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This theme issue sought to find answers to the question: How could tourism planners and policymakers overcome the barriers to sustainable tourism development in the small island developing state of North Cyprus? The purpose of this paper is to draw on the collaborative work of tourism academics and practitioners featured in this issue.

A thematic analysis of the articles in this collection draws together the key outcomes related to the strategic question, with particular reference to the contribution to knowledge, policy and practice and the implications for further applied research in relation to sustainable tourism development in North Cyprus and small island developing states (SIDS) more generally.

The main finding is that insufficient and/or ineffective collaboration is one of the main obstacles in managing sustainable tourism in North Cyprus. More diversification of tourism products and better conservation of natural, cultural, economic and environmental resources are also needed. It is argued that this can be achieved through planning and policy improvements that focus on facilitating sustainable tourism development.

This paper reflects on the strategic question discussed in this theme issue, and it contains a descriptive analysis of the results and recommendations for policymakers and tourism sector practitioners. The recommendations include: the development of sustainable tourism practices by harnessing technological advances and by raising the awareness of policymakers and tourism stakeholders. This paper and the collection of articles that it draws on, is the first to explore different academic and practitioner perspectives on ways of overcoming obstacles and managing and developing sustainable tourism in the SIDS of North Cyprus.

This theme issue aims to persuade practitioners and academics of the need to collaborate in support of sustainable development and to identify and implement solutions that enable sustainable tourism development in North Cyprus. The strategic question underlying this theme issue is as follows: transitioning from unsustainable to sustainable: what are the solutions for tourism industry stakeholders in North Cyprus?

The key outcomes of this issue as they relate to the strategic question are reviewed, with particular reference to the contributions made to knowledge, policy and practice as well as the implications for future applied research concerning sustainable tourism development in North Cyprus and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in general.

Arising from the analysis and synthesis of recommendations, the following themes were proposed as critical concentration points for transitioning from unsustainable to sustainable in the North Cyprus tourism industry: the importance of sustainable tourism indicators (STIs), sustainable development through good governance, engaging cooperatives in urban areas for sustainable development, cultural heritage as a driving force for sustainable development, transportation as a tool for accessible and sustainable tourism, contemporary trends in technology for sustainable development and other factors that could facilitate sustainable tourism development.

This article provides a narrative analysis of the findings and makes recommendations for consideration by politicians and tourist industry executives. The solutions include advancing sustainable tourism practices through technology and increasing policymakers' and tourism stakeholders' consciousness. This paper and the collection of articles on which it is based are the first to examine various academic and practitioner approaches to solutions that would help to address the challenges arising and then facilitate sustainable tourism in North Cyprus.

Riverston, Sri Lanka, is famous for its natural and cultural significance. The tourism industry is emerging there and expanding with more community engagement. Riverston being a community-based tourism site, this study aimed at discovering the perception of the Riverston community on tourism development further focusing on the market opportunities, challenges, and strategies for the way forward. Data were collected from the Riverston area community who engage in tourism through in-depth interviews with semi-structured questions, and the sample was selected based on the purposive sampling technique. Data were analyzed through content analysis. The findings disclosed that challenging the authentic culture, traditional livelihood shifting toward tourism, lack of awareness and knowledge of the tourism industry among the community, the impact of legal restrictions on the community, and lack of education are the sociocultural challenges for the community on tourism development. The Riverston area is getting developed in terms of infrastructure with tourism development, and that benefits the living conditions of the community. Further, results indicated forest conversation policies had impacted the community’s living in high magnitude. It persuades people to move away from agriculture to the tourism sector. In addition, the timely need for a well-planned sustainable tourism approach and awareness from ground-level tourism practitioners was underscored by the data set.

This paper aims to present the contribution of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Afiliate Members’ Programme, its knowledge generation, prototypes and research initiatives to promote tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability.

This paper focuses on the activities and projects of the UNWTO, as they generate market knowledge, promote competitive and sustainable tourism policies and instruments, foster tourism education and training and work to make tourism an effective tool for development through technical assistance projects in over 100 countries around the world.

The UNWTO Affiliate Members Programme serves as the major gateway for the collaboration between the private and public sectors, working together for the development of tourism. Bringing together over 470 companies, educational and research institutions, destinations and NGOs, this interactive platform provides a space for members to engage in dialogue, share information and take further action.

The UNWTO Affiliate Members Programme has identified some key focus areas for the overall development of tourism and accordingly designed public–private models of collaboration that can be applied in practice.

UNWTO offers a unique platform to stimulate public–private and academic partnerships in creation, dissemination and application of knowledge in tourism, focusing specifically on innovation.

In the late 1990s, the tourism in Serbia had been developing spontaneously, supported by the policy of undifferentiated marketing. That kind of approach to tourism development led to unsatisfying results, which is a notion primarily based on Serbia’s obvious natural and social resources. An alternative to this approach to tourism development is the differentiated marketing strategy focusing on relevant market segments called “targets.” That way, it would be possible to commercially valorize a significant number of resources (natural and social) as well as a large number of touristic products.

Due to current trends in the international tourism market – moving away from the concept of mass tourism (holiday at the seaside and “ski resorts”), i.e., the ongoing diversification of tourism products, there is undoubtedly more potential for new tourism development trends. The increasing investment in tourism development of the Danube basin, with a larger number of potential tourist products, is expected to make it more attractive to the tourist market. This should have positive effects on the overall development of tourism in Serbia.

This chapter focuses primarily on the research of the Upper Danube region. It will show the importance of the natural and social (anthropogenic) resources suitable for the development of tourism in this area. Special attention shall be paid to the concept of sustainable tourism development, which develops tourism in accordance with the interests of all stakeholders. The positive interaction between all interest groups creates the conditions that ensure satisfaction of all stakeholders and general welfare.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia provides an interesting case study of a Middle Eastern country that has begun to exploit its potential as a destination. Tourism in the Kingdom interacts with a variety of sectors and all elements of the Saudi society, and involves individuals as well as organizations. The country is currently facing numerous economic challenges, emphasizing tourism training and education to provide the necessary skills to meet these challenges and to ensure the successful application and maintenance of sustainable tourism practices. This chapter discusses the current state of tourism in Saudi Arabia and its planned development initiatives, with a focus on responsible tourism planning.

A broad agreement exists that tourism is an effective instrument for social and economic development. However, there is no specific theoretical or practical framework of tourism for development to be found. Even the key issues have remained unformulated: concept of development, tourism's contributions to development, and tourism policy and governance for development. This chapter first summarizes the development paradigms held in the last decades (modernization, neoliberalism, dependency, and sustainability) vis-à-vis tourism, and then goes on to consider proposals emanating from New Institutional Economics and the Theory of Social Capital. It concludes with the results of a 2011 enquiry, involving some 60 international experts.

Battlefield tourism is a growing field in tourism research. However, it focuses primarily on an activity known as Dark Tourism, the visiting of places where tragedies or death took place. It includes the development of these sites as well. Cemeteries, internment sites, and memorials relating to death and depravity are the main features of battlefield tourism. Tourism development relies primarily on good infrastructure and an attractive (tourism) environment. As a niche tourism market, battlefield tourism can actively enhance the tourism product proposition of a destination. Identifying battlefield sites, incorporating them into battlefield tourism routes, and developing them as tourist attractions can act as an agent of tourism development. Battlefield tourists are mostly retired and have time to travel. They are also highly educated and fall into the high-income group. They are primarily interested in visiting existing battlefields, which indicates that battlefield tourism has the potential to act as an agent of tourism development and growth. For battlefield tourism developers, it would be essential to know their target market. Key factors in developing a successful tourism development plan for battlefield tourism are study preparation, determination of objectives, data gathering, analysis and synthesis, policy and plan formulation, recommendations, implementation, and monitoring. Battlefields need interpretation, development, marketing, and even commercializing to act as “storyteller(s)” of the past, add value to the more extensive tourism offering of a specific area, and act as an agent of tourism development.

Travel and tourism have had a long history in the Nordic countries, but research on tourism has a relatively short tradition in the region. Recently, academic interest in the Nordic tourism space has grown and diversified especially as a result of increasing numbers of academics and institutions involved with tourism geographies and studies and education in the region. The Nordic context has provided thematic focus areas for empirical studies that characterize tourism geographies in the region, with topics including nature-based tourism, utilization of wilderness areas, second-home and rural developments, impacts in peripheries, and tourism as a tool for regional development. In addition, there are emerging research themes outside of the traditional core topics, such as urban, events, and heritage tourism.