Culture and tourism have always been inseparable. The emergence of cultural tourism as a social phenomenon and a subject of academic interest dates back to post-World War 2 leisure travel. But it is only recent decade that the relationship between culture and tourism has been identified as one form of consumption, which is defined as cultural tourism. Prior to the emergence of cultural tourism, visitation and recreation were mainly based on nature-based tourism, especially in the national protected areas. The investigation into tourism and natural protected areas is well established in scholarly publications. Visitors usually travel the protected areas to see the wild flora and fauna in their natural habitat to relax and learn about nature. Most of the national protected areas in the developing countries are traditionally managed by the local community. Visitors, particularly from Western countries visit the populated areas, usually interact with the local communities, and motivated to find the unique cultural heritage such as archaeological monuments or the daily life. A significant portion of the attraction of the cultural heritage is composed of intangible cultural heritage such as religious or spiritual practices, music, festival and traditional knowledge.

Recent studies identify that community empowerment is a crucial issue for the sustainable development of ICH tourism to engage the host in destination management. The tourism literature contains substantial discussion on the role of the ICH and empowerment, whilst seeking an option to balance between the two concepts for sustainable tourism. Although there is a body of knowledge exists on the sustainable tourism, but the practical implementation of this idea faces a number of difficulties particularly the empowerment. The major difficulties lie in the need for collaboration with all possible stakeholders to achieve their effective participation and commitment. In particular, it is emphasized that the empowerment must position the local community to control over the tourism project including planning and implementation for sustainable tourism. The common goal of the sustainable tourism is to conserve the ICH, which in turn benefits the environment for the social and cultural well-being of the community.