AUTHOR=Rangkuti Yoki Afriandy , Bangun Arti Kurniaty , Kurniawan Rizkei , Ilham Zulpikar , Hasibuan Sanusi , Tambunan Try Marta Br , Silitonga Daniel Fransisco 

TITLE=Cultural heritage and sports tourism: a systematic literature review of sustainable destination management practices

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Sports and Active Living

VOLUME=Volume 7 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sports-and-active-living/articles/10.3389/fspor.2025.1680229

DOI=10.3389/fspor.2025.1680229

ISSN=2624-9367

ABSTRACT=This systematic literature review explores the integration of cultural heritage with sports tourism as a promising strategy for sustainable destination management between January 2020 and June 2025. Utilizing the Scopus database and reported following PRISMA 2020, this study synthesized 63 Scopus-indexed peer-reviewed journal articles to examine strategies, benefits, challenges, and governance models. Analysis highlighted commonly reported integration methods, including community-driven thematic events, educational programs, and digital innovations such as virtual and augmented reality technologies. The findings from the included studies indicate reported socio-cultural and economic benefits, such as community empowerment, infrastructure enhancement, and tourism revenue growth. However, challenges like over-commercialization, authenticity dilution, and environmental degradation remain prevalent. Effective governance emerged as crucial for sustainability, across the reviewed literature, emphasizing participatory and collaborative models aligned with Triple Bottom Line and Stakeholder Theories. The study contributes by offering a nuanced understanding of pathways through which cultural heritage sports tourism may support economic prosperity, cultural integrity, and environmental sustainability in specific contexts. Future research directions are recommended, including multi-database, preregistered reviews and longitudinal, regionally comparative analyses, to further validate these findings and address identified limitations comprehensively. This review is limited by a single-database (Scopus-only) search; findings should be interpreted as an exploratory synthesis.