Governing Sustainable Tourism in Al-Ahsa Oasis: An Adaptive Framework for a Living Cultural Landscape

Sustainable tourism in living cultural landscapes, such as Al-Ahsa Oasisrequires adaptive governance that integrates water systems, agriculture, rural livelihoods, heritage values, and climate stress. This study introduces a six-dimensional framework for sustainable tourism governance, emphasizing interdependent dimensions like cultural landscape stewardship, water-sensitive ecological governance, agricultural continuity, community benefit, climate-responsive visitor management, and institutional accountability. Unlike conventional checklists, this approach reframes oasis tourism as an adaptive governance challenge, providing actionable indicators, data sources, and mechanisms for planning, monitoring, and policy refinement. It offers a novel, evidence-based model applicable to arid cultural landscapes, bridging theory with practical implementation.

Alrawaf, T. I., & Al-Hagla, K. (2026). Governing Sustainable Tourism in Al-Ahsa Oasis: An Adaptive Framework for a Living Cultural Landscape. Sustainability, 18(14), 7226. https://doi.org/10.3390/su18147226