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Ski Area Sustainability Across Economic, Social, and Environmental Dimensions: A Systematic Review

Hamed Kiashemshaki et al.

Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism2026https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2026.101020article
AJG 1ABDC B
Weight
0.50

Abstract

Ski areas face mounting sustainability challenges due to accelerating climate change, environmental degradation, economic pressures, and evolving societal expectations. Despite growing interest in sustainable ski tourism, existing research remains fragmented across environmental, economic, and social dimensions, limiting the development of integrated sustainability strategies. This systematic review synthesizes peer-reviewed literature published between 1990 and 2025, drawing on studies identified through Web of Science, Scopus, and Greenfile. The review reveals persistent gaps across all three sustainability dimensions. Environmental research predominantly focuses on artificial snowmaking, intensive resource use, and associated ecological impacts, including biodiversity loss. Economic sustainability is largely framed around diversification strategies and the viability of year-round tourism models, while social dimensions-particularly labor conditions, housing, and tourist behavior-remain comparatively underexplored. Crucially, the literature rarely adopts governance frameworks capable of integrating these domains. In response, this review develops an integrative conceptual framework to support future interdisciplinary research and inform evidence-based policymaking aimed at enhancing the long-term resilience of mountain tourism destinations.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2026.101020

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@article{hamed2026,
  title        = {{Ski Area Sustainability Across Economic, Social, and Environmental Dimensions: A Systematic Review}},
  author       = {Hamed Kiashemshaki et al.},
  journal      = {Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2026.101020},
}

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

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