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Silk Road Heritage Branding and Polycentric Tourism Development

Author

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  • Stella Kostopoulou

    (School of Economics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece)

  • Paraskevi-Kali Sofianou

    (School of Civil Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece)

  • Konstantinos Tsiokanos

    (School of Civil Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece)

Abstract

Cultural heritage, considered as a tool for sustainable tourism development and place branding, makes a destination appealing to visitors; hence, cultural heritage tourism can be a driving force for economic growth in cities and regions. Polycentricity is a useful multi-scalar concept in spatial theory that describes how adjacent urban centers can interact with each other, creating synergies and generating broader spatial networks. Cultural heritage and tourism, perceived as important factors of integration in a polycentric spatial structure, can further promote regional branding strategies. In this paper, a polycentricity index is introduced as a methodological tool for networking cultural heritage destinations, with an application to the Silk Road heritage. Silk Road cultural assets traced on the historical Silk Road routes linking East and West, can serve as tourist attraction poles and as an essential component for branding destinations through networking at various spatial scales. The Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace in Northern Greece, endowed with a plethora of Silk Road cultural assets, most of which are still untapped, is used to highlight the proposed methodology. The ultimate objective is the designation of polycentric destination networks based on Silk Road assets, in order to build regional branding opportunities over the Region.

Suggested Citation

  • Stella Kostopoulou & Paraskevi-Kali Sofianou & Konstantinos Tsiokanos, 2021. "Silk Road Heritage Branding and Polycentric Tourism Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-18, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:4:p:1893-:d:496694
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Husanjon Juraturgunov & Murodjon Raimkulov & Young-joo Ahn & Eunice Minjoo Kang, 2023. "World Heritage Site Tourism and Destination Loyalty along the Silk Road: A Study of U.S. Travelers in Uzbekistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-21, June.
    2. Zhixin Zeng & Xiaojun Wang, 2023. "Will World Cultural Heritage Sites Boost Economic Growth? Evidence from Chinese Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-19, May.
    3. Yuqing Geng & Hongwei Zhu & Renjun Zhu, 2022. "Coupling Coordination between Cultural Heritage Protection and Tourism Development: The Case of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-22, November.

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