Cultural Tourism: An Integrative Review

This review of cultural tourism covers the period 2019-2025, which has seen considerable growth in research output. The literature has been affected by a number of contextual factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, new technologies, policy shifts and growing attention for intangible cultural heritage (ICH), storytelling and the role of place. The cultural tourism literature is also becoming more fragmented through the emergence of a number of niches, such as gastronomy and contents tourism. Chinese scholars are also beginning to have a major role in the field, stimulated by national policies to develop ‘Cultural Creative Tourism’. This also points to further democratisation of cultural tourism, away from its roots as an elite pastime. These is also growing attention for cultural tourism in rural areas, which has also helped to stimulate research on ICH. Recent research also highlights research gaps, including cultural tourism governance, the impacts of new technologies and social media, and the role of place curation strategies. Future research will need to tackle emerging issues, such as the role of destination coolness, the shift from destination management to place management and the nature of relationships between visitors and residents.