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Sustainable Development of Regional Tourism

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Tourism, Culture, and Heritage".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 3745

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Regional Geography and Tourism, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland
Interests: tourism; cultural tourism; rural tourism; tourism and heritage

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Guest Editor
Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures, University of Bergamo, Via Salvecchio 19, 24129 Bergamo, Italy
Interests: citizen science; geospatial capacity building

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

A ‘region’ is the place where ideas of sustainable development are put into practice. What happens in this space is a real picture of the condition of the sustainable approach to issues in practice. Sustainability is also important in the functioning of tourism. This global phenomenon significantly affects the functioning of a region, and it is the behavior at the local, regional scale that is responsible for the success or failure of sustainable actions, the result of which should be a better condition of tourism in the region both in environmental, natural, and social terms.

The multiplicity of tourism forms; the diversity of tourist behavior; and the motivations behind the decisions taken by the creators of the tourist product, its managers, the local authorities caring for a region, and the tourists indicate how many areas the philosophy of sustainable development should be implemented so that a region, as a depository of resources from which tourism benefits, can successfully maintain its tourist potential in an unchanged form for future generations of tourists. Therefore, when examining the sustainability of tourism in a region, no factor should be overlooked. It is worth examining the impact of tourism in a region on the preservation and functioning of the natural environment, starting with an assessment of its condition and the possibility of using it for the purposes of tourism, through active measures at the level of regional authorities, NGOs, associations, and entities that function professionally in tourism. The importance of a region's social and cultural potential for sustainable development should not be underestimated. The protection of cultural resources is equally important for sustainable development, giving the local community a chance to function in their environment.

Hence, an important field of research should be the natural and cultural environment of a region's rural areas and urbanized spaces—wherever the ideas of sustainable development are implemented. It is worth considering how selected forms of tourism operate in a region in this context, such as tourism of an ecological nature through various tourist behaviors in the rural environment, heritage tourism, and active tourism in its broadest sense. Examples include how tourism opportunities are created, how they are offered and presented to tourists by a region, and how accents are distributed so that sustainability in practice is present in a region's tourism, from information to specific products that embody this idea.

We look forward to receiving valuable contributions.

Dr. Krzysztof Widawski
Dr. Federica Burini
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • nature tourism
  • rural tourism
  • heritage tourism
  • tourism management in a region
  • protected areas
  • active tourism
  • sustainable tourism product
  • sustainable development
  • case studies
  • tourist resources

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 3784 KiB  
Article
Do Different Queue Formations Influence the Overestimation of Tourism Carrying Capacity?
by Shouhao Zhang and An Chen
Sustainability 2024, 16(24), 11047; https://doi.org/10.3390/su162411047 - 17 Dec 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 911
Abstract
Tourism carrying capacity in scenic areas refers to the maximum number of visitors a site can accommodate while maintaining safety and ensuring a satisfactory visitor experience. Effective management of carrying capacity is crucial for ecological preservation, operational efficiency, and visitor safety. This study [...] Read more.
Tourism carrying capacity in scenic areas refers to the maximum number of visitors a site can accommodate while maintaining safety and ensuring a satisfactory visitor experience. Effective management of carrying capacity is crucial for ecological preservation, operational efficiency, and visitor safety. This study focuses on the Maiji Mountain Grottoes in China, employing both simulation and field experiments to examine how varying walking speeds and queue formations affect the site’s carrying capacity. Simulation results reveal that, compared to lateral queue formations, linear queue formations exert a more pronounced negative impact on carrying capacity, with an impact coefficient of 0.56. Field observations further demonstrate that carrying capacity is closely tied to visitor activity patterns. This study introduces more innovative ideas: one is the strategy of zoning analysis within the same scenic spot, and the other is a more careful consideration of tourist queue formation. The findings provide valuable methodological insights for future research on tourism carrying capacity and for developing strategies to enhance tourist management in scenic areas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development of Regional Tourism)
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19 pages, 4658 KiB  
Article
New Approach to Identifying Barriers and Potentials in Peripheral and Less-Known Areas Using a Multi-Criteria Analytical Matrix
by Justyna Gorgoń, Joanna Piasecka, Magdalena Głogowska, Jacek Długosz, Katarzyna Sitko, Jacek Krzyżak, Paulina Janota, Pedro Martín-Lerones and Francisco Barrientos
Sustainability 2024, 16(21), 9386; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16219386 - 29 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1007
Abstract
The purpose of the article is to present the author’s methodology for identifying and assessing potentials and barriers occurring in various locations related to cultural tourism. The research aimed to develop a methodology to identify barriers and potentials for tourism development in peripheral [...] Read more.
The purpose of the article is to present the author’s methodology for identifying and assessing potentials and barriers occurring in various locations related to cultural tourism. The research aimed to develop a methodology to identify barriers and potentials for tourism development in peripheral and less-known locations. The potentials and barriers identified in a given location are important determinants of the development of cultural tourism and therefore economic development in the mentioned area. The identification of development potentials and barriers refers to the existing features of a given area or place and factors that activate or limit the possibilities of its using cultural resources. The study was based on the analysis of eight case studies of destinations with interesting cultural values. The entire series of analyses addressed various aspects of these destinations. Areas of different sizes and scales were considered, including areas in transboundary regions, rural areas, historic city centres, and archaeological or industrial sites. The work presents the author’s methodology for integrating the various elements that define the features and factors of cultural tourism and establishes a framework for a strategy for its sustainable development. To achieve this, a tool in the form of a comprehensive matrix was developed to assess the situation of each pilot site. Based on this tool, the pilot sites identified key features or factors as a barrier or potential and furthermore defined their territorial scope and their impact on their chosen dominant types of tourism. Barriers and potentials were identified based on a set of 47 previously developed features and factors. During the research, 38 most important potentials and 15 barriers were identified. The tool presented in the paper is comprehensive and universal, so it can be applied to any destination. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development of Regional Tourism)
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21 pages, 2281 KiB  
Article
Research on the Non-Coordinated Coupling Relationship between Leisure Tourism and the Ecological Environment: A Case Study of the Ili Region in Xinjiang
by Jingjing Li, Bin Wen and Rumei Qiu
Sustainability 2024, 16(19), 8302; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16198302 - 24 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1092
Abstract
There is a complex relationship between leisure tourism and the ecological environment that is both interdependent and constrained. It is of great practical importance to reveal their incongruous coupling to promote ecological security and harmonious social development. Utilizing a framework model of a [...] Read more.
There is a complex relationship between leisure tourism and the ecological environment that is both interdependent and constrained. It is of great practical importance to reveal their incongruous coupling to promote ecological security and harmonious social development. Utilizing a framework model of a non-coordinated coupling driving mechanism, we have established a comprehensive evaluation index system, encompassing the three dimensions of leisure tourism resource quality, infrastructure, and economic benefits, as well as three dimensions related to ecological environment pressure, protection investment, and efficiency. We calculated the weights of each evaluation index using the coefficient of variation method and employed a non-coordinated coupling function to analyze the coupling relationship and evolution of leisure tourism and the ecological environment in the Ili region of Xinjiang. The results suggest the following: ① The level of leisure and tourism in the Ili Prefecture has exhibited fluctuations and steady growth, increasing from 0.0032 in 2001 to 0.9033 in 2022. Similarly, the ecological environment has also improved, from 0.2372 in 2001 to 0.7755 in 2022, except for a slight decrease in 2008, showing an upward trend throughout all other years. ② The coupling coordination type has undergone three significant stages of transformation: from 2001 to 2002, the degree of non-coordinated coupling decreased from 0.8825 to 0.8229, marking a high-level non-coordinated coupling phase; from 2003 to 2016, the degree of non-coordinated coupling further decreased from 0.7951 to 0.5098, entering a rectification phase; and from 2017 to 2022, the degree of non-coordinated coupling dropped from 0.4882 to 0.3531, moving into an antagonistic phase, with the relationship gradually evolving towards positive interaction. By analyzing the non-coordinated coupling and internal mechanisms between leisure tourism and the ecological environment in the Ili region, this study provides a scientific reference for promoting the sustainable and healthy development of leisure tourism and the ecological environment in the region. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development of Regional Tourism)
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