The increase in individual sports activities is stimulating the rise of sport-related forms of vacationing. This is further intensified by tourists seeking authentic experiences in host–guest relations, physical health and well-being, and the consumption of local products and services. Communities, especially those in developing countries, do not yet fully recognize the potential of local sports as a resource and competitive advantage in their destination development. In the same way, tourism research is lacking analyses regarding the role of the community and its specific sports identity. Given this, the present paper aims to systematically review the promising interface between community development and sports tourism. The research questions are based on the potential of identity-based sports and necessary local engagement. These efforts are pursued through a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) with 49 articles. The results reveal the thematic clusters, research features, and prevalent challenges and benefits that the community has to deal with. The discussion proposes the utilization of local sports identity in systematic product development and highlights increasing local engagement. In conclusion, we call for future research on non-event-related sports tourism, in-depth case studies, and multi-disciplinary concepts to foster local sustainability.

Cultural routes are today a widespread phenomenon throughout the Industrialized Countries (IC) and have become more and more prominent as a tool for tourism development in recent years (Flognfeldt, 2005:37; Meyer, 2004:5). For countries in the Southern Caucasus, who profit from their bridging position between Europe and Asia, the planned revival of the Ancient Silk Road (ASR) in form of the New Silk Road (NSR) offers substantial potentials for economic diversification by means of tourism as a catalyzing industry. On the case of Azerbaijan, this study analyzes the potential to trigger regional economic diversification within the existing national destination-system in a framework of route development. To this end, the methodological approach builds upon a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods to diagnose the current degree of cluster maturity in the system, following the question of how Azerbaijan as a system of regional destination can access the transnational route system of the NSR.