Jigang Bao

Developing a Scale to Measure Backpackers’ Personal Development

Backpacking travel has become a global trend among young people. Despite the importance of personal development among the youth, research has rarely probed the construct of backpackers’ personal development (BPD). The purpose of this study was to develop a scale to measure backpackers’ personal development. The study developed 30 measurement items to construct a survey instrument. The instrument was then administered to collect data from a sample of 397 Chinese backpackers. Following a rigorous process of scale development, a five-dimension (Capability, Emotion, Worldview, Skill, and Self-consciousness) personal development model was identified. A refined scale consisting of 16 measurement items was finally derived meeting both reliability and validity requirements.

Tourism gentrification in Shenzhen, China: causes and socio-spatial consequences

Tourism gentrification is a consequence of both ‘gentrification generalized’ and the rapid development of the global tourism industry. The geographical spread of tourism gentrification from Western countries to emerging countries like China inevitably challenges existing explanations. Using the case of the Shenzhen Overseas Chinese Town (OCT) community in China, this study examines the causes and socio-spatial consequences of tourism gentrification with the aim of widening the discussion on tourism gentrification. Historically, the Shenzhen OCT community was a traditional farm with single group of peasants. Over the past two decades, it has become a mixed gentrified community with upper-class and low-income residents. Theme parks and other tourist facilities now dominate much of the community. This empirical analysis of this community highlights some of the features of tourism gentrification in China. It can be a type of new-build gentrification evolving from a brownfield area. The emergence of a rent gap is the result of rapid urbanization in China but not of suburbanization. The government gives the primary land developers some community administration rights to promote tourism and community development. Tourism gentrification leads to a mixed community with a certain proportion of low-income residents, which generates a diversity of cultural preferences and consumption patterns in the OCT community. In the changing context of China and other emerging countries, tourism gentrification is one part of a broader transformation of social space from lower-class to upper-class spaces. In this case, tourism becomes the main driving force in economic, social, cultural, and lifestyle transformations.

Sustainability and nature-based mass tourism: lessons from China's approach to the Huangshan Scenic Park

With the rapid growth of tourism worldwide, the path towards sustainable mass tourism has become a critical issue for many destinations. Unlike most developed countries, China has its particular context and is testing a process of sustainable tourism development implemented through top-down institutional arrangements, using strict control systems to pursue both natural resource conservation and economic growth. Through a systematic analysis of the path towards sustainable development of a typical nature-based mass tourism destination, Huangshan Scenic Park, this research explores its successes and challenges. It finds that the Chinese government-dominated mass tourism nature-based development model has brought a dual structure with modern efficient management patterns at the core site and municipal scales, and a backward unsustainable situation at the community scale. It also reveals that this model risks running into a potential path-dependency trap, which creates barriers for an integrated resource- and community-based development. The study argues that while the government-dominated and learning-by-doing approaches toward sustainability are practical, the lack of integrated and systematic planning leading to transformation of the destination society as a whole may lead to a suboptimal situation, with problems exported out to surrounding inadequately managed villages and buffer zones. Parallels with other countries are discussed.

Patron-client ties in tourism: The case study of Xidi, China

Abstract Studies of rural tourism in China often refer to the concept of guanxi in discussing traditional cultural and special social phenomena. However, guanxi mainly refers to a unilateral, ‘request–offer’ relationship, while the reality in rural destinations of China is far more complicated and where social relations may involve bilateral, trilateral or even more intricate interactions. In this case study of Xidi, a World Cultural Heritage village in Anhui Province, China, the patron–client concept is introduced to better describe asymmetric exchange of resources and opportunities between unequal individuals or groups. The patrons in this case consist of experts, central government, local government, mass media and local officials, while the clients involve the village autonomous organization, the tourism company, the community leaders and the company managers. Patterns and impacts of the patron–client ties are analysed in detail and the model of a tourism-orientated path-dependence is discussed.

Path dependence in the evolution of resort governance models in China

Governance models have attracted growing academic interest in the recent literature on resort development. In transitional China, resort governance models have been evolving in step with the countrys marketization and modernization. This paper reports on a case study of the governance models relating to the Yalong Bay National Tourist Resort (YBNTR), one of Chinas most famous resort destinations. Two approaches to data collection were used in this study: secondary data from local governmental agencies and companies, and in-depth interviews with 18 key personnel involved with the resort. This study, by reviewing the evolution of YBNTR governance models, shows that a path-dependence context impacted on its evolution. By integrating the ‘road juncture’ approach to understanding path dependence with elements of Institutional Costs Theory, a proposition for the formative mechanism of path dependence in the evolution of the YBNTR governance model was formulated and tested. It is demonstrated that, at the key time junctures for decisions on YBNTR governance models, influential actors (e.g. local government, the developers, and nearby communities) were theoretically provided with multiple choices. However, the existence of institutional costs structured the potential options of the actors in two ways: on the one hand, the opportunity costs of giving up the previous governance model had to be calculated and taken into account; and on the other, the potential additional costs of adopting a new governance model also had to be calculated and considered. Additionally, institutional legacy and interest group (the main developer, nearby villagers) bargaining capacities also influenced institutional costs and returns in different directions and to varying extents. These also conditioned the future directions and trajectories in the evolution of appropriate governance models. This study expands previous theories of path dependence in institutional change, and thus contributes to the understanding of institutional changes in Hainan and transitional China.

Income Distribution, Tourist Commercialisation, and Hukou Status: A Socioeconomic Analysis of Tourism in Xidi, China

The prevalent tourism economic impact assessment methods such as input-output models and the tourism satellite accounts have difficulties when applied to a small geographic scale, such as a rural community. Alternative methods are necessary to examine the micro-interaction mechanism of tourism development and social change in such small villages. An alternative socioeconomic analysis useful for rural communities is introduced in this paper, and is applied in a case study of Xidi, a traditional village in China. The case analysis shows that Chinese social status, hukou, plays an important role as a catalyst in the simultaneous processes of income distribution and tourist commercialisation. The paper suggests that while traditional impact studies of the economy, socio-culture, and environment on larger scales are necessary, integrated socioeconomic analysis is helpful on smaller scales.

The multiple logics of tourism development in China

ABSTRACT 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 Chinas 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 Chinas tourism development. This paper contributes to a better understanding of the dynamics of tourism development in China.

China Tourism Research: A Review of Publications from Four Top International Journals

ABSTRACT Two-hundred and fifty-seven research articles on China tourism published between 1979 and 2015 in four leading international tourism journals (i.e. Annals of Tourism Research, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Journal of Travel Research and Tourism Management) were reviewed to delineate the status of China tourism research and indicate areas for future academic inquiry. The most common research themes within the body of literature reviewed were identified as tourist behavior, tourism governance and policy issues as well as tourism economics. Methodologically, a balanced distribution of research methods was identified. This review examines the relationship between authorship and fieldwork, and its impact on research interpretations. This review paper calls for more rigorous fieldwork reflecting genuine observations of tourism development and the relevant sociocultural and political developments in transitional China.

Profiling the elite middle-age Chinese outbound travellers: a 3rd wave?

ABSTRACT With inductive analysis of relevant statistics and literature, this paper reveals an elite middle-age Chinese cohort of significant size, with ample buying power and considerable discretionary time to support the outbound travel of themselves and their children. This middle age group has experienced a time of dramatic change in recent years causing a transformation of traditional livelihood activities and lifestyles. Associated changes in wealth and values contribute to overseas travel proclivities that could entail both positive and negative impacts for both host and guest. The depiction of the current status and potential development in Chinese outbound travel suggests that this group could possibly form a ‘3rd wave’ of Chinese outbound tourists. The segmentation based on generation cohort and social status is particularly suitable in helping the tourism industry service providers in identifying market characteristics for marketing, product development and comprehensive destination development.

Evolution of Tourism Research in China after the Millennium: Changes in Research Themes, Methods, and Researchers

ABSTRACT This study aims to examine the evolution of tourism research in China after the millennium in terms of research themes, methods/methodologies, and researcher profiles. Reviewing 2,078 research articles published in the leading Chinese tourism journal Tourism Tribune, the study identified a transition of focus from industry supply issues to market demand/consumer behavior issues in research themes; quantitative studies adopting positivism/post-positivism were increasing. Within a relatively young research community in age, female researchers seem to claim the majority in the next generation. Multiple-author collaborations and publishing also appear to be the norm of tourism research practices in China.