Advancing Sustainable Rural and Regional Development Through Tourism Planning and Management
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Tourism, Culture, and Heritage".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 16 January 2027 | Viewed by 297
Special Issue Editors
Interests: rural tourism development; sustainable development; policy and destination management; entrepreneurship
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Sustainable tourism plays an increasingly important role in driving rural and regional development, particularly in areas experiencing agricultural decline, depopulation, or limited economic diversification. Rural tourism offers alternative livelihood opportunities by supporting small-scale enterprises, enhancing local value chains, and promoting the consumption of local products and services. Tourism, when properly planned, contributes to poverty reduction and strengthens rural economies through employment creation, entrepreneurship, and infrastructure development. A major theme across the literature is the importance of community participation in tourism planning. Community-centered approaches help safeguard cultural identity, encourage social cohesion, and foster a sense of ownership, yet several studies note persistent challenges such as power imbalances, limited capacity, and external dominance in decision-making. From an environmental perspective, sustainable tourism frameworks emphasize responsible resource management, carrying capacity assessment, and the minimization of ecological footprints. Sustainable tourism planning and management can drive meaningful and long-term development in rural and regional areas by identifying strategies that enhance local livelihoods, improve economic resilience, and safeguard environmental and cultural resources through well-planned tourism initiatives. This Special Issue will include interdisciplinary studies embracing the sustainable use of natural and cultural resources, economic diversification and local livelihoods, sustainable tourism management strategies, and community-centered tourism planning. All types of articles, such as original research, opinions, and reviews, are welcome.
Dr. Iulia Cristina Muresan
Dr. Valentin Mihai
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
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
- community participation
- rural and regional development
- tourism planning and management
- destination management
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