Sustainable Rural Development through Local Cultural Heritage Capitalization—Analyzing the Cultural Tourism Potential in Rural Romanian Areas: A Case Study of Hărman Commune of Brașov Region in Romania

Abstract

This paper explores the issues connected between rural sustainable development in formerly state-socialist countries and the local cultural heritage of rural areas. It pays specific attention to the potential of cultural tourism which can enhance local rural development. This paper is a case study of the Hărman commune, and this area is investigated in depth. It is one of the most important rural and cultural areas located in Brașov County of Romania, a country with an impressive cultural heritage concentrated in its rural areas. The study uses a mixed-method analysis combining quantitative and qualitative research (focus groups, interviews, oral histories, and personal conversions), participatory ethnographic observation, and logical framework analysis (LFA). The main findings of the study illustrate that the Hărman commune has an important cultural heritage which could be more capitalized on in the future through the lens of cultural tourism to ensure local sustainability and to open up new perspectives in terms of local development, connecting rural and cultural tourism with other economic activities. Furthermore, the main findings of this study represent, beyond an informative platform for the local actors in rural development, an inspiring instrument that could frame new policies in local rural sustainable development and fertile backgrounds for new debates in local rural sustainability, enriching local agendas on rural sustainable development through cultural heritage capitalization and cultural tourism.

Social Inclusion and Empowerment: Developing Local Potential in Bahu Palawa Village of Pulang Pisau Regency of Central Kalimantan Province

“…The development of the local economic sector ensures that village tourism development strengthens and preserves the unique cultural heritage and natural environment (Lin et al, 2022;Pourzakarya, 2022;Šťastná et al, 2020), while involving local communities in conservation efforts. This makes the development of local potential an alternative development opportunity and strengthens the mission of sustainable development (Ancuța & Jucu, 2023;Bartkowiak-Bakun et al, 2020;Cerquetti et al, 2022;Molpeceres et al, 2021), so that government at the local level can focus on developing its physical and non-physical local potential (Abellán & García Martínez, 2021). The steps taken by the Bahu Palawa Village Government show that there is mainstreaming of social inclusion, where the government ensures that community members have equal access to opportunities generated by village tourism, including access to employment opportunities, tourism infrastructure, and public services.…”

“…First, existing research discusses local development by examining the development of alternatives tourism (Abellán & García Martínez, 2021;Molpeceres et al, 2021;Ossowska et al, 2023), inequality (Mantino, 2022), and the relationship between agriculture and tourism in rural areas (Bartkowiak-Bakun et al, 2020). Second, previous research tends to discuss rural development by focusing on aspects of sustainable development (Ancuța & Jucu, 2023;Berrueta et al, 2017;Chmielewski & Głogowska, 2015;Dumitru et al, 2021;Wolny et al, 2019). Third, previous research tends to focus on developing local wisdom (Ayu Saraswati Bhakti & Iskandar, 2020;Cerquetti et al, 2022;Lin et al, 2022;Pourzakarya, 2022;Šťastná et al, 2020) to become a source of village economy.…”

Sustainable, resilient, regenerative? The potential of Melbourne’s peri-urban region

“…Similarly, the 'greensprawl' (Cadieux and Taylor, 2013) is offered to describe an area of transition where urbanization has occurred, yet remains seemingly concealed within an ostensibly non-urban landscape of farmlets, and 'leafy' exurbia -an accepted form of hidden urbanization. In other locations remnant rurality is expressed through landscapes of consumption; tourism and heritage being prominent (Ancuța and Jucu, 2023). Conversely, reaction to 'genuine' rural land uses such as the expansion of intensive, industrial farming are also evident (Butt and Taylor, 2018) in the self-identity of many peri-urban communities.…”

Cultural Tourism in Rural Areas: Mapping Research Trends Through Bibliometric and Content Analysis

“…The role of cultural tourism and its subgenre heritage tourism in rural development has become increasingly important in the academic literature, as these types of tourism improve the economy and quality of life of rural communities (Ancuța & Jucu, 2023;Anderson, 2014;Aznar & Hoefnagels, 2019). In general, Dimitrijević et al (2022) emphasize that the promotion of tourism in rural areas not only diversifies the local economy but also stimulates growth in various economic sectors and creates employment opportunities.…”