Sustainable tourism development strategies and practices of world heritage sites in China: A case study of Mt. Huangshan

Abstract

World Heritage Sites (WHS) represent the most important natural and cultural heritage places in the world, which are also the most popular tourism destinations. This study focuses on the dynamic relationship between sustainable development and heritage tourism in the context of WHS, with special attention to the sustainable tourism development strategies and practices of the mixed WHS - Mt. Huangshan in the developing country, China. This study finds that there exists a conflict between WHS sustainable development and heritage tourism development. Seven themes related to sustainable tourism development practices and strategies of Mt. Huangshan were found based on the content analysis, which also reflect the sustainable development principles in terms of environmental sustainability, inclusive social development, and economic development. Future research agendas, for example, the value-based management approach and stakeholders coordination are also proposed. This study contributes to the existing knowledge in both theory and practice of sustainable tourism development of WHS, especially in developing country.