Public policies and conservation plans of historic urban landscapes under the sustainable heritage tourism milieu: discussions on the equilibrium model on Kulangsu Island, UNESCO World Heritage site

Abstract

Abstract Purpose The tensions and threats in historic urban landscapes brought about by heritage tourism are still regional, global, general, and dynamic issues. For Kulangsu, there is an obvious problem in the connection between the current conservation plan and public policy. To a large extent, public policy cannot effectively, specifically, and flexibly respond to the dynamic problems in the implementation of the conservation plan, which seems insufficient concerning the effect of these conservation plans and public policies on promoting the adaptive reuse and sustainable tourism of the historic urban in Kulangsu heritage sites. Thus, giving more consideration to the combination of public policies and conservation plans of historic urban landscapes under the heritage tourism milieu, ensuring a balanced, sustainable, and integrated development pattern still calls for new discussions in achieving good performance of sustainable heritage tourism. This study conceptually discusses the equilibrium model of historic urban landscapes with a range of strategies under a sustainable heritage tourism background and responds to the synthetic contradiction of the imbalances among public policy, conservation plans, and development practices. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a range of prepared desktop studies (public policy studies, conservation plans), field surveys, participant observations, and randomised interviews to respond to the insufficiency of the current heritage practices. Findings This study discusses the equilibrium model of sustainable heritage tourism at heritage sites. It takes Kulangsu Island, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Southeast China, as an example to discuss the equilibrium model, which encompasses a convergent parallel framework and three dimensions concerning heritage management and policymaking. The equilibrium model of historic urban landscapes is a dynamic framework that integrates social, economic, environmental, and cultural concerns into a holistic collaborative framework under a sustainable heritage tourism background. Originality/value In line with the requirements of the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach and general principles in support of sustainable urban heritage management promoted by UNESCO and ICOMOS, the study points out the peculiarities and potential of the equilibrium mode in solving the current challenges of historic urban landscapes for sustainable heritage tourism. Finding ways of linking policymaking, conservation, development, heritage tourism, and different interest groups to a holistic framework can stimulate effective means and management mechanisms for the complicated and changeable issues of sustainable heritage tourism.