Archaeological Site Governance as an Entry Point for Enhancing Sustainable Tourism Development in the City of Samarra

Abstract

This research aims to examine the role of archaeological site governance in enhancing sustainable tourism development, taking the city of Samarra as an applied case study. Samarra was selected due to its high historical and archaeological significance, which is counterbalanced by administrative and organizational challenges that affect the sustainability of its tourism sector. The study adopts a descriptive–analytical approach through a questionnaire administered to two samples: residents of Samarra and experts specialized in planning, archaeology, and tourism, with the objective of evaluating the status of indicators related to governance and sustainable tourism development.  The study encompasses a set of key indicators, including economic indicators, cultural and civilizational identity indicators, environmental indicators, administrative and governance indicators, in addition to community participation indicators. The results of the residents’ sample revealed a relatively positive tendency toward economic indicators and a neutral tendency toward cultural identity and environmental indicators, while governance and community participation indicators recorded negative trends. In contrast, the experts’ sample showed an overall negative tendency across all indicators, reflecting a clear gap between community perception and specialized professional assessment.  The study concludes that the weak implementation of governance principles represents the main factor hindering the achievement of sustainable tourism development in the archaeological sites of Samarra, despite the availability of significant cultural and tourism potentials. The study recommends strengthening the governance framework, activating community participation, and adopting an integrated strategic vision that contributes to employing archaeological sites as effective drivers of sustainable tourism development.

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