Structural Barriers to Sustainable Tourism Development in Libya: An AMOS-Based CB-SEM Study of Governance, Regional Inequality and Sustainability Challenges

Background: Sustainable tourism development has emerged as a strategic priority for economic diversification in Libya; however, structural barriers continue to restrict tourism growth across the country. Limited empirical evidence exists regarding how institutional, economic, environmental, socio-cultural, and geographical barriers influence sustainable tourism development across Libyan regions. The study aimed to examine the structural barriers affecting sustainable tourism development in Libya and to assess regional differences between Western, Eastern, and Southern Libya. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey design was employed using Google Forms. Data were collected from 520 participants across Western, Eastern, and Southern Libya through purposive and snowball sampling. The study targeted tourism-sector employees, government employees, academics, private-sector employees, and students with direct or indirect involvement in tourism-related activities. The questionnaire included six constructs measured using a five-point Likert scale. Covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM) using AMOS was employed to evaluate the measurement and structural models and test the hypothesised relationships. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to assess the measurement model, while model adequacy was evaluated using established fit indices, including χ2/df, CFI, TLI, RMSEA, and SRMR. AMOS multi-group analysis was subsequently used to examine whether the structural relationships differed across Western, Eastern, and Southern Libya. Reliability and validity measures demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties, with Cronbach’s alpha values ranging from 0.83 to 0.89, composite reliability values above 0.86, and AVE values above 0.50. Results: Institutional barriers represented the strongest negative predictor of sustainable tourism development (β = −0.43, p < 0.001), followed by economic barriers (β = −0.36, p < 0.001), environmental barriers (β = −0.29, p = 0.002), geographical barriers (β = −0.27, p = 0.006), and socio-cultural barriers (β = −0.18, p = 0.031). Sustainable tourism development recorded a moderate-to-low mean score (M = 2.74 ± 0.71), indicating limited perceived tourism sustainability performance in Libya. Regional moderation analysis showed that institutional barriers had stronger effects in Eastern Libya, while geographical barriers were more influential in Southern Libya. Conclusions: Respondents perceived sustainable tourism development in Libya as being constrained primarily by governance weakness, economic instability, environmental pressures, and uneven regional accessibility rather than by a lack of tourism resources. These results represent the perceptions of the participating tourism-related stakeholders and should not be interpreted as nationally representative estimates. Institutional reform, regional planning, environmental governance, infrastructure investment, and stakeholder participation may therefore represent critical priorities for strengthening sustainable tourism development in Libya’s post-conflict context.