Community perspectives on sustainable cultural heritage tourism: the case of Stari Ras and Sopoćani, Serbia

The study investigates how community-level factors – such as place attachment, environmental awareness and education, community participation, economic benefits, and community satisfaction – shape residents’ support for sustainable tourism development and cultural heritage conservation. It focuses on Stari Ras and Sopoćani, UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Serbia inscribed in 1979. The key factors that shape local attitudes were identified using a quota-purposive sample of residents of the municipality of Novi Pazar and applying structural equation modeling (SEM). The results confirm that all examined dimensions significantly influence support for sustainable tourism and heritage conservation. The study contributes to the corpus of knowledge about sustainable tourism development in World Heritage Sites and makes concrete guidelines for community involvement and preservation of heritage.