The political economy of tourism development: A critical review

This paper reviews varying theoretical approaches in political economy and their application to the analysis of tourism development. It examines the shifting focus of enquiry and traces the evolution of the political economy of tourism from an earlier generation of predominantly technical, empirically-driven analyses of tourism’s contribution to economic development through to the various strands of development theory that have influenced and which continue to shape critical scholarship in the political economy of tourism. Particular emphasis is given to recent theoretical advances in which the application of cultural political economy and Marxian thinking herald a promising future for the political economy of tourism.     

Evolving roles for local government in tourism development: a political economy perspective

This paper interrogates the changing role of local government in tourism development. It does so through the examination of the Hurunui District, a rural district in New Zealand which has experienced significant transformation in the tourism sector and a concomitant increase in public sector input over the past 25 years. By situating this interrogation within an evolving neoliberal public policy context, this paper explores the tensions at play between tourism stakeholders and decision-makers, and it critiques the way in which local government involvement in the sector is manifested as regulation, promotion, and ownership of key tourism resources in the District. The significance of this paper is that it extends our understanding of the role of the state in tourism and of the influence of public policy on tourism development, potentially including sustainable tourism development. Specifically, it draws our attention to the rationality, roles and activities of public sector engagement in the tourism sector, particularly at local government level. We conclude that the nature and extent of debate evident in the case study, and verified in the literature, indicates that the boundary of government activity and intervention in the tourism market is, and will continue to be, socially contested and mediated.     

Environmental governance for sustainable tourism development: Collaborative networks and organisation building in the Antalya tourism region

For more than two decades the attainment of sustainable environmental quality and the protection of environmental assets have been at the forefront of central policy issues in global tourism development. Recently, it has been argued that collaborative and associative forms of governance among tourism companies and other related agents are growing in importance in the drive for sustainable and environmentally sensitive tourism. Despite the increasing number of debates on the role of networking on tourism they are not well supported by empirical studies, and still far from explain how such networks can contribute to the sustainable development of territories. This paper aims to contribute to previous literature by analysing together governance networks and literature on sustainable development, and by providing empirical findings that highlight the importance of governance networks in sustainable tourism development, the importance of different scales of collaborative governance networks and the role of organisation building for environmentally sustainable tourism development in Antalya. The paper offers analytical findings on the networks of environmental governance among different types of tourism organisations based on a company-level survey, which reveals an increase in local collaboration and self-help networking based on local concerns and endogenous dynamics among the different actors in tourism. Unfortunately, the findings show that environmental motivations fall far behind economic considerations in networking practices.     

Heritage tourism and livelihood sustainability of a resettled rural community: Mount Sanqingshan World Heritage Site,China

Tourism and related development can lead to the displacement and resettlement of communities, disrupting local livelihood systems, socio-political processes and organizations. However, limited attention has been paid to community resettlement in the tourism context. Taking Yinhuwan village at Mount Sanqingshan World Heritage Site in China as an example, this study examines the results of tourism and resettlement on the livelihoods of this rural community and the extent to which tourism-related livelihood strategies contribute to community livelihood sustainability. A sustainable livelihood framework is adopted to guide the analysis. Face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted with management officials, community leaders and village residents through three field investigations in 2013. It was found that traditional livelihood methods have been largely replaced by tourism, which has become the primary livelihood strategy for the resettled community. Despite current economic benefits, high dependency on tourism-related opportunities as the single livelihood option may diminish the sustainability of local livelihoods. The current resettlement plan highlights short-term economic impacts on the affected community, overlooking their socio-cultural concerns and long-term livelihood sustainability. Possible measures are discussed to diversify livelihood options and mitigate potential challenges for the affected community so as to ensure their long-term benefits and increase future options.     

Tourism development and the tourism area life-cycle model: A case study of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, China

The conceptual framework of the Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) has been frequently examined since it was first proposed by Butler in 1980. However, few studies have applied the concept to national parks and other protected areas. This paper examines the applicability of the model to China's Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. In addition, both external and internal factors affecting the park's tourism development as well as the environmental, social, and economic changes of the area are also discussed. Results indicate that the park has experienced the first four stages as described in Butler's 1980 seminal paper [The concept of a tourist area cycle of evolution: Implications for management of resources. Canadian Geographer, 24, 5–12]. Currently, the park is in the consolidation stage. Both governments and the private sector are major players as catalysts for the park's tourism development from one stage to the next. While the local or even regional economy has become increasingly dependent on tourism, the park has also been experiencing noticeable transformation and loss of traditional cultures since its inception in 1982. Finally limitations to the current paper are outlined.     

Community participation in World Heritage Site conservation and tourism development

This study investigates the factors contributing to community participation in a World Heritage Site (WHS) using Motivation, Opportunity, and Ability (MOA) model. We examined the effects of these factors on three levels of community participation. The findings showed that motivation had the greatest positive effect on the low level of community participation. Opportunity had the greatest effect on the high level of community participation. Among the dimensions of ability, namely awareness and knowledge, the findings showed that more aware residents were more interested in low level of community participation, whereas residents with more knowledge were more interested in high level of community participation. This study contributes to the tourism development and WHS conservation and management literature by examining the effects of MOA factors on three levels of community participation. Moreover, this study has a number of practical implications for local authorities in terms of community participation.     

Conflict in tourism development in rural China

This paper explores the phenomenon of conflict in tourism development in rural China. Four cases were selected and analyzed as part of this exploration. The study identified eight major conflict issues: land expropriation, ticket revenue distribution, vending rights, tourism management rights, house demolition, house building, entry restrictions, and village elections. The conflict evolution process indicates that these issues are dynamic and connected rather than static and isolated. Local government was found to be the most important conflicting party for local people due to its authority and economic interests in tourism development. In addition, an often-ignored conflicting party, villagers' committees, was found to have limitations in maintaining local people's interests. The findings of this study shed light on this complicated and sensitive tourism conflict phenomenon in rural China. A couple of practical implications for local authorities and UNESCO are outlined at the end of the paper.     

The multiple logics of tourism development in China

It has been widely demonstrated and accepted in the sustainable tourism literature that tourism development involves multiple stakeholders. However, little research has been conducted to examine the logics guiding and explaining the behaviours of the stakeholders in tourism development. Guided by the institutional logics perspective and stakeholder theory, this study identifies the logics of different stakeholders in China's tourism development through fieldwork in two tourism development cases (Yalong Bay and Haitang Bay) in Hainan Province and content analysis on secondary data from multiple sources. The logic of pursuing political legitimacy, the logic of fiscal income maximisation, the dual logics of the market and politics, and the logic of pursuing economic benefits were identified to be the dominant logics driving the behaviours of the central government, local government, tourism enterprises and local communities, respectively, in China's tourism development. This paper contributes to a better understanding of the dynamics of tourism development in China.     

The influence of the political environment and destination governance on sustainable tourism development: a study of Bled,Slovenia

In the context of sustainable tourism development, there are many studies about the exchange process between residents and tourism, yet this issue is practically unexplored with respect to the political environment of tourism. Therefore, this paper introduces and posits that the political environment is a necessary enabler for implementing sustainable tourism. The authors extend the established three-pillar sustainability concept by adding in the political dimension. Then they surveyed how residents' positive and negative perceptions of tourism impacts determine their satisfaction with life in the tourism destination and thus their support for tourism in their community. The model was empirically tested within the context of the long-established Alpine destination of Bled in Slovenia. The findings confirm the importance of the political environment and question the sustainability of Bled's tourism development. It is suggested that the community has relatively weak destination governance due to the underdeveloped political environment. The survey expands and deepens the tourism sustainability debate by adding in the political environment and how it relates to the emerging growth of research on destination governance. The proposed model can be adapted and applied to any destination in order to improve its governance, including the implementation of sustainable tourism development.     

The planning,development and management of tourism: The case of Dangjia,an ancient village in China

“Ancient villages” are rural settlements in China that achieve this classification because of their historic, cultural and architectural values. Nonetheless, while they have long histories and are considered as tourism assets they may also face social, economic, environmental and political problems. This article analyses these issues using a qualitative and quantitative analysis derived from research at Dangjia Ancient Village, Shaanxi, China. It identifies changing patterns in demand and shifts in the modes of meeting those demands – from modes that are individually based to those that are dependent on local government interventions. Much of this change is due to deficiencies in local social and financial capital. Suggestions are made regarding ways to improve the sustainability of rural tourism, which have a wider application on a national and international scale.     

The impact of regulation and ownership structure on market orientation in the tourism industry in China

The nature of market orientation and its impact on business performance and other related outcomes have been extensively researched in a range of service contexts including tourism. In contrast, our understanding of the factors that influence market orientation is still limited. This paper reports on a study that contributes to our understanding of the determinants of market orientation within the tourism sector by focusing specifically on the role played by two strategically important variables, namely government regulation and ownership structure. The study analyses two national samples of hotels and travel services in the rapidly growing tourism industry in China. The hotel sector has been open to foreign investment for two decades and has a diversified ownership structure, whereas the travel services sector has been dominated by government owned firms and relatively closed to foreign investment. The results of the survey suggest that of the two new antecedents, only government regulation has a significant role to play in driving market orientation. Internally, access to appropriate managerial and marketing capabilities was identified as a significant predictor of the development of market orientation.     

Understanding small firms in tourism: A perspective on research trends and challenges

Although small firms in tourism have featured on the agendas of policy-makers for several decades, academic interest over the same period has fluctuated. Certainly the flurry of activity that occurred during the early 1990s became a steady flow of somewhat fragmented output rather than the ambitious and coherent programme of research that was anticipated at the time. The paper traces progress in this field by reviewing inter-, multi- and disciplinary studies that contribute to current understanding of small firms in tourism and how this understanding articulates with wider debates within tourism studies. In so doing, it challenges some conventional wisdom and provides an agenda for future research.     

Agglomeration density and tourism development in China: An empirical research based on dynamic panel data model

To explain the significant disparity of tourism development across Chinese provinces, this paper conducts a dynamic panel data analysis of tourism development in China using statistical data of Chinese provincial tourism industry for the 2000–2009 periods. The estimated results provide empirical evidence on the relationship between the agglomeration and development of Chinese provincial tourism in firm level. The econometric analysis shows that the tourism density in agglomeration has a positive influence on local tourism development. It appears that the variance of tourism development across Chinese provinces can be explained by the differences in the density of tourism economic activities.     

国家公园科学保护与生态旅游高质量发展——理论思考与创新实践

国家公园科学保护与生态旅游高质量发展是国家公园体制建设面临的重大实践需求和重要科学议题。在阐释国家公园高质量发展特征的基础上,围绕国家公园的生态保护、生态旅游、特许经营、保护模式、解说系统、生态产业、社区参与、管理体制等理论与实践问题进行思考与跨学科对话。分析认为：（1）科研支撑是国家公园科学保护与生态旅游高质量发展的基石;（2）生态旅游是国家公园生态产品价值实现的重要方式,其必要条件是要素支撑体系、特许经营制度和关键政策突破;（3）特许权和特许经营制度是保护机制,从旅游特许经营走向社区特许经营、生物科技特许经营、基础设施特许经营、区域联合特许经营等是未来发展的必然趋势;（4）社区参与是国家公园高质量发展的基础保障,渠道拓展、能力提升、共建共享是提升社区参与质量的重要方式;（5）文化服务是国家公园多元功能的重要组成部分,构建科学的解说系统、建设实体平台和虚拟平台,有利于促进文化服务的供给及其社会文化价值的实现。     

Assisting the poor in China through tourism development: A review of research

The role of Pro-Poor Tourism has been increasingly studied in China since the 1990s. The research has addressed a broad range of key issues such as the implication of “fu pin lv you” (or TAP to use an English acronym arising from the translation ‘Tourism-Assisting the Poor’), governmental roles, local participation and the contribution of rural, natural and cultural resources to TAP. However, there has been a lack of research in some areas such as in the micro-economics of TAP targeting local poor people, quantitative research, case studies and anthropological analysis. This paper reviews Chinese academic literature on pro-poor tourism to provide a clearer picture of current practice and progress in TAP policies and research in China.     

Social capital and entrepreneurial mobility in early-stage tourism development: A case from rural China

Early-stage tourism destinations often seek external capital to establish, invest and participate in tourism businesses at various levels. Entrepreneurial mobility at these destinations is thus an important phenomenon in need of further exploration both empirically and theoretically. This study uses an early-stage destination in rural China as a case to explore the experiences of inward entrepreneurial migrants in tourism development and associates their mobility, geographical and organisational, with dimensions of social capital, including institutional support, community openness and personal social networks. Primary interview data were collected from inward tourism entrepreneurs, key local community members and government officials related to tourism projects. The findings suggest that the inward entrepreneurs had unrealistic perceptions of the tourism industry before they entered. Entrepreneurial mobility in tourism development is influenced by all three social capital dimensions. The integration with the locality enhances the potential contribution of entrepreneurial mobility to tourism development.     

Gap between tourism planning and implementation: A case of China

In tourism literature, a phenomenon is identified, and considered ubiquitous in planning exercise. Namely, a gap occurs between planning and implementation once the planned approach to tourism development is adopted. Such a phenomenon is not rare to find in China, where tourism has become increasingly important for the country's economy. This paper presents a research that attempts to examine the causes of the gap in a Chinese context, in order to offer insights about what possible countermeasures should be sought. A case study is adopted for the examination which focuses on the 3-year implementation of 2001–2020 Guniujiang Guanyintang Tourism Development Master Plan. These seven major causes are detected: flaws of master planning, planner's inadequate background survey and analysis, planner's inaccurate anticipation, planner's lack of practical experience, practitioner's misunderstanding, divergence of views between practitioner and planner, pitfalls of private investment and imbalance of development between regions of China.     

Development pattern,classification and evaluation of the tourism academic community in China in the last ten years: From the perspective of big data of articles of tourism academic journals

This paper reports findings from an analysis of 16,024 tourism academic papers published in the major social science journals of China as ranked by CSSCI, and CSCD for the period from 2003 to 2012. The paper ranks and evaluates journals and institutions related to tourism, and thus shows a comprehensive picture of the academic development in China's tourism academic research over the decade. The paper used a creative research method to discover the phenomenon and issues not previously identified by researchers and provides a sound foundation to further develop big data analytical methods in China.     

A different interpretation from Cornet's on tourism development in an ethnic minority village in China

There have been tensions as ethnic tourism develops in western China leading to various responses from local people, including resistance. Cornet discussed Dong villagers’ responses to tourism development in Zhaoxing using concepts such as livelihoods, resistance, agency, and ethnicity. This paper aims to reinterpret these responses and extend the scope of discussion through multiple case studies using primary data collected in our fieldwork. This study showed that the issues involving ethnic minority groups mentioned by Cornet commonly appear in Han areas and ethnicity is less significant in local responses to tourism development. In addition, we found that villagers have little voice in tourism development and their rights and interests are often ignored by local government. These findings have important implications for increasing our understanding of the issues arising from ethnic tourism.     

Barriers to the development of medical tourism in East Azerbaijan province,Iran: A qualitative study

The purpose of the present study was to determine factors impeding the development of medical tourism in East Azerbaijan province, Iran. The data were derived from interviews with 16 key informants. Data analysis of the study was conducted through employing the software MAXQDA-12. The results show that marketing, international issues, culture, transfer, brokerage, management, and policy problems are the main barriers to the development of medical tourism. It seems that East Azerbaijan province should provide necessary context for the participation and investment of private sector in the field of medical tourism. Further, it should design and implement long and short-term strategies in proportion to the problems raised.