A Review of Current Thinking and Future Directions in Heritage Tourism Management

A Review of Current Thinking and Future Directions in Heritage Tourism Management

Samson Adetunji, Ayeni Dorcas A

NERD Multiconcept, Lagos, Nigeria

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2024.8080296

Received: 31 July 2024; Accepted: 13 August 2024; Published: 20 September 2024

ABSTRACT

Current practices and new directions in heritage tourism acknowledge the rapid changes in approaches to improving and managing tourism to places and activities that represent the experiences, stories and people of the past and present. The changes further represent the conflicting relationships between human and the environment but may not respond to global challenges affecting communities and the environment. The offer and regarded as responses to global issues. Through a systematic review, we identified the eight key directions in management of heritage tourism including i.) addressing impacts of disaster risks and post-disaster recovery, ii.) enhancing tourism entrepreneurship and branding, iii.) motivation and incentives for community engagement, iv.) promoting touristic creativity and innovation, v.) protecting indigenous rights and knowledge systems, vi.) recognising gender equality and addressing generational shifts, vii.) enhancing education and lifelong learning, and viii.) enhancing livelihood and wellbeing.

Keywords: branding, heritage entrepreneurship, touristic creativity, community development, climate change

INTRODUCTION

The sheer influence of tourism is increasing with attendant economic, social, environmental and cultural impacts. Over the last three decades, the relationship between heritage and tourism is well recognised broadly in tourism-related literature. Previous studies by Mitchell and Shannon (2018), Asmelash and Kumar (2019) and Naramski et al. (2022)  explained that heritage tourism is premised on seeking opportunities to experience local heritage resources such as visual and performing ats. Archaeological sites, heritage buildings, cultural landscapes and special traditions and events. Interestingly, heritage tourism has gained prominence contributing significantly to increase in foreign and domestic tourists around the world. In 2015, for instance, tourists made 192 million trips visiting different heritage properties in the UK (Logan, 2016). Likewise in Africa, heritage-motivated tourism represents a major share of tourism-related travels and are motivated by presence of 98 World Heritage Sites in 35 countries.

At a broad level, heritage tourism contributes to social, economic and environmental development of countries, thereby requiring adequate protections and sustainable management. Dai et al. (2021) noted that tourists interested in heritage properties want to learn about the beliefs, practices, struggles and successes that shaped the identity of the people and community connected to the heritage. Lee et al. (2020) study of the roles of cultural worldview and authenticity in tourists’ decision-making supports that tourists look forward to authentic cultural tours to create positive attitude, subjective norms and emotions, and possibly determine if they share a degree of ancestry with the people connected to the heritage. Asmelash and Kumar (2019) further advocate for sustainable management of heritage tourism across communities not only to stimulate the nostalgia of the tourists and idealise the past but also as leverage to addressing different global challenges such as climate change, technology changes, gender inequality and social exclusion.

Chikodzi et al. (2022), for instance, demonstrates the influence of climate change impacts such as flooding, drought, intense rainfall and high temperature on heritage tourism in South Africa noting the essential roles of heritage managers, relevant government organisations, researchers, local communities and heritage-dependent businesses in protecting the values and authenticity of the heritage. However, the strong link between heritage values, authenticity and heritage tourism may not result into improved interest and satisfaction of heritage tourists. Dai et al. (2021) argued that access to information about the heritage, quality of infrastructure and supporting services are other factors influencing heritage tourism. With increasing technological changes in all sectors, scholars highlighted the influence of social media, 3D printing, virtual reality and artificial intelligence in improving heritage tourism. In Mexico, heritage managers use social media to promote heritage properties to attract tourists. Moreover, the potentials of social media in heritage tourism offer significant benefits in understanding the spatial patterns of visitors and quality of interactions between the heritage properties and the tourists (Koufodontis & Gaki, 2022; Ghermandi et al., 2020).

In this regard, existing studies focused on examining country-specific approach to heritage tourism such as examining the impacts of strategies and interventions in improving impacts of heritage tourism to development; thus, leaving knowledge gaps with often different and contradicting findings. We, therefore, make an in-depth analysis on global scale of current approaches of leveraging heritage tourism to reveal future directions. Consistent with this, the paper responded to the question: How has management of heritage tourism evolve over years to address global challenges in societies? The paper offers a solid reference for future studies on leveraging heritage tourism in addressing global challenges.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A systematic review was implemented to identify and critically analyse areas of leveraging heritage tourism and directions of management interventions. Among others, the method was adopted by Aktürk (2022) and Fu et al. (2021) to identify and systematically analyse relevant literature from different database. The analysis of the selected literature includes coding, categorisation and theme development to reveal the intersections and contradictions in management of heritage tourism. The methods can be replicated to produce reliable results.

Selection of literature

To identify relevant literature, a search of Scopus database was conducted using different combinations of key terms: “heritage”, “touri*”, “management”, “society”, “development”, “visit”, “authenticity”, “satisfaction”, “cultural ecosystem”, “cultur*”, “entrepreneur*”, “community engagement”, “incentive”, “creativ*”, “world heritage site”. The search focused on literature published from 2012 to 2022 (Figure 1) in view to narrow the scope of the review to recent findings. The search queries returned a total of 275 publications (Table 1). During the screening phase, 33 publications were removed because of duplication using Endnote X9 software. Phase 1 review of the title of the publication, keywords and abstracts of the 242 unique publications was conducted based on the inclusion criteria to yield 135 publications across 41 unique sources and 4 publication types (journal article. Book section, conference proceedings and serials). The review included publications relating to tourism marketing, tourism motivation and destination management, and community engagement, while publications relating to heritage science, conservation policy, blockchain and artificial intelligence were excluded. The Phase 2 review includes content analysis of the included publications using NVivo 12 pro software.

Figure 1: Distribution of included publications based on year of publication

Table 1: Retrieval of publication from Scopus database

Figure 2: Geographical spread of included literature

The included publications focused on issues related to heritage tourism in 39 countries while 7 publications are trans-national (Figure 2). Furthermore, 5 publications published in Italian and Spanish were excluded, however, this may result into loss of some local evidence about heritage tourism. The challenge was addressed through inclusion of articles published in English focusing on heritage tourism issues in Italy and China. The review also includes conservation reports and tourism policies of World Heritage Sites illustrate actions and interventions as examples to ways of leveraging heritage tourism in addressing social, economic and environmental challenges.

Analysing the literature

The publications were analysed using content analysis approach to systematically classify the data from the publications using coding and categorisation. Content analysis, as described by Bazeley (2020), entails viewing data as representations through systematic reading of the texts to understand their meanings, intentions and references. Scholars adopted the approach to study different aspects and connections of heritage tourism and society. Previous studies such as Aktürk (2022) and Kodom-Wiredu et al. (2022) adopted content analysis in a systematic review while Mandić and Kennell (2021) adopted the approach to analyse interview responses from Chief Executives of Destination Management Organisations (DMOs). We, therefore, implemented content analysis to i.) identify trends in the actions and interventions leveraging heritage tourism and societal challenges; and ii.) reveal the differences and contradictions in developing heritage tourism sector across countries.

RESULTS

Entrepreneurship, Franchising, Branding and Satisfaction

Heritage sites are significant cultural and natural areas that need to be effectively conserved and improved to continue to be relevant and enjoyed now and by future generations. For cultural heritage sites to continue existing, it is essential to have an efficient management system in place for the enhancement process. More than that, including some of the heritage sites on the list of world heritage sites, while it is an essential step towards protecting these sites, should not be seen as a guarantee that the sites will be protected. Instead, it should be seen as a step towards managing the sites for tourism and future generations.

The tourism industry is an important contributor to a country’s foreign exchange reserves and is, directly and indirectly, responsible for creating employment opportunities for a sizeable portion of the population (Huang et al., 2022b). Tourism has become one of the most important parts of the economy in several countries all over the world, a crucial component of the process of diversifying exports (Goffi et al., 2019) and contributes to the preservation of natural beauty, the preservation of a country’s cultural heritage, the preservation of the history of the area, and the promotion of a county’s arts and crafts; creates goodwill among people and creates job opportunities (Thommandru et al., 2021; Zadeh, Bazargani and Kiliç, 2021 ); however, the potential economic benefits that tourism brings cannot be realized without careful planning and management strategies.

Both strategic planning and on-site management are involved in heritage management. In the end, the practice of heritage management refers to maintaining, protecting, and promoting different kinds of legacy. Scholars have carried out research on the performance of the global tourism sector and the effective tool to help destinations achieve their sustainable tourism development goals vis-à-vis improving in the areas of entrepreneurship, franchising, branding and tourist satisfaction. Participation of local people in the site’s management, the development of forward-thinking regulations, and the control of tourism are all examples of management approaches that have been addressed as effective and environmentally friendly.

Tourism competitiveness (TC) is a destination’s ability to attract and keep tourists. According to Zadeh Bazargani and Kiliç (2021), Goffi et al. (2019), and Salinas et al. (2022)., TC boosts tourism worldwide. Destinations with high TC do better in tourism because TC evaluates infrastructure, services, attractions, and cultural and natural resources. Higher TC levels boost tourism income, arrivals, and economic performance and improve tourism infrastructure, service, and investment. This implies that destination tourism success depends on TC and that investing in TC benefits the tourism sector and economy. Tourism in developing nations has yet to reach its full potential. According to Goffi et al. (2019), low-wage, low-quality, low-priced offerings are one of these countries’ biggest tourism challenges. This paradigm can hinder tourism sector competitiveness and make it hard for these countries to attract higher-spending tourists. It is crucial to include the poorest communities in the tourism business through capacity building to tackle this difficulty. This process comprises educating, training, and supporting people and communities to participate in and benefit from tourism. Developing nations may construct more sustainable and equitable tourist models that boost local livelihoods, job opportunities, and social and economic growth by building local community capacity. The tourism business may become more inclusive and socially responsible by incorporating the poorest communities. This can attract tourists that want real, unique experiences and want to assist communities and sustainable tourism. By adopting a more inclusive and sustainable approach to tourism, developing nations can increase their competitiveness and attract a larger spectrum of tourists, boosting local economies and quality of life.

Videos and brochures can help visitors appreciate and maintain a destination’s cultural and natural features. According to Huang et al. (2022b), Visual elements in explanatory materials increase tourist engagement and knowledge more than text or spoken explanations and help sustainable tourism growth. According to Bec et al. (2019), Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are new kinds of technology that are becoming increasingly accessible due to developments in software and hardware, as well as greater investment in the technology by a variety of businesses, including tourism. AR and VR make it possible to create interactive experiences and be utilized in preserving heritage sites and destinations. There is a rising interest in using augmented and virtual reality technologies within the tourism sector to produce virtual tourism experiences. However, producers are responsible for being aware of potentially sensitive historical information and making every effort to offer a fair and accurate depiction of the history of a location in their virtual creations.

Mandić and Kennell (2021) advised destination management organizations (DMOs) to take full advantage of smart tourism, using information and communication technology (ICT) to increase access to tourism products, services, venues, and experiences and optimize their administration and delivery, this will boost tourism and visitor satisfaction.

New tourism destinations must recognize that other destinations have previously built robust infrastructure and connected with the distribution chain. This gives these locations a good start in attracting tourists and offering a smooth travel experience. Entrepreneurs must invest time and money to make new tourism destinations successful (Güzel et al., 2021). Entrepreneurs must be creative, visionary, and risk-taking. Their external environment and its problems and opportunities must also be considered. In other words, new tourism destinations must work hard, be creative, and pay attention to their surroundings to prosper. Entrepreneurs must perceive market difficulties and opportunities and envision the future. By doing so, they can develop a thriving and sustainable tourism business to boost their region’s economy.

Authenticity and tourist happiness are vital (Dai et al., 2021; Park et al., 2019). Tourists’ opinions of a cultural heritage site can considerably affect their experience. Understanding cultural heritage’s relevance and authenticity let visitors objectively evaluate heritage properties for conservation. Visitors are likelier to enjoy and learn from a site that authentic and authentically depicts its cultural history. However, if a place has been transformed or commercialized in ways that detract from its authenticity, this might severely affect the tourist’s experience and perception of the site. If tourists find a location authentic and entertaining, they may support conservation efforts and generate positive word-of-mouth.

Conversely, if tourists feel a site is inauthentic or has lost its cultural relevance, this might weaken support for its protection and potentially harm its survival. This means that tourists’ opinions of a cultural heritage site affect their experience and the property’s future. Tourism is about generating memorable experiences. Many tourist operators create stories and narratives about their destinations to inspire and captivate, these narratives may be exaggerated, dramatized, or untrue and done to make the place seem more thrilling or desirable, but tourists may be disappointed and frustrated when they arrive and find the hype unfounded (Bec et al., 2019). If the stories hurt the local people or environment, they might also harm the destination. Thus, the tourism business must balance narrative with authenticity and ethics.

Choi et al. (2021) suggest that local festival groups should have an operational strategy to maximize efficiency. Because poor technology causes local festival inefficiencies, organizations should develop and conduct various events to address this issue that allow tourists to experience festival culture and art. These programmes may include traditional crafts workshops, cultural performances, or local art displays. Festival organizers can increase festival efficiency and tourist experience by offering these engagement opportunities.

Alrwajfah et al. (2021) suggest community tourism development for WHS locations’ sustainable development and preservation. However, the evidence reveals that communities see tourism positively when they feel involved in tourism planning. Tourism management that involves local people has beneficial social consequences. When they can affect tourism development, residents view tourism more positively. Furthermore, community participation boosts people’s perceptions of tourism’s economic benefits. When locals think they are helping tourism expand, they are more positive about the community’s socio-cultural characteristics.

Ye et al. (2019) stress the need to monitor and control tourist expectations for urban Destination Management Organizations (DMOs). DMOs face additional obstacles as destinations grow more popular, and tourists have higher expectations. DMOs must be transparent about their services, especially for first-time visitors, to overcome this. This can be achieved by giving accurate destination and service information and setting realistic tourist expectations. DMOs can manage tourist expectations and guarantee that the destination experience meets or surpasses their expectations by doing so. This can increase client happiness and boost the destination’s reputation and future success.

According to Helmer et al. (2020), including indigenous and traditional knowledge and archaeological data in restoration management can ensure that these trade-offs and synergies are considered and that decisions are based on a complete understanding of the area’s cultural and ecological significance. Combining cultural and biophysical variables can help us manage the environment to preserve its unique features for future generations. For restoration efforts, indigenous, traditional, and archaeological knowledge inform resource management. This information can assist in managing and preserving a place’s history and culture for future generations. Understanding cultural and biophysical ecosystem trade-offs and synergies are essential for resource management. For instance, environmental rehabilitation may harm cultural heritage sites or traditional activities. Traditional and indigenous knowledge and archaeological data can help manage and plan restoration activities and better comprehend the area’s cultural legacy.

Destination marketing and branding are vital to regions’ strategies to compete in tourism, sports, art, and production. In a research carried out by Souiden et al. (2017), location branding promotes a positive global image of the destination, and Dubai is a great destination brand. The city’s opulent appearance is its most obvious feature, but it also delivers economic, functional, and psychological benefits to tourists. According to studies, Dubai is associated with luxury, sophistication, and a glamorous lifestyle. Dubai has established itself as a high-end tourist destination for wealthy people.

Results from Kebete and Wondirad’s (2019) research opined that hard visitor management tools are physical measures and tactics used to restrict and control visitors in a park or wildlife reserve, safeguarding the environment and reducing tourism’s impact. Zoning divides an area into zones with specific uses and rules; Carrying capacity is the maximum number of visitors a place can accommodate without harming its natural resources; Interpretation teaches visitors about the area’s natural and cultural treasures, while signage offers directions. These techniques aid environmental protection and sustainable tourism; the techniques lessen tourism’s environmental impact by controlling visitor flow and offering information. Tourism stakeholders must collaborate for these tools to work, according to Kebete and Wondirad (2019). This includes maintaining garbage disposal stations, roadways, and access points to keep tourists safe and the environment unharmed. Effective stakeholder coordination will ensure the area’s preservation and tourism’s sustainable contribution to the local economy.

According to the findings of research conducted by Canale et al. (2019), connecting sites located in different locations using a reliable transportation infrastructure can help spread tourism more equally and lessen the concentration of tourists to just a few popular sites. On the other hand, excessive development of tourism may have a detrimental effect on the natural environment as well as the culture of the area.

Destination managers should consider institutions’ role in the visitor and resident experience. Institutional sustainability is a term that describes the policies, processes, and systems already in place at a location. It is essential for destination managers and decision-makers to consider (Asmelash & Kumar, 2019b). Adding the institutional aspect implies considering the role that governance and management play in deciding how sustainable a destination will be in the context of local happiness with sustainable tourism. Incorporating the institutional component provides insight into the impact that governance and management practices have on the perspectives and experiences of tourists.

According to Xu et al. (2017), heritage management must balance preservation and tourism use. To effectively manage heritage sites, three key issues must be addressed: ensuring that the cost of maintaining and preserving heritage sites is balanced with their ability to generate economic benefits through tourism, considering tourism product and marketing strategies, that is, effectively marketing heritage sites to attract tourists, which generates economic benefits, and thirdly establishing a system to distribute the economic benefits of heritage tourism. For sustainable heritage site management, all three factors should be considered.

Gender integration, Generation Shift, Diasporisation and Other related themes

To attract international tourists, tourism promotion and destination marketing professionals build a captivating narrative about a destination. According to Zhang et al. (2022a), “East meets West” is a common marketing narrative for destinations with a mix of East and West cultures. The exoticism and diversity of this narrative’s cultural traditions, customs, and architecture are emphasized, and encouraged tourists seeking a new and adventurous trip.

According to Sinthumule (2022), there is a connection between gender and sacred natural sites and recognizing this connection helps encourage sustainable and culturally respectful tourism. Women’s involvement in the preservation and management of sacred natural sites, cultural and religious values, and tourists’ experiences are all affected by gender in different ways. However, tourism can perpetuate gender-based discrimination and exclusion, reinforcing patriarchal values, or it can promote gender equality and empower women. To address the issue of gender exclusion in the management and usage of sacred natural sites, gender-sensitive policies and practices, as well as knowledge of gender equality in tourism, are needed. Tourism has the potential to empower women and promote gender equality by creating economic opportunities, closing the gender pay gap, and providing education and training. According to feminist thinkers, tourism can also enhance awareness of sacred natural sites and the environment-gender nexus, leading to more equitable and sustainable tourism decisions. (Sinthumule (2022).

The success in the tourism industry requires the ability to perceive and adapt to changing market demands, technology advancements, and consumer preferences. According to Akgis Ilhan et al. (2022), companies must integrate sustainable and ethical tourist practices into their operations and marketing to stay competitive. The industry must evolve to meet the changing needs of consumers, including offering sustainable and eco-friendly options, utilizing technology and social media in their marketing, and allowing for customization and personalization. The sector must also keep an eye on demographic changes, such as the influence of Generation Z, who prioritize unique and authentic travel experiences and sustainability. Companies must adapt to the evolving requirements and interests of Generation Z to stay relevant in the future of tourism. (Akgis Ilhan et al. (2022).

Zhu and Airey (2021) and Otoo et al. (2021) revealed improved transportation and communication have made it easier for displaced groups to maintain their cultural identity and heritage while integrating into their new societies. According to Zhu and Airey (2021), transnationalism and globalization have boosted diaspora tourism, allowing expatriate communities to visit their homeland and reconnect with their culture. Tour providers offer packages that allow tourists to experience their birthplace and connect with their culture. Diaspora tourism is influenced by various factors including place attachment, transnationalism, cultural reconnectivity, hybrid self-identity, and nation-state power metrics. Understanding these factors is crucial for both diaspora groups and the tourism industry to understand the motivations and experiences of diaspora travelers. Diaspora tourism in African countries can bring economic benefits and raise awareness of cultural and historical events, but prioritizing tourist happiness and attachment is more important than destination ratings (Otoo et al., 2021).

Stakeholders must collaborate to develop religious tourism responsibly and sustainably, balancing tourism’s benefits with preservation of cultural and religious heritage, protecting local communities, and respecting sites’ cultural and religious value (Lin, 2021). Furthermore, Religious tourism organisers must identify key stakeholders and evaluate their contributions to prioritize stakeholder involvement, allocate resources, and influence decisions to promote sustainable and responsible tourism. Ghermandi et al. (2020) averred that using social media data to monitor and analyse visits to locations of environmental and historical value can expand our understanding of these phenomena and influence decision-making to improve cultural heritage tourism management and promotion. This is because online social networking platforms give a wealth of data as individuals post facts about their lives on their profile pages and the online social networking platforms can be used to understand cultural heritage and its effects on different populations.

Further Research Trends

Interpretation is explaining something to someone else, and informs tourists about a destination’s culture, nature, and community.  According to Huang et al. (2022a), Interpretations have been found to significantly influence visitors’ attitudes and behaviour towards environmental conservation, enhance their pleasure of the site, and increase their understanding and respect for the host community, attaining sustainable tourism development goals.  Furthermore, Interpretation uses audio-only, visual-only, and audio-visual clues. Cultural and economic aspects of sustainable tourism are more effective than environmental ones, stressing the necessity of culturally and socially meaningful interpretations for the host community and visitors.

For future studies, Huang et al. (2022a) advocate employing new technology and longitudinal methodologies to measure interpretation efficacy through behavioral adjustment. Tourists can experience the area through virtual reality and 360-degree cameras. Researchers can use these techniques to analyse how users use the site and how interpretation influences their behavior. Longitudinal methods capture data before and after the interpretive experience or track visitor behavior over months or years. This method can show how successfully the interpretation fosters long-term behavioral change. These new technologies and longitudinal methods can help researchers explore how interpretation promotes sustainable tourism. They can also uncover the finest interpretation design, delivery, and assessment methods, making tourism strategies more sustainable.

Sarantou et al. (2021) posits that, creative tourism has the potential to offer creative practitioners in remote, rural, economically disadvantaged, and postcolonial settings an alternative means of subsistence, while also supporting traditional means of subsistence and promoting the incorporation of local culture and environment into the tourism industry. To guarantee long-term viability and success, one must, however, take into account the difficulties and dangers involved. As suggested by Sarantou et al. (2021), future research in the field of creative tourism should investigate the function that service and experience design play in the production of genuine and emotionally significant tourists’ encounters. In addition to this, it should study the several ways in which local people might be involved in the design process in order to guarantee both authenticity and sustainability. Researchers can acquire useful insights into the potential of creative tourism to support traditional livelihoods and encourage cultural exchange by employing shared approaches of design with and by local populations.

According to Sumanapala and Wolf (2020), nature-based tourism, in particular that which involves wildlife, is a common and significant kind of commercial activity as well as an important source of employment all over the world. Traveling to natural regions with the intention of observing and appreciating the natural world through activities such as hiking, birdwatching, wildlife safaris, and other forms of outdoor enjoyment is included in this practise. Visitors are able to connect with nature, experience different settings and cultures, and gain knowledge about the ecology and conservation efforts of the region when they participate in nature-based tourism, which is one of the reasons why this type of tourism is so popular. Nonetheless, it is essential to manage it in a sustainable manner in order to guarantee that both tourists and local residents’ profit from it, while at the same time ensuring that the natural environment and its animals are preserved for future generations.

According to Sumanapala and Wolf (2020), the focus of future research should be on developing a social research agenda to monitor visitor perceptions and behaviours, developing a strong network among planning agencies and tourism stakeholders, building knowledge-sharing and research capacity, building solid collaborations between government institutions and universities, and developing a strong network among planning agencies and tourism stakeholders. These subfields of research have the potential to contribute to the development of ecotourism that is both environmentally responsible and economically beneficial to the communities in which it is conducted.

CONCLUSION AND POLICY IMPLICATION

As opined by Chun et al. (2020b), Nature-based tourism (NBT) can be beneficial to conservation efforts in protected areas because it gives tourists the chance to experience and appreciate natural landscapes, animals, and cultural heritage. This, in turn, encourages more people to visit these regions. Nonetheless, in order to prevent adverse effects on the natural world and its inhabitants, it is critical that NBT be managed in a manner that is both sustainable and responsible.

According to Chun et al. (2020b), research is needed to evaluate the impact of tourism on protected areas in socio-economic terms and to develop a model that can predict future tourism pressures. This will help to identify the factors that contribute to sustainable tourism development and inform policy decisions. Additionally, it can provide insights into the complex interactions between tourism, environment, and local communities and identify opportunities to enhance the positive impacts of tourism while minimizing the negative ones.

According to Choudhary et al. (2020), terrorism can have a detrimental effect on a nation’s economic growth, particularly in terms of the effect it has on enterprises that are tied to tourism, foreign investments, and stock market values. Terrorist attacks have the potential to cause fear and uncertainty among tourists, which can result in a drop in the number of visitors to the affected region and have a domino effect on the tourism industry. Terrorism has an effect on foreign investments as well since investors are less reluctant to invest in nations that have a high danger of terrorist strikes. It may take a developing nation several years to recover from the long-lasting repercussions of terrorism, particularly if they are highly dependent on tourism and investments from other nations. It is incumbent upon governments to take preventative measures to thwart terrorist attacks and to mount an effective response in the event that one occurs, all with the goal of reducing the negative effects of such attacks on the economy and society.

According to Choudhary et al. (2020), future study should investigate the role that institutional quality, smart applications, knowledge spill overs, marketing destinations, web-based apps, and smart web designing play in fostering peace and security in tourist destinations. According to Yu et al. (2019), it is vital to acknowledge the resource-intensive character of tourism in order to develop sustainable practises that limit the industry’s negative effects on the environment and the communities that it interacts with. The research conducted by Yu et al. (2019) discovered and incorporated recent research trends and phenomena into its analysis. This provided researchers with the opportunity to identify and incorporate new and relevant research trends into their work. This is critical in domains that are undergoing rapid transition, as new techniques and emerging technology have the potential to dramatically alter the landscape of research.

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are both examples of digital technologies that hold the promise of radically altering the ways in which tourists engage with tourist sites. VR is a virtual environment generated using computer technology, while AR overlays digital information onto the real world through a mobile device or headset Bec et al. (2019). additionally, these technologies can enhance the visitor experience by allowing them to immerse themselves in a destination before they come or by giving a more participatory experience once they are there. They can also help to maintain heritage places by eliminating the need for physical access, which in turn contributes to the preservation of legacy for future generations.

According to Bec et al. (2019), the focus of future research should be on testing prototypes of virtual and augmented reality experiences to better understand their impact on the visitor experience; investigating digital preservation methods for heritage sites and artefacts; developing tourism experiences that are more inclusive and accessible; and investigating the role that VR and AR play in marketing and promotion. These areas of research could help advance the use of virtual reality (VR) in the tourism industry. For example, developing technologies that can assist visitors with disabilities or mobility issues, creating more immersive experiences for those who are unable to physically visit a destination, and evaluating the effectiveness of these technologies in attracting visitors are all potential areas of research that could help advance the use of VR in the tourism industry.

Indicators are defined as quantitative or qualitative metrics that can be used to evaluate and monitor the performance of a tourism destination in connection to sustainability, as stated by Asmelash and Kumar (2019a). They are able to handle a wide variety of topics associated with tourism, including economic, social, and environmental elements of the industry. Indicators can assist policymakers make informed decisions, promote openness and accountability, and ensure that tourist development is sustainable for the long term by offering a thorough and objective method to evaluate sustainability performance.

According to Asmelash and Kumar (2019a), the focus of future research in the field of sustainable tourism development should be on the incorporation of additional aspects and indicators that have not been taken into consideration in the past. They include infrastructural and technical sustainability, which could help policy makers and stakeholders better understand the variables that contribute to sustainable tourism development and identify areas where interventions may be required to improve sustainability performance. This will help to give a more thorough understanding of sustainable tourism development and guide policy decisions targeted at encouraging sustainability within the tourism industry. Heritage tourism  according to Timothy (2018) emphasises a destination’s culture, history, and nature. Cultural and experiential travel has made it one of the oldest and most popular forms of tourism. It benefits locations economically and socially. It also threatens cultural commercialization, over tourism, and environmental and community damage. Heritage tourism locations must balance economic, social, and environmental benefits to maximise benefits.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors acknowledged the funding received from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) through the 2021 National Research Fund (NRF) grant for this study (TETF/ES/DR&D-CE/NRF2021/HSS/TSR/00017/VOL.1). The Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria is also appreciated for providing a conducive environment & facilities support.

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