Virtual Tourism for Cultural Heritage Sustainability: Evidence from Two Case Studies in Sichuan, China

Cultural heritage holds great value, yet its sustainability faces numerous pressures. Technological advances and the COVID-19 pandemic have promoted the development of virtual tourism, bringing new opportunities and challenges to the cultural heritage sector. However, research on the impacts of virtual tourism on cultural heritage sites has mainly focused on socio-cultural factors, with limited attention to environmental and economic aspects. Moreover, most studies have examined online rather than on-site modes of virtual tourism. To address these gaps, this study draws on a heritage sustainability framework based on the triple bottom line and investigates users’ perceptions of the implications of virtual tourism for the overall sustainability of cultural heritage sites, encompassing both online and on-site contexts. Qualitative questionnaire surveys, observations, and visual documentation were conducted at two virtual heritage tourism sites in Sichuan, China. The findings show that the virtual tourism applications at both sites were perceived as enhancing the socio-cultural values of the associated heritage sites in various ways. Virtual tourism also showed potential to expand the economic utility of heritage at these sites and support their environmental sustainability, despite involving substantial investment costs and possible environmental harm associated with its development. Overall, virtual tourism was perceived as having the potential to support heritage sustainability, but its development should balance socio-cultural, environmental, and economic dimensions.