Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Tourism Management and Hospitality
Year: 2024
DOI:
[PDF]
Exploring Sustainable Tourism Through Qualitative Analysis: Stakeholders and Key Dimensions in Iran’s World Heritage Sites
Mohanna Nikbin
ABSTRACT:
This study explores sustainable tourism in Iranian World Heritage Sites through the qualitative analysis of content. As tourism continues to rise globally, applying one’s understanding of sustainability at these prestigious locations becomes all-important in a country which strives to balance its preservation with visitor engagement. The main focus of this study is to identify key stakeholders and examine various dimensions of sustainable tourism development relevant to the heritage sites in questions. Key stakeholders include the tourists, local communities & governments, and the heritage sites themselves along with their environmental settings. The dimensions of sustainability to be explored in the present study include conservation and security, economic impacts, socio-cultural factors, policy and governance, and environmental aspects. Data were derived from several sources, including policy documents, tourism reports, and interviews with various stakeholders such as site managers, policymakers, local inhabitants, and tourism operators. Results underline the main themes and challenges related to the management of sustainable tourism, highlighting good practice along with areas that need further development. The research underlines the need to include all relevant stakeholders in devising appropriate and workable ways of implementing sustainability. In fact, the research provides major implications for policy-makers, site managers, and researchers through a multidimensional approach that considers conservation, economic, socio-cultural, policy, and environmental dimensions. Full implementation of the sustainability practices and involvement of intensive stakeholder engagement is what will be needed if Iran’s World Heritage Sites are to be conserved and their ongoing benefits accrued to future generations.
keywords: Sustainable Cultural Tourism (SCT), Sustainable Tourism Dimensions (STDs), stakeholders, World Heritage Sites (WHSs), Content Analysis, Iran