Page 10 - World Heritage and Tourism Innovation

Mohammadhossein Dehghan Pour Farashah et al. Exploring the sustainability in a Rural Area

tourism sector, worth around USD 100 billion annu- ment support (Mehr News Agency, 2021). This study
ally before the COVID-19 pandemic, but was experi- aims to introduce sustainable-oriented innovations
encing fast growth (World Tourism Organization & applied by an eco-lodge in a World Heritage area in
United Nations Development Programme, 2017). Due Iran and to evaluate their effects on its survival amid
to the fall of occupancy rates in 2020 and 2021 (World the pandemic. Although the introduced innovations
Tourism Organization, n.d.), eco-lodge facilities suf- in the study may not be novel and leading approaches
fered financial losses like other parts of the tourist ac- in the tourism industry, reviewing them will provide
commodation industry. Nevertheless, the COVID-19 empirical insight for eco-lodges, especially in less de-
crisis paved the way for innovation and had a positive veloped destinations, to survive a health crisis.
impact through various unexploited opportunities
(Choudhary, 2020). Innovation is the main engine for Literature Review
economic growth (Schumpeter, 1934). The interna- Sustainable Tourism
tional tourism industry also benefits from innovation, The concept of sustainability has been increasingly
which helps to make it more competitive and advance highlighted in international tourism literature since
its quality and reputation (Attia et al., 2019; Bardolet the mid-1980s (Butowski, 2012). 1995, tourism became
& Sheldon, 2008). Innovations, even on a small scale, decisively linked with sustainability at the World
can make a substantial difference in tourism devel- Conference on ‘Sustainable Tourism: Towards a New
opment in developing countries (Batala et al., 2019). Tourism Culture’ in Lanzarote, Spain (Azcárate et
Aside from financial support, innovation is crucial to al., 2019). Despite various definitions for sustainable
business survival (Cefis et al., 2020). Offering alterna- tourism, United Nations Environment Programme
tive tourism, such as eco-tourism, is one of the main and World Tourism Organization (2005) defined
contributions of Innovation (Carlisle et al., 2013). The it as “tourism that takes full account of its current
eco-lodge is a nature-dependent tourist that adheres and future economic, social and environmental im-
to the philosophy and principles of eco-tourism (Rus- pacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry,
sell et al., 1995). According to Mehta et al. (2002), ‘an the environment, and host communities.” According
eco-lodge is a 5 to 75-room low-impact, nature-based, to this definition, sustainability principles in tour-
financially sustainable accommodation facility that
helps protect sensitive neighbouring areas; involves ism refer to consisting of environmental, economic,
and helps benefit local communities; offers tourists an and socio-cultural aspects through achieving a state
interpretative and participatory experience; provides of balance between them (Butowski, 2012). The envi-
a spiritual communion with nature and culture; and ronmental standpoint suggests using environmental
is planned, designed, constructed and operates in an resources efficiently, maintaining essential ecological
environmentally and socially sensitive manner.’ These processes, and preserving natural heritage and bi-
features are consistent with sustainable tourism’s en- odiversity. The economic perspective encompasses
vironmental, economic, and socio-cultural aspects ensuring robust, long-term economic operations, de-
(Hagberg, 2011). livering socio-economic benefits to all equally distrib-
Since 2015, with the planning process for inscrib- uted stakeholders, including options for income gen-
ing the historic city of Yazd to UNESCO’s World Herit- eration and social services for host communities, and
age List, the government has facilitated private-sector contributing to poverty alleviation. The socio-cultural
investment for establishing tourism businesses. After dimension involves respecting the socio-cultural au-
the inscription of the Historic City of Yazd in 2017, a thenticity of host communities, conserving their built
wave of the establishment of tourist resorts, especially and living cultural heritage and traditions, and con-
eco-lodges, began. About three years later, facing the tributing to intercultural understanding and tolerance
restrictions caused by COVID-19, most tourism facili- (United Nations Environment Programme & World
ties were bankrupt due to the lack of efficient govern- Tourism Organization, 2005).

6 | Proceedings of the 7th UNESCO UNITWIN Conference