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The main aim of this paper is to critically review the contribution made by this theme issue to the literature by examining contemporary innovations that are emerging and enhancing responsible rural tourism practices in Malaysia.

Based on the theme issue, a critical content analysis of the papers selected for the issue was undertaken.

The summary paper generally highlights all emerging and innovative approaches from various case studies in rural tourism destinations in Malaysia.

The complex and dynamic realities of rural tourism are both a challenge and an opportunity for responsible governance of rural tourism destinations.

The current theme issue explores emerging models from stakeholders' perspectives to enhance the concept of rural tourism sustainability in the context of the economy, social and environment.

In this viewpoint, the theme editors provide an overview of the theme issue that aims to address the role of rural tourism in supporting the wellbeing and socio-economic development of local stakeholders.

The paper covers different facets of rural tourism in promoting the socio-economic development of rural communities. Specifically, the articles in this issue capture the nuances of how local stakeholders in rural tourism in different geographical regions use various strategies to promote the well-being and socio-economic development of local communities.

The papers in this theme issue demonstrate the potential role of rural tourism in promoting the socio-economic development of rural communities. These papers make an important contribution to the theory and practice of rural tourism by providing in-depth insight into the recovery and growth strategies adopted by stakeholders in diverse rural tourism destinations, especially in the wake of turbulent times such as the recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. These papers suggest frameworks for further research and provide case studies of innovation and adaptation.

This theme issue analyses stories of innovation, adaptation, and growth of rural tourism in various destinations that presented the industry with unique challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The discussion provides some lessons and charts direction for the industry. The significance is greater when stakeholders of rural tourism and policymakers view rural tourism as an engine for the recovery and growth of the rural and national economy.

The main aim of this paper is to review the contribution made by this theme issue in responding to the strategic question: “How do we develop more sustainable and responsible rural tourism by benchmarking innovations and new practices in Asia?”

A content analysis of the papers was undertaken to learn from best practices within and outside Asia. Structured questions were used to enable the theme editors to reflect on the rationale for the theme issue question, the starting point and the nature of the contribution made by the writing team.

This summary highlights the most significant outcomes in terms of the contributions to knowledge and/or professional practice, and also the implications for management action and applied research arising from the review of best practices in Asian countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, The Philippines, Vietnam, Korea, India, China and Chinese Taipei. Some of the innovative approaches that can be adopted by Asia from non-Asian countries, namely, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Lesotho and Poland, are also presented.

This paper outlines the challenges and new approaches needed in managing and developing rural tourism initiatives that have been established in other countries.

This paper explores the extent to which the lessons and innovative approaches discussed in this theme issue could be replicated and applied in countries that are developing rural tourism.

The purpose of this chapter is to evaluate the management of the rural tourist experience in Cyprus. In doing so, it specifically attempts to examine rural tourists’ experiences in relation to travel motives and activities performed in rural areas in Cyprus, explore overall satisfaction with the rural tourist experience with regard to several physical, social, and symbolic attributes derived from the literature review and elicit recommendations that can improve the tourist experience in rural areas.

An exploratory research approach was utilized, whereby 70 open-ended casual interviews were conducted with domestic and international tourists visiting rural areas in Cyprus.

Main findings derived from this study include the realization that the rural tourism experience is fragmented and largely shaped by travel motives, regional characteristics, support services, and service provision.

A refined segmentation strategy is proposed as well as the development of synergistic, innovative linkages among rural tourism stakeholders and across sectors in the industry, with thematic clusters representing a favorable proposed strategy.

Although the study is centered on a single case, theoretical and practical implications may be derived with regard to the demand aspects of rural tourist experiences. In turn, such insights may be transferrable to other rural destination contexts.

Towns and cities across Canada face rapidly changing economic circumstances and many are turning to a variety of strategies, including tourism, to provide stability in their communities. Community Economic Development (CED) has become an accepted form of economic development, with recognition that such planning benefits from a more holistic approach and community participation. However, much of why particular strategies are chosen, what process the community undertakes to implement those choices and how success is measured is not fully understood. Furthermore, CED lacks a developed theoretical basis from which to examine these questions. By investigating communities that have chosen to develop their tourism potential through the use of murals, these various themes can be explored. There are three purposes to this research: (1) to acquire an understanding of the “how” and the “why” behind the adoption and diffusion of mural-based tourism as a CED strategy in rural communities; (2) to contribute to the emerging theory of CED by linking together theories of rural geography, rural change and sustainability, and rural tourism; and (3) to contribute to the development of a framework for evaluating the potential and success of tourism development within a CED process.

Two levels of data collection and analysis were employed in this research. Initially, a survey of Canadian provincial tourism guides was conducted to determine the number of communities in Canada that market themselves as having a mural-based tourism attraction (N=32). A survey was sent to these communities, resulting in 31 responses suitable for descriptive statistical analysis, using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). A case study analysis of the 6 Saskatchewan communities was conducted through in-depth, in person interviews with 40 participants. These interviews were subsequently analyzed utilizing a combined Grounded Theory (GT) and Content Analysis approach.

The surveys indicated that mural development spread within a relatively short time period across Canada from Chemainus, British Columbia. Although tourism is often the reason behind mural development, increasing community spirit and beautification were also cited. This research demonstrates that the reasons this choice is made and the successful outcome of that choice is often dependent upon factors related to community size, proximity to larger populations and the economic (re)stability of existing industry. Analysis also determined that theories of institutional thickness, governance, embeddedness and conceptualizations of leadership provide a body of literature that offers an opportunity to theorize the process and outcomes of CED in rural places while at the same time aiding our understanding of the relationship between tourism and its possible contribution to rural sustainability within a Canadian context. Finally, this research revealed that both the CED process undertaken and the measurement of success are dependent upon the desired outcomes of mural development. Furthermore, particular attributes of rural places play a critical role in how CED is understood, defined and carried out, and how successes, both tangible and intangible, are measured.

The neo-endogenous approach to rural development puts great importance on territorialization, and aligns with place-based strategies and with microentrepreneurship because both concepts consider local specificities and leveraging local resources. This chapter analyzes characteristics of rural tourism establishments in Vojvodina, Northern Province of Serbia, of which the majority are microenterprises. The discussion focuses on aspects of microenterprise functioning such as human capital, offers, revenues, and non-material benefits. The aim is to analyze the local embeddedness of rural tourism microenterprises and their contribution to neo-endogenous rural development. Our results reveal that microentrepreneurs are embedded in rural places, but they face numerous constraints which in turn limits the benefits host communities might receive from place-based rural tourism development.

This study aims to explore the latent potential of alternative-responsible tourism and ecotourism leadership in sustainable tourism and the sustenance of rural communities in Musina Municipality in Limpopo Province, South Africa. It also sought to compare this potential with other African pastoral areas and to integrate it with various rural sites elsewhere abroad.

Narrative literature, document reviews, interviews and focus group discussions were used to garner relevant data and were analyzed through cross-tabulation analysis and manually. On this account, probable climate change-bound environmental consequences, rural, tourism, farming and ecological administration issues came to the forefront.

The examination correlates the potential position of proper ecotourism exercises and responsible tourism as an agreeable path to promote sustainability in rural localities. Subsequently, upon apparent countryside products, ecotourism and farming exercises glimpsed in the study area, environmental degradation poses a conceivable hazard to natural resource governance. Hereafter, it aggravates the possibilities for climate change effects and poor subsistence.

The rich biodiversity in the study area provides platforms for sustainable rural tourism enterprises and addresses any pertinent concerns. Thus, the study has manifested a demand for a creative tourism approach and innovations against environmental change outcomes and to capacitate Musina Municipality residents and probably others elsewhere on the continent to engage in ethical tourism initiatives and sustainable livelihoods.

The study aims to identify the opinions of rural tourism service providers on synergy between rural and smart tourism in Latvia, Zemgale region.

The research is of a qualitative nature and it profiles possibilities for and the necessity of synergy between rural and smart tourism. As part of the study, a survey was conducted to identify the opinions of 63 rural tourism service providers from the Zemgale region.

The study found that rural tourism service providers use digital tools mainly for payment, communication with customers as well as marketing activities, which revealed that the level of digitalization of rural tourism in Latvia is low. The survey data indicates the respondents' dual vision of synergy between rural and smart tourism, recognizing that IT progress was rapid and its influence was inevitable, while at the same time emphasizing an argument for maintaining the basic value and nature of rural tourism.

The paper is an original study of the opinions of rural tourism service providers on synergy between rural and smart tourism in Latvia and specifically, the Zemgale region.

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, sustainable tourism is a form of tourism that meets the needs of present tourists and host regions, while protecting and enhancing the opportunity for the future. It aims at having a low impact upon the environment and local culture; generating income and employment; and ensuring the conservation of local ecosystems. This paper aims to examine the ways in which the development and promotion of a new tourism product based on unique rural heritage and traditions contribute to the development of sustainable tourism by relating the practices to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) 1, 8, 10, 11, 12 and 17.

Drawing on a literature review on the topic of sustainable rural tourism, this paper uses a case-study methodological approach and provides an example of a sustainable rural tourism destination from the North Western development region of Romania (Cluj County, Transylvania) to depict specific sustainable tourism practices. The study uses a comprehensive desk-research based on secondary data from key industry and academic sources.

The research findings show that sustainable rural tourism can greatly support the development of rural destination and makes a significant contribution to the sustainable development of the Romanian tourism industry, in general, and rural economies in particular, as shown in the case examined in the paper. Sâncraiu represents an example of sustainable tourism practices that contribute to poverty reduction (SDG1 – Target 1.A), provide decent work and ensure economic growth (SDG8 – Target 8.9), help reducing inequalities (SDG10 – Target 10.3), protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage (SDG 11 – Target 11.4), promote responsible consumption and production (SDG 21 – Target 12.b) and last but not least this destination demonstrates that development is only possible when partnerships are forged (SDG 17).

This paper illustrates that fostering unique rural heritage and traditions can contribute to the sustainable development of destinations. Sustainable tourism practices contribute not only financially to a destination but also to its social infrastructures, jobs, nature conservation, adoption of new working practices and the revitalisation of passive and poor rural areas.

This paper examines and depicts sustainable rural tourism development as a transformative strategy contributing to the long-term viability of a rural destination. The research findings can be viewed as an example of good practice, which may be applicable to other geographic regions with similar contexts.