AN ESSENTIAL STUDY ON SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES IN THE CONTEXT OF CULTURAL TOURISM DESTINATIONS IN AN ANCIENT WATER TOWN IN CHINA.

Abstract

Ancient water towns in China that are historically important are cultural landscapes in their own right. They show the traditions, customs, and unique architectural styles that have been handed down from generation to generation for an endless amount of time. The many bodies of water that were used to build each of these villages were the basis for their formation. However, rapid growth of tourism, worries about the environment, and the needs of modern development are all making these places more stressed out. Because of this, it is become harder for these places to keep their reputation as places that are good for the environment. The aim of this study is to investigate the sustainability challenges faced in facilitating cultural tourism initiatives to save historic water towns in China. The findings of this study elucidate many critical difficulties related to sustainability such as decline of the environment, the growth in population, the stealing of cultural traditions, and the tension between getting material things and keeping cultural artefacts. Cultural tourism may make these issues worse, but it can also help people find ways to solve them. This impact may be effectively achieved via several methods, such as encouraging heritage-sensitive practices, strengthening local economies, and increasing public understanding of the need of protecting cultural assets. Cultural tourism, with the support of qualified experts, may mitigate the challenges associated with sustainability. There are several benefits to cultural tourism, such as that it gets people involved in their communities, keeps infrastructure up to date, and encourages tourists to be ecologically friendly. On the other hand, unrestricted cultural tourism threatens the validity of cultural traditions and their ability to adapt to the effects of environmental change. The fact that cultural tourism is becoming more popular is what makes this danger possible. To ensure the ongoing preservation of China's historic water towns and their economic development for future generations, it is imperative to adopt environmentally sensitive cultural tourism practices.