Interpretive Structural Modeling of Barriers to Sustainable Tourism Development: A Developing Economy Perspective

Abstract

Sustainable tourism development (STD) has been much touted in academia and policy circles; however, developing economies are still struggling to adopt STD. This phenomenon motivated us to trace the barriers hindering STD and their interrelationships in the context of developing economies. This study identified barriers through a systematic literature review and expert opinions. A six-tier hierarchical structure was developed using interpretive structural modeling (ISM). The Matrice d’Impacts croisés multiplication appliquée á un classement (MICMAC) was applied to assess the driving and dependence power. The findings illustrate that all barriers are significant and influence STD; however, the most critical are ‘lack of government interest’, ‘funding constraints’, and ‘lack of integration among institutions and public–private people partnerships (4P)’. The findings of this research will be helpful for managers and policymakers to comprehend the driving and dependent power and categorization of barriers and devise pragmatic strategies to mitigate the barriers and promote STD.