China's outbound tourism – Stages,policies and choices

China's outbound tourism has developed rapidly in recent years. This development has been accompanied by a continuous and expanding deficit in the tourism balance of trade, triggering debate among government officials and academia about whether China's outbound tourism development has outgrown general economic development. Understanding China's growth in outbound tourism and its impact has therefore become more than an academic issue; it also affects the future orientation of China's tourism policy. This paper provides a detailed analysis of the tourists, spatial flow, market size, and expenditure. Despite the above concerns, it is suggested that China's outbound tourism is still in a preliminary stage of development and furthermore complies fully with national policies. Therefore, orderly guidance and discretionary market policies are proposed to further facilitate the growth of the outbound tourism market in China.     

Environmental policy integration as a strategy for sustainable tourism planning: issues in implementation

Both in a national and global context, it is challenging to identify key conditions for the integration of sustainable tourism in public policy. By studying a number of recent planning processes pertaining to tourism development, this article aims to contribute recent insight into how sustainability may be integrated into tourism planning. The study was motivated by a publicized shift in the Norwegian government policy strategy on sustainable tourism, from a sector approach to an integration approach. Through case analysis, the concept of environmental policy integration is applied. Findings show that sustainable tourism is partially integrated in all cases and three key issues are outlined. First, although Norway is characterized by a high degree of sector organization, it has a weak structure for overall tourism policy integration. Second, the integration of sustainable tourism has been stimulated by national horizontal integration, bottom-up integration prepared by institutional changes, public participation, and by active use of the municipal system of planning. Third, this study could not find any evidence for the announced shift from a sector approach to an integrated approach to sustainable tourism.     

Protected area policies and sustainable tourism: influences,relationships and co-evolution

This paper explores the adoption of sustainable tourism ideas in a Park Authority's policies over a period of two decades in a developed world, category V protected area. There is only limited research on influences encouraging the inclusion of sustainable tourism ideas in protected area policies, or on relationships between sustainable tourism policies and other policy priorities. The paper departs from an approach which considers sustainable tourism policies in isolation, because potentially they are reformulations or extensions of other previous policies, or else indirect outcomes of other policies. There is assessment of influences on the Park Authority's sustainable tourism policies, and of the co-evolution between sustainable tourism policies and other policies. Such influences as government funding reductions and rising concern for community well-being affected the Authority's adoption of sustainable tourism ideas. Incorporation of sustainable tourism ideas in policies occurred gradually. It involved re-labelling established policies as well as reframing and extending those policies. It was often an indirect outcome of policy developments not focused specifically on sustainable tourism. Sustainable tourism-related policies co-evolved with, and through, policies for community well-being, actor participation, and sustainable development. The approach used here is relevant for research on policy co-evolution in other policy fields.     

Liberalizing Nirvana: an analysis of the consequences of common pool resource deregulation for the sustainability of Fiji's surf tourism industry

In July 2010, the Fijian government issued a decree that liberalized Fiji's surf breaks and deregulated its surf tourism industry. It did this by canceling licenses that granted resorts exclusive use of surf breaks based on indigenous customary ownership of foreshore and fringing reef fishing areas as common pool resources. This paper analyses the sustainability of surf tourism in Fiji, utilizing a developing framework for sustainable surf tourism. Based on broader sustainable tourism theory and empirical research, the framework considers (1) the impact of economic neo-liberalism, (2) the need for coordinated planning and limits to growth, (3) the advantages of systematic attempts to foster cross-cultural understanding, and (4) the social benefits associated with the development of surfing at the village level. The study found that a lack of regulation is compromising the sustainability of Fiji's surf tourism industry in each of these four dimensions. However, evidence of a growing acceptance of the need for regulation by most stakeholders offers a starting point for a transactive, participative process to find solutions. A fifth element to the framework is recommended for future analyses based on the need for surf tourism to contribute to poverty alleviation in destination communities.     

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.     

Conference Reports

Governments at all levels have assumed greater responsibility for, and involvement in, tourism destination planning and development. In the post-Brundtland era local governments in particular have been under closer scrutiny for their role in driving the sustainable development agenda in tourism destination contexts. Yet, a notable research gap still exists despite the increased focus on local government, particularly in terms of empirical research investigating the roles and responsibilities of local government in addressing sustainable tourism development. Given this context, this paper explores the role of local government in facilitating, or indeed inhibiting, sustainable development objectives in a tourism destination context. To assess this issue, it uses in-depth interviews with local government representatives and key destination stakeholders from five local government areas in Queensland, Australia. It shows that local government had assumed responsibility for facilitating the sustainable tourism agenda, due to the absence of strong industry leadership and due to top-down directives from state and federal governments. However, power struggles, tokenistic public participation and the strong influence of the local government authority in local governance structures were found to be inhibitors to sustainable tourism development.     

中国旅游发展政策的历史演进(1949~2013)——一个量化研究的视角

文章从1949~2013年中央政府及相关部委发布的379个旅游政策文件的多维度统计分析入手,以全新的视角剖析了新中国成立以来我国旅游发展政策的演化历程。研究发现:(1)我国旅游政策演化是资源配置的行政化转向行政权力制约下的资源配置市场化过程。(2)旅游政策目标始终与国家经济社会发展的战略目标相一致,可大致分为服务外事、经济型事业、经济新增长点、国家战略性支柱产业四个阶段。(3)旅游政策工具以微观管制为主,对资本、土地、技术、人才等生产要素宏观调控能力不足。(4)旅游政策的制定部门范畴不断扩大,政策力度呈波动趋稳态势。研究认为,旅游经济的有效运行高度依赖于社会经济系统的制度安排。在《旅游法》颁布、旅游业进入全新的发展阶段后,技术进步、市场需求、企业竞合关系协同引领的产品业态与商业模式创新是未来产业效率提升的基本方向,宏观调控和公共服务将成为政府旅游管理的基本内容。     

A review and evaluation of China's quality assurance system for tour guiding

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of China's tour guiding quality assurance system as an instrument for sustainable tourism. It notes the importance of China's 131,000 tour guides for inbound, outbound and domestic tourism. China's tour guiding quality assurance and regulatory mechanisms are then reviewed, including qualification examination, licensing, professional certification, training, awards for excellence, professional associations and codes of conduct. Structurally, China's comprehensive and comparatively regulated system may be recommendable to other countries, particularly its certification and licensing systems. However, the findings suggest that tour guide quality assurance in China may be constrained by an over-reliance on government and the absence of industry-driven mechanisms for some elements such as monitoring, enforcement and rewarding excellence. Most importantly, the focus of China's quality assurance system is on a limited number of tour guiding roles and tends to overlook those most critical to harnessing the guide as a vehicle for sustainable tourism. Key future development areas could extend recognition and reward for the guide's performance as a role model, advocate, mentor, interpreter, cultural broker and environmental monitor.     

论当代旅游发展理论的构建:理念、框架与要点

随着大众旅游初级阶段的到来,我国旅游业也相应进入了国家战略体系,加上旅游教育和人才培养层次的提升,基于中国学术立场和现实诉求的理论创新已是当务之急。在分析总结旅游发展阶段特征和当代旅游发展的核心价值取向的基础上,文章提出了当代旅游发展理论的核心观点:构建以旅游法为核心的国家意志体系,以旅游经济监测与预警为中心的宏观调控体系,以游客满意为导向的微观监管体系。     

Tourism in China and professionalism: An insider's perspective

This paper starts with an overview of tourism development in China in the past two decades. While highlighting much of the government initiative which makes progress possible, it tries to pinpoint the primary cause of the existing problems China faces. It is the lack of professionalism, which can be found in government decision making, business management and operation, education and training. The solutions will come mainly from the inside, and one can see efforts being made by policy‐makers and the front‐line people, but it is believed that overseas professionals have a positive role to play, as they have done in China's hospitality industry in the past.     

Sustaining culture and seeking a Just Destination: governments,power and tension – a life-cycle approach to analysing tourism development in an ethnic-inhabited scenic area in Xinjiang,China

Set against the background of China's changing economy and its rapid rise as a major tourism provider, this paper examines the development of tourism, and tourism policies, in Kanas (Xinjiang), an ethnic inhabited scenic area in north-western China which has seen visitor numbers rise from c. 800 to c. 1 million annually from 1990 to 2013. It uses the first four stages of Butler's Tourism Area Life Cycle model (TALC) as a framework, analysing governments’ role in policy-making and implementation, and the tensions and conflicts at each TALC stage. It finds that the TALC is a useful analytical framework in China, despite its command economy, and governments’ multiple roles in tourism development. The position of cultural heritage and the characteristics of the Tuva and Kazakh ethnic minority peoples in tourism in Kanas are critically examined, as is China's concept of social harmony and progress. Social harmony is compared – and contrasted – with the emerging concept of the Just Destination in destination planning and management. The minorities are found to be weak in knowledge, capital and bargaining power, but the relationships involved are complex and still evolving. The paper is one of a JOST series on China's new tourism management policies.     

Sustainable tourism and its use as a development strategy in Cambodia: a systematic literature review

Governments in many developing countries endorse sustainable tourism, despite associated practical limitations and challenges as a development strategy. Using the case of Cambodia, this paper illustrates how sustainable tourism issues in a developing country may be better understood through a systematic review of scattered relevant peer-reviewed and grey literature. This can help in identifying emergent themes and challenges, gaps in knowledge, and opportunities for future research. Analysis of 77 documents on Cambodia's sustainable tourism revealed themes and challenges relating to: (1) an emphasis on nature-based tourism (ecotourism); (2) calls for greater community engagement for sustainable outcomes; (3) stakeholder perceptions and values as drivers of tourism success; (4) cultural heritage as a key tourism attraction; and (5) foreign investment shaping Cambodia's tourism future. Unequal emphasis is given to key government policies for tourism development and there is limited practical guidance on how to realise a vision of sustainable tourism. There is a lack of consideration of how the socio-economic and cultural context affects sustainable tourism. The evidence suggests that sustainable tourism in Cambodia is questionable until fundamental economic, social capacity and policy issues are addressed, along with greater emphasis given to the tourism system's demand side.     

Macau's Tourism Planning Approach and Its Shortcomings: A Case Study

This article examines the responsiveness of Macau's tourism planning approach in coping with the rapid urban changes and economic boom that have mainly resulted from the liberalization of the casino licensing system in 2002 and the implementation of the Individual Visitation Scheme in 2003. The results indicate that Macau's traditional top-down and progrowth driven tourism planning approach is not responsive enough to cope with these fast-changing circumstances. The shortcomings of this approach are identified, such as the lack of a clear vision of the city's position, the overconcentration of planning power in the hands of a few senior government officials, an absence of planning laws and detailed guidelines guiding developments, poor coordination among government departments, and a lack of planning expertise and knowledge. The article provides solutions for a more sustainable tourism planning approach, including diversifying Macau's economy away from its casino industry to avoid one particular economic sector holding too much bargaining power; formulating a comprehensive set of consistent and transparent planning missions, strategies, and detailed planning guidelines; creating a task force to foster coordination among government departments; and empower local citizens to participate in the tourism planning process.     

Examining the relationship between social capital and community residents' perceived resilience in tourism destinations

A thorough understanding of the influencing factors and mechanisms of community resilience in tourism destinations is vital not only for recovery after disasters but also for strengthening the adaptive capacity of community residents to manage sudden change. This study aims to investigate the roles of bonding, bridging, and linking social capital in enhancing community residents' perceived resilience in tourism destinations. Based on data derived from a survey of 691 residents of China's Dujiangyan scenic areas and Jiuzhai Valley National Park, this study used structural equation modeling to test the relationship between community residents' perceived social capital and resilience in tourism destinations. The findings suggest that the three types of social capital have significantly positive effects on community residents' perceived resilience in tourism destinations. In China's centralized political system, linking social capital is the most important type of social capital in community disaster recovery. An interaction effect between bonding, bridging, and linking social capital is found. This study's results help managers and community residents cultivate social capital, improve community resilience and maintain sustainable tourism development.     

Tracking the concept of sustainability in Australian tourism policy and planning documents

In the current climate of intense turbulence, tourism must transform to a more sustainable development platform. Yet it remains unclear how the concept of sustainability is embedded at different levels of government policy and planning, and how this has evolved over time. This paper identifies the concept of sustainability as it is articulated in 339 Australian tourism strategic planning and policy documents published between 2000 and 2011. The paper examines the extent to which the concept of sustainable tourism is evident in the discourse of Australian tourism strategic planning documents at the national, state, regional and local levels, as well as the balance of the discourse in relation to sustainability objectives. The results show that the frequency of occurrence of sustainability as a concept has slightly increased in strategies over the past decade. At the same time, there has been a shift in the conceptualisation of sustainability, with thinking evolving from nature-based, social and triple bottom line concepts toward a focus on climate change, responsibility, adaption and transformation.     

Evolution of tourism in a flagship protected area of China

Nature-based tourism in protected areas, which is growing worldwide, offers much potential to enhance biodiversity conservation, poverty alleviation, and ultimately sustainable development. Understanding the evolution of protected areas as tourism destinations and the causes and consequences of changing supply and demand elements is an essential step toward sustainably managing tourism in these critical ecosystems. This research applied the Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) model to illustrate and analyze the 30-year evolution of tourism in Wolong Nature Reserve. Being inscribed in UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage programmes, Wolong is a flagship protected area in China. We showed that the Reserve experienced exploration, involvement, and development stages of the TALC before tourism growth was completely halted by the Wenchuan Earthquake in 2008. We systematically investigated the changes related to the evolution of tourism and identified various internal and external driving forces. We examined the dynamics of politics, economy, and tourism growth that might propel the Reserve through the life cycle and identified significant tourism governance structural changes through the stages. The results have implications for sustainable tourism development in China's protected areas and also contribute to a broader and general understanding of the complex relationships between protected areas, sustainable tourism, and community development.     

Sustainable human resource management as a driver in tourism policy and planning: a serious sin of omission?

This paper focuses on the neglect of an employment or workforce focus in policy engagement and planning for sustainable tourism. Tourism is of interest here because there is an established role for government and the private sector in policy engagement and strategic planning with respect to product development, infrastructure, marketing and human resource capacity and the focus has increasingly emphasised sustainable goals within this process. The discussion addresses the central role of people and work within concepts of sustainability and sustainable communities and questions why this has been, substantially, ignored in tourism. The paper starts by recognising the interconnectedness of employment in tourism and its workforce concerns with a wide range of inter-linked policy and operational considerations. This, in turn, points to the utility of the sustainable HRM model as a means by which to frame tourism work. Thereafter, this paper introduces new approaches through the proposal of sustainability indicators that have both theoretical and practical policy formation value in relation to the workforce. These sustainable employment capacity, service delivery capacity and service quality capacity with which policy-makers can gauge their readiness for sustainable growth in tourism employment. The research and application implications for this approach are discussed.     

Why It's Good To Be Bad: The Role of Conflict in Contributing Towards Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas

This paper examines the historic and contemporary role of one Canadian environmental non-governmental organisation (ENGO) in the operationalisation of sustainable tourism. In particular, the extent to which the ENGO has contributed to coordinated, cooperative policy development and implementation within this policy domain is examined. While coordinated policy making is widely accepted as a basis for environmentally sustainable tourism development, organisations may contribute more towards this goal by choosing not to be included, or by being excluded from, this framework of coordination. This paper uses an interorganisational relations perspective to explore the position, influence and relationships of one ENGO active within Canada's national park tourism policy domain. Implications are drawn for the implementation of sustainable tourism within protected areas.     

Sustainable Tourism Using Regulations,Market Mechanisms and Green Certification: A Case Study of Barbados

Tourist destinations are under market pressure to offer a green product, including the Caribbean, one of the world’s most tourism-dependent regions. A decade after the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States convened in 1994, sustainable tourism remains a priority for Caribbean countries. This paper, using Barbados as a case study, attempts to establish if sustainable tourism policy existed, if so, how was it being implemented, and if not, what were the main areas of weakness. It found that although there was a vacuum in sustainable tourism plans and policies, the government was indirectly influencing sustainable tourism through regulatory mechanisms such as land use and infrastructure planning and market instruments. Additionally, industry was playing its part through voluntary compliance with green certification. There was a clear indication of government-industry cooperation. However, despite these measures and approaches, key infrastructure was inadequate, environmental impact assessments for potentially damaging tourism projects were not required by law and public participation was weak. The paper concludes that there are challenges for Barbados and other similar SIDS in attaining sustainable tourism in the long haul.     

Australian indigenous tourism policy: practical and sustainable policies?

This paper reviews the development of Australia's policies for indigenous tourism and analyses those policies for their sustainable tourism content. It notes that in Australia, tourism is increasingly seen as an instrument for sustaining indigenous communities, many of whom look to tourism for a better future. Growing intervention from Australian federal and, more recently, State/Territory governments has sought to create tourism policies to facilitate market growth and product development in the indigenous sector. Yet the effectiveness and appropriateness of these policies, particularly in terms of a sustainable approach to development, has been questioned. A qualitative study of Australian State/Territory governments' policy for indigenous tourism examines the extent to which sustainable development principles are addressed. The results revealed that 32 of the 35 analysed policies demonstrated “sustainability rhetoric” that lacked the rigour and depth to realise any legitimate moves towards achieving sustainable tourism development for indigenous peoples. Based on the study's findings, this paper recommends that there cannot be a “one size fits all” framework for indigenous tourism development to suit all circumstances. Policies need to draw upon indigenous diversity and, in a consistent, collaborative, coordinated and integrated manner, provide the mechanisms and capacity-building to facilitate long-term sustainable indigenous tourism.