This study was conducted to examine the influence of residents’ perceptions of sustainable tourism policies and destination management (STP&DM) on residents’ empowerment and their support for sustainable tourism development (SUPSTD). Unlike previous studies, this study examines the moderating role of destination attachment (DA) in the relationship between STP&DM and SUPSTD. The empirical findings reveal that STP&DM exert a positive and significant impact on the sub-dimensions of residents’ empowerment, namely psychological (PSYEM), social (SOCEM), and political (POLEM) empowerment. In particular, psychological empowerment and political empowerment were found to enhance residents’ SUPSTD. Moreover, the results confirm that DA functions as a moderator in the relationship between STP&DM and SUPSTD. Based on these outcomes, the study provides both theoretical and practical insights for industry practitioners, destination management organizations (DMOs), and scholars in the field of tourism and sustainability research.
Akgun et al. (2026) studied this question.