The Social Dimensions’ Aspects of Sustainable Tourism Development Analysis: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

There is a synergistic potential between heritage and tourism which can offer a type of special interest tourism. However, despite the potential, it also brings out conflicts that result in negative socio-cultural impacts. Therefore, sustainability issues should be considered in developing heritage tourism. There are three dimensions incorporate in Sustainable Development, which are environment, economic, and social. As sustainable tourism was derived from sustainable development, thus the three dimensions of sustainable development are also applied in sustainable tourism development, especially in sustainable heritage tourism. Generally, the relationships between the three aspects of sustainable development are assumed to be compatible and mutually supportive. However, among the three dimensions of sustainable development, social sustainability is the least developed and often is proposed in relation to ecological or economic sustainability. There have been efforts to address and incorporate the social dimension of sustainability into standard setters, planners, and practitioners in many diverse areas such as forest certification, organic agriculture, conventional agriculture, urban and regional planning, corporate social and environmental management, reporting, and responsibility and fair-trade certification. However, there are still few studies of the social dimension in tourism development. To achieve sustainable tourism development, we cannot neglect the social dimension and only focuses on the economic and environmental dimensions. Social sustainability is not absolute or constant which has to be considered as a dynamic concept, which will change over time in a place. The purpose of this study exploring the key aspects of sustainable tourism development social dimension which is linked to theoretical and on how we should define and understand the fluid concept of the social dimension in tourism sustainability that can also be applied in heritage tourism. This research is using a systematic literature review to identify social dimension aspects or themes of sustainable development, sustainable tourism development, and sustainable heritage tourism. The preliminary findings show that there are few studies of the social dimension of sustainable tourism development. Therefore, it is rather difficult to obtain related articles of the social dimension, especially in the tourism subject fields. To this point, 160 works of literature were obtained and after screening, assessing, and selecting against the criteria for eligibility, there were 19 pieces of literature selected. Selected literature was reviewed to explore how the social dimension aspect in sustainable development debates is variously understood and how it constructs a social pillar. This research compiles a cross-disciplinary major theoretical concept from sustainable development, sustainable tourism development, heritage tourism, political sociology, economic theory, social theory, governance, and urban development to build a new multi-dimensional inquiry into the subject of social sustainability. Thus, this research gives a comprehension of the aspects of social sustainability which contributes to the improvement of the fluid concept of social tourism sustainability, especially in heritage tourism.