Fostering cultural vitality and enhancing sustainable urban tourism through international labelling: an ethno-morphological exploration

Purpose Cultural Vitality (CV) nurtures creativity, enhances engagement with the local community and supports the art and culture of the place. In quest of exploring the impact of International Labelling (IL) in enhancing CV and reinforcing Sustainable Development (SD), the study pursues a comprehensive Morphological Analysis (MA) and builds a hypothetical framework bridging culture-driven urban tourism with sustainable growth. Design/methodology/approach An ethno-morphological study based on the Durga Puja Festival (India) was adopted to identify the critical dimensions of culture-driven urban tourism. A series of in-depth interviews and cross-sectional studies were carried out to develop a hypothetical research framework for empirical (quantitative) validation thereon. Findings Critical dimensions such as Cultural Investment, Collaborative Partnership and Embracing Glocal Approach were identified as major constructs towards achieving CV of a destination. IL and Responsible Consumption were found to moderate the effect of antecedents and CV upon sustainable growth. Research limitations/implications The present research limits its scope to the geographical boundary within India, keeping cross-boundary research for future study. This study will aid future researchers and scholars in expanding the domain of culture-driven urban tourism. Practical implications The present study bears significance to the urban policymakers, governing bodies, marketers and tour operators in embracing a culture-driven perspective while undertaking a suitable strategy towards developing CV, promoting urban-tourism attributes and vis-à-vis ensuring its SD. Originality/value This study makes a novel attempt at adopting an ethno-morphological approach and blending culture-driven tourism with sustainable growth while exploring the impact of IL, all together in a research initiative, making it a single-point reference in urban tourism literature.