Sustainable tourism practices become crucial to minimize the detrimental tourism impact on environmental and socio-economic resources. This study explores the current status of sustainable development in South Asian countries, problems and challenges that hinder tourism development, and developing strategies for sustainable tourism development. This inquiry follows the interpretive paradigm and qualitative research approach. Delphi method was used to collect data. Expert interviews (webinars) about sustainable tourism development in South Asian countries were purposively selected and thematically analyzed. The study identified three main themes a) the current status of sustainable tourism in the South Asian countries, b) obstacles and hurdles for sustainable tourism development, and c) strategies for sustainable tourism development.
On the one hand, the findings underline a positive shift toward sustainable tourism in all the countries in the regions, and identified initiatives are currently practising by the South Asian countries (carbon reduction projects, voluntary training programs). On the other hand, this study underlines various issues and challenges (over-tourism, resource depletion, lack of quality workforce, safety issues) that obstacle in the South Asian tourism development. In addition, these papers come up with recommendations for both future research and managerial bodies for overcoming these challenges.