Whitney U tests, Kruskal-Wallis tests, Chi-Square tests and Spearman’s Rank Order Correlation tests were used to analyse the data obtained from the survey. Descriptive statistics were used to develop the demographic profile of visitors to the NSS. Two factor analyses were carried out: (i) heritage experience constructs at NSS; and (ii) reasons for visiting the NSS. The former factor analyses identified seven constructs of heritage experience of which Hedonism, Involvement and Novelty were regarded as the most important factors. The other heritage experience factors were refreshment, local culture, knowledge and meaningfulness. Five motivational factors were identified, namely heritage and educational attributes, personal benefits, geographical features, relaxation and escape, and general park attributes. The Mann-Whitney U tests, Kruskal-Wallis tests, Chi-Square tests and Spearman’s Rank Order Correlation presented statistically significant differences between the variables. The study recommends that the NSS management should focus their marketing initiatives on older age groups who have more time and money to spend, design an incentive programme for the first-time visitors in order to convert them into frequent visitors and strive to attract more domestic tourists which will in turn improve visitation and contribute profitability. Keywords: heritage tourism, world heritage site, travel motivation, visitor experience, memorable tourism experience, key success factors.