Promotion of sustainable tourism in desert environments: The importance of governance, local actors, and tourism products and services

Desert environments face the challenge of promoting sustainable tourism while balancing economic growth with cultural and environmental preservation. In the context of rapid global tourism expansion, effective destination management becomes crucial for positive economic impact and long-term preservation. This study aims to identify key factors influencing the sustainability of tourism. It explores the interactions between local stakeholders, the supply of tourism products and services, and tourism governance. Utilizing structural equation modeling through the PLS-SEM method, data was collected from 150 stakeholders in desert environments. The findings reveal that the involvement of local tourism stakeholders and the supply of tourism products and services significantly impact sustainable tourism in the desert environment. However, we observe a lack of influence between tourism governance and sustainable desert tourism. The novelty of the study lies in the identification of promotional factors for sustainable desert tourism. The originality of this study lies in its in-depth exploration of the mechanisms for promoting sustainable tourism.