Sustainable tourism paradigms across cultures: a continuum from Western to Eastern perspectives
本特刊探讨新兴旅游目的地社会中可持续旅游概念与实践的文化多样性，通过比较西方与东方（儒家、道家）范式，提出将两者置于连续谱上以促进更包容、情境化的可持续旅游研究，对学者、政策制定者和从业者具有参考价值。
This special issue explores the cultural diversities in conceptualising and practising sustainable tourism in emerging destination societies. By examining both Western and Eastern paradigms through ontological, epistemological, and methodological lenses, this collection seeks to broaden the discourse on sustainable tourism. While Western frameworks have significantly shaped the field, an Eastern perspective—rooted in Confucianism and Taoism—offers complementary insights that emphasise the unity of nature and humanity, ethical thinking, self-cultivation, and humanistic approaches illustrated through concepts such as Guanxi and Mianzi. Rather than treating these paradigms as opposing forces, this special issue explores their potential synergies by placing them on a continuum—encouraging a more inclusive and context-sensitive approach to understanding sustainability. By encouraging dialogues between diverse cultural traditions, this study aspires to enrich sustainable tourism research and practice, offering valuable perspectives for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners navigating the complexities of global tourism development.