This research aimed to examine the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) as an evaluation tool for heritage sites with limited tourism development. The authors aimed to assess how well the TTCI aligns with stakeholders' perceptions when applied to sites facing conservation challenges. The research revealed that stakeholder perceptions significantly impact heritage planning strategies. The study highlighted the potential of stakeholder engagement in enhancing a destination's competitiveness by addressing visitor satisfaction, overall tourism appeal, and the likelihood of repeat visits. The findings emphasized the importance of a collaborative governance model and suggested potential modifications to the TTCI to better suit underserved heritage sites. The research aimed to transform heritage planning into an engaging and profitable endeavor, emphasizing the need for conservation improvements at sites lacking proper attention and promoting successful heritage planning for other sites by making them more appealing to tourists and visitors.
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Sjöholm (2013) states, “Incredibly selective material artefacts, mythologies, memories, and customs become resources for the present.” Contemporary needs make the selection. Cultural heritage and the changing regional landscape are intricately linked (Flores de León, Babere & Swai, 2020). In emerging nations, cities and towns are compelled to balance urban development and conservation due to rising pressure from urbanization and expansion (Puren and Jordaan, 2014). A more recent advancement with the aim of inclusive and all-encompassing urban rehabilitation is the significance of intangible cultural heritage as a rudimentary element that influences the existence and character of communities (Flores de León, Babere & Swai, 2020). The apex of communities are historical sites because they are essential to creating an exciting and parsimoniously engaging environment for residents. The people who live there, the urban spaces, and the historic buildings all contribute to raising the standard of living there (Nag and Mishra, 2023a; El Menchawy, Aly & Hakim, 2011). As a result, the tourist sector has unique potential and formidable hurdles, as correctly stated by UNWTO and UNESCO, as visitors' interest in cultural activities grows and tourism and culture collide. Because of this, heritage tourism is not only an exclusive sector of the heritage business, but its economic and numerical importance has also drawn additional political, management, and scientific attention. As a result, heritage planning as a concept was created in response. Heritage planning is a comprehensive discipline that safeguards and promotes a community's cultural, historical, and natural heritage. It entails diverse strategies and initiatives designed to preserve and celebrate these invaluable aspects of a region or society. Cultural heritage encompasses tangible items such as historic buildings and artworks and intangible elements like languages and traditions. Natural heritage pertains to the conservation of natural landscapes and resources. Heritage planning ensures that these significant facets of a place's identity are protected, maintained, and made accessible for present and future generations to appreciate and learn from. It often involves a combination of historic preservation, urban development, tourism management, and community engagement to balance preservation and progress. Planning for heritage promotes cultural tourism, one of the proliferating global tourist industry segments (Yuen, 2005). In its broadest sense, the cultural heritage management sector manages the assets that make up cultural tourism (Živanović, 2016). Several European towns have turned to historic planning to increase their expansion chances. So, protecting cultural landscapes may help communities feel more empowered and proud of themselves. On the other hand, cultural heritage refers to a community's capacity to reflect on itself on a societal level. The cultural and heritage sector has helped the tourism industry expand into a sizeable economic sector for wealth expansion (Gannon, Lynch & Harrington, 2010). Heritage assets do not, however, ensure local or tourist growth (Ferri, 2017).
Urban planning studies and practices have long addressed human connections to foster and encourage dynamic public spaces and locations (Black and Street, 2014). However, research that aims to better articulate or understand stakeholders' perspectives at these places is seriously absent. This is true even if effective urban planning may contribute to creating more welcoming and inclusive historical tourist environments (Živanović, 2016; Gannon, Lynch & Harrington, 2010). Accordingly, the study suggests that more may and should be done to include “stakeholder perceptions” in urban design talks, i.e., a profound grasp of and sensitivity to the diverse demands of historic planning. In countries like India, Australia, or China, where history is deeply embedded or where stakeholders' perspectives are heavily weighted in the development of planning procedures, this reimagines “human connections” as something that is substantially more dynamic and inclusive.