September, 2017 Journal of Resources and Ecology Vol. 8 No.5

Received: 2017-06-22 Accepted: 2017-08-25 Foundation: National Key R&D Program of China (2017YFC0506401), National Natural Science Foundation of China (41671527). *Corresponding author: ZHONG Linsheng, E-mail: zhongls@igsnrr.ac.cn

Citation: YU Hu, ZHONG Linsheng. 2017. Influence Factors and Development Model of Regional Ecotourism Cooperation in China. Journal of Re-sources and Ecology, 8(5): 478–484.

J. Resour. Ecol. 2017 8(5) 478-484 DOI: 10.5814/j.issn.1674-764x.2017.05.005 www.jorae.cn

Influence Factors and Development Model of Regional Ecotourism Cooperation in China

YU Hu1,2, ZHONG Linsheng1,2,*

1. Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; 2. Key Laboratory of Regional Sustainable Development Modeling, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China

Abstract: Regional ecotourism cooperation provides an institutional guarantee that brings together ecological re-sources development, protection of natural ecologies and regional economic growth, and also is one of the keys to improve the level of China’s ecotourism development. China’s administrative regions are divided by large areas of natural geography, such as vast tracts of land, mountainous areas and bodies of water. Given the structure of China’s administrative system, administrative areas make independent and uncoordinated decisions concerning the use of ecological resources, resulting in low-level ecotourism products and redundant construction projects undertaken by local governments, limiting the further improvement of China's ecotourism level. Therefore, it is necessary to construct a spatial system and a model of regional ecotourism cooperation in line with China's national conditions. This paper adopts an inductive deductive method analyze systematically the connotations and obsta-cles of China’s regional ecotourism cooperation, and proposes space development and cooperative model. Re-search shows that the inescapable choice is cross-regional ecotourism cooperation based on natural zonality, cul-tural similarity, coordinated regional economic development and policy integration. The key existing obstacles in-clude administrative barriers, lack of motivation to cooperate and loose cooperation patterns. Future regional eco-tourism cooperation should define the thematic function area, cooperation zones, scenic roads and ecotourist routes, to establish the cross-regional integration development system and realize systematic optimization. This study is of theoretical value for the development of regional ecotourism cooperation and the construction of spatial systems in China.

Key words: cross-regional ecotourism cooperation; influence factors; development model; China

1 Introduction

Cross-regional tourism cooperation is an important guaran-tee for maintaining ecological security and promoting the sustainable development of tourism (Stoffelen & Vanneste, 2017; Andergassen et al., 2017). Regional ecotourism co-operation means that, within a certain region, ecotourism stakeholders from different administrative regions break down administrative divisions to create unified configura-tions and promote development based on win-win principles, to achieve comprehensive benefit maximization (Xue, 2001; Liang et al., 2005). This can be achieved by constructing

ecotourism associations, promoting the development of di-verse ecotourist routes and tourism products, releasing po-tential space for tourism resources development and product construction, and speeding up the effective flow of regional resources elements (Yang, 2001; Zhang, et al., 2006).

Space development model is an effective optimization path to promote tourism destination management (Huang, 2005). Cross-regional ecotourism cooperation needs scien-tific space governance to effectively integrate ecotourism resources and maintain ecosystem integrity. This has be-come an important issue today in China’s ecotourism de-

YU Hu, et al.: Influence Factors and Development Model of Regional Ecotourism Cooperation in China 479

velopment (Zhong et al., 2016). Ecotourism is a sustainable way to use tourism land (Ralf Buckey,1994; Lu 1996; Guo 1997); it can maintain the value of natural resources and ecosystem functions, and realize ecological compensation (Lofo Resources Focus, 1999). China is a large country that has a diverse natural environment and cross-regional eco-logical function areas, including 676 National Key Ecologi-cal Function Areas (NKEFA), 53% of China’s total land area. These NKEFAs have entirely different characteristics, such as typical biodiversity, ecological fragility, communi-ties in poverty, complex environments and infrastructure, and are faced with the key task of maintaining land eco-logical security. Ecotourism has become an important part of nature based tourism in China; however, cross-regional distribution of natural ecological resources has raised ques-tions about collaborative development and space govern-ance. Development mode can be useful as the driving force for the implementation of tourism planning and the building of a sustainable network for ecotourism cooperation.

Research concerned with regional ecotourism collabora-tion has become a focus of much current tourism research. Various researchers have used theories related to network grouping to study the relationships between regional stake-holders with respect to policy coordination, product combi-nations, resources and information sharing, joint marketing, and community participation (Wu et al., 2005; Huang et al., 2013), and the formation of effective cooperation relation-ships (Liu et al., 2013), such as inter-organizational strategic alliances (Vítor Mendonca 2015) or tourism cooperation networks (Cátia Jesus & Mário Franco 2016). The natural endowment and the culture continuity of ecological tourism has the objective demands of regional collaboration and overall development. In recent years, industry-oriented, multi-sectoral ecotourism collaboration has become the key measure used by researchers in the field both in China and abroad (Liu et al., 2013). In this context, collaborative ecot-ourism optimization paths can be achieved with cross- regional transportation and service facilities, and unified destination images designed to build coordination of inter-ests, compatible incentives and secure operations (Song 2008; Dong et al., 2016). By coordinating spatial growth, and using the driving power of markets and government regulation, the governments try to build integrated vertical and horizontal cooperation networks and implement joint supervision (Tang et al., 2009; Duan 2012). Numerous stud-ies focus on several typical regions, including the Shaanxi Qinba mountain barrier-free tourism zone, Sichuan Shan-grila ecotourism area coordinated region and other hot spots for strategic collaboration system prototypes. Overall, these studies suggest diversified measures based on research in different regions, but these measures generally focus on the strategic system level. They lack consideration of issues concerning operational support at the national level, so it’s

hard to continually implement the policy plan and also stagnate the pace of regional ecotourism cooperation.

This paper analyzes the key problems and suggest space development as a mode for cooperative mechanisms to de-velop China’s ecotourism cooperation. It is hoped the paper will provide theoretical reference and practice guidance for related studies.

2 Methods

The research in this paper is based on the extensive investi-gations, in-depth analysis and full consultation; the detailed methodology and technical procedures are shown below.

2.1 Field investigation

This paper relies on the “China National Ecotourism Plan-ning (2016-2025)” project funded by the China National Development and Reform Commission (CNDRC) and the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) , carried on the field investigation and held the symposium of na-tional key provinces, supplemented by indoor literature analysis, on which the paper obtain the preliminary judg-ment.

2.2 Expert interviews

After the formation of the above preliminary viewpoints, the research group invited experts in the fields of ecology and tourism science and conducted interviews in three stages: prophase, metaphase and post-stage. These arguments have been modified to make a more consistent view of the overall framework design.

2.3 Inductive deductive Based on the results of the field investigation, expert inter-views and literature analysis, the paper carried out a theo-retical analysis of the development of cross-regional ecot-ourism cooperation in terms of space structure and the op-eration mechanism. The paper proposed solutions to prob-lems affecting cross-regional ecotourism destinations, and presented the space framework and the mechanism mode.

3 Analysis of Influence factors on regional ecotourism cooperation

Zones rich in ecological resources are special geographical areas that have important roles in maintaining the integrity and the stability of ecosystems. The segmentation of zones across different administrative regions often results in a lack of mechanisms to coordinate the use of cross-regional re-sources and environments, leading to problems caused by fragmented ecotourism development.

3.1 Administrative barriers

Geographic regions with mountains and rivers maintain the integrity of the natural ecosystem. The administrative divi-sions of such regions at all levels in China create artificial barriers to the integrity of the ecosystem. Such administra-

480 Journal of Resources and Ecology Vol. 8 No. 5, 2017

tive barriers result in problems with ecotourism resources sharing, and impose limits on the development of regional ecotourism cooperation. Administrative divisions cause the fragmented development of single ecological regions. The existence of the administrative barriers and local protection-ism lead to inefficient competition for resources, informa-tion and technology, as well as the separation of develop-ment trends and substantive cooperation.

3.2 Government dominance

“Government leading, enterprise participating” is the main mode of ecotourism development in China. This means that enterprises participate in resources development and market operations of ecotourism under the guidance of government policies. Governments focus on regional development plan-ning, project examination and approval, infrastructure con-struction and supporting policies, etc., and usually ignore regional ecotourism coordination. Thus, ecotourism stake-holders may take a passive stance, lacking initiative and creativity (Li 2015).

3.3 Loose cooperation

The cooperation of cross-regional governments is loose. The characteristics of this cooperation are “heavy form, heavy conception”, maintaining cooperative relations with regional meetings, cooperation agreements, memorandum, and mu-tual exchanges. However, this approach of cooperation cannot solve substantive problems, such as lack of infra-structure construction, inadequate resources integration, and little development of regional tourism products, all of which lead to a phenomenon called “form is greater than sub-stance”.

4 Construction of a model for regional ecotourism cooperation

Cross-regional ecological resources have similarity and complementarity, with a high regional identity. The basis for cooperation includes the natural zonality of ecological resources, ecological system integrity, social and cultural similarities and connections, collaborative regional tourism economic development, and integration policy. The sus-tainable development model builds an effective spatial or-ganization structure as the space frame and the premise to support the orderly development of ecotourism destinations. The model is composed of nodes, spatial axis and sectors, and is the combination of point-axis-face own agglomera-tions and diffusion functions (Lu 2002; Wang et al., 2005) used to build a spatial structure organization and supporting mechanism.

From the perspective of national ecological civilization construction and ecological security maintenance, China’s ecotourism should be the subject of overall planning and unified development across the boundaries of administrative regions. This paper constructs a spatial collaborative devel-opment model that can strengthen regional cooperation and

resource sharing, while effectively avoiding low-level con-struction and the disorderly competition of ecotourism products, in order to realize the integrated development of ecological tourism resources.

4.1 Principles

4.1.1 Breaking down administrative divisions that fragment ecotourism resources governance Administrative division is the main factor contributing to the fragmented development of ecological resources. There are major problems at all administrative levels, including provinces, municipalities, and counties. A top to bottom hierarchical governance system must be established within the Chinese political system. Structural relationships be-tween levels and regions must be rationalized in terms of regional policy, financial support, system construction and so on. Only in this way can the problems of resource frag-mentation be addressed. 4.1.2 Making ecological resources of large scale natural geographic entities the main component The geographical regionalization of tourism follows the law of regional differentiation. The distribution and characteris-tics of ecotourism resources are representative of similari-ties and differences of natural geographical environments and their components. Ecotourism regionalization should follow regional differentiation and ecosystem integrity. Large physical geographical entities such as mountains or big riv-ers are relatively complete regional ecosystems and usually serve as the basis for demarcating administrative boundaries. These entities have high levels of resources and are in ur-gent need for ecotourism development built on regional co-operation. 4.1.3 Selecting ecological areas with good conditions for tourism development The construction of ecotourism destination system needs a relatively complete set of tourism point-line-surface models. These issues should be considered with respect to tourism destinations: ecological region with advantageous develop-ment status, brands for ecotourism products and good traffic conditions; regions that meet the needs of the current na-tional regional development strategy, construction of ecot-ourism functional areas, centralized contiguous areas of poverty development, etc.; consideration of the spatial lay-out and functional optimization of national ecotourism; op-timization and promotion of the development level of the ecotourism industry cluster, with attention paid to organiz-ing spatial development structures.

4.2 Framework

Based on the laws of regional differentiation and the func-tions of ecosystems, the model can be divided into areas and nodes, such as ecotourism function areas, ecotourism coop-eration areas, and key ecotourism destinations. The spatial linkages between linear ecotourism scenic spots and ecot-

YU Hu, et al.: Influence Factors and Development Model of Regional Ecotourism Cooperation in China 481

ourism routes can form the basis for the combination of points, lines, and surfaces that make up ecotourism regional cooperation development patterns. This paper hopes to pre-sent a scheme to optimize the spatial layout and function structure for national ecotourism development to form a scientific and reasonable space management system (Fig.1). 4.2.1 Domain surface functional sub-system: Ecotourism area and ecotourism cooperation zone Based on the characteristics of natural geography, ecologi-cal environments, and regional comparative advantages of ecotourism resources, and with consideration given to the China Major Function-Oriented Zone Planning and China National Ecological Function Zoning, this paper delineated eight National Ecotourism Development Areas (Table 1, Figure 2). These areas are: the northeast plain ecotourism area (NPEA), the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River ecotourism area (MLRYREA), the northern desert and grassland ecotourism area (NDGEA), the Qinghai-Tibet plateau ecotourism area (QTPEA), the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze river ecotourism area (UMRYREA), the eastern plains and hills ecotourism area (EPHEA), the Pearl river ecotourism area (PREA) and the ocean and is-land ecotourism area (OIEA). The paper hopes to define development directions for different areas at the macro level, giving full play to the advantages of regional ecological resources, and gradually forming distinctive regional ecot-ourism development areas.

The paper takes the key ecological function areas as basic units, selects twenty cross-regional areas with rich resources, brand advantages and good infrastructure conditions to build Ecotourism Cooperation Zones (ECZ), form regional

ecotourism cooperation networks, achieve cross-regional linkage development and break down regional administra-tive divisions. 4.2.2 Linear connective sub-systems: National Ecological Scenic Road and National Ecotourist Route Starting with the overall layout of the national transportation grid, and taking into consideration the needs for beautiful landscapes, strong experience, moderate distances and high levels of stimulation, we connect the ecotourism destination nodes organically to the best advantage by combining linear ecological factors with the traffic trunk lines. Finally, 25 National Ecological Scenic Roads (NESR) are created (Fig.1), transforming these roads from single function transport lines to the comprehensive lines for ecological leisure, landscape ornamentation and ecological mainte-nance.

Fig.1 Idea for the construction of a development model for cross-regional ecotourism cooperation

Table 1 Territorial scope and product features of National Ecotourism Development Area

Name Provinces, Autonomous regions and Municipalities Product Features

NPEA Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia (including Hulunbel, Xingan, Tongliao and Chifeng cities)

Forest sightseeing, ice sports, border tourism, prai-rie recreation

MLRYREA Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, Henan, Shaanxi Ecological sightseeing, historic tourism, cultural experience, leisure vacation

NDGEA Inner Mongolia (besides Hulunbel, Xingan, Tongliao and Chifeng cities), Gansu (besides Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture), Ningxia, Xinjiang

Grasslands tourism, desert adventures, snow area recreation, silk road culture, ethnic cultural tour-ism, scientific investigation

QTPEA Tibet, Qinghai, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan province, the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autono-mous Prefecture in Sichuan province, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu province

Lake sightseeing, wetlands tourism, snow moun-tain adventures, religious and cultural experience, scientific investigation

UMRYREA Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Sichuan (besides the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefec-ture), Yunnan (besides the Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture)

Forest tourism, natural landscape sightseeing, rare animal and plant watching, mountain sport leisure, ethnic custom and cultural experience

EPHEA Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Zhejiang Famous mountain tour, river lake view, ecological sightseeing, cultural experience, leisure vacation, health tourism

PREA Guangdong, Guangxi Holiday therapy, biodiversity science, original ecological experience, science popularization and summer camp, local ethnic custom

OIEA China’s territorial waters, seas (including Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, East China Sea, South China Sea and so on) , islands (including Hainan island)

Ocean tour, cruise ships, sea sports, ocean explora-tion, marine science culture

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Fig.2 China’s ecotourism space development layout

With the linear ecological elements as the spindle, com-bined with the layout of traffic trunk lines, we strengthen the connections between ecotourism destinations by connecting tourism nodes and making the points into a line and the string into a gallery. Meanwhile, ecotourism public facilities are developed along the ecological tourist routes. Moreover, it is important to take advantage of ecotourism resources along the routes and construct ecological tourist routes across provinces or within provinces. Finally, a backbone framework supporting ecotourism areas and ecotourism cooperation zones is formed, and this enhances the ability to cooperate.

4.2.3 Dot support sub-system: support network evolution of domain surface functional system and linear connection system by ecotourism scenic spot

Taking into consideration the spatial distribution balance between the central and western regions, the paper selects 200 major ecotourism destinations (MED) with good natural environment, rich ecological resources, solid foundation conditions and high brand awareness nationally, and builds them into international level scenic spots to support col-laborative network development.

5 Mechanisms for regional ecotourism cooperation

The administrative management practices of governments at

tourism destinations are changing with respect to the im-plementation of space governance. Cooperative alliances among the public, the private sector and the volunteer or-ganizations have been used frequently to improve competi-tive ability. However, in practice, due to the administrative divisions of the system, the activities of local governments are fragmented, with each developing large-scale ecotour-ism resources independently, resulting in over-development and the irrational use of resources, low returns on construc-tion investments, inadequate policy enforcement of relevant environmental regulations and management measures, all of which have inhibited the development of ecotourism in China. To address such problems, we should adopt a multi- level governance model to form a space governance net-work among cooperators (Cooper and Hall, 2007). As part of the governance process, we should strengthen space de-velopment efficiency, keep spatial development balanced, improve land security (Liu, 2014), pay attention to top- down system construction and institutional design, and form collaborative linkages between different participants (Wang and Li, 2013).

5.1 Strengthen cooperation between governance bodies

We should set up regional communication channels and

YU Hu, et al.: Influence Factors and Development Model of Regional Ecotourism Cooperation in China 483

Table 2 Key tasks of China’s regional ecotourism development

Functions areas (nodes) Development Content Goals

National Ecotourism Development Area (NEDA)

Define the function location and development direction of different areas

Break down administrative barriers, establish cooperation frameworks and mecha-nisms

Formulate collaborative policies and development measures

Forms featuring distinctive themes of regional ecotourism development

Ecotourism Cooperation Zone (ECZ)

Break down administrative barriers, build coordination mechanism

Strengthen transportation links, achieve cross-regional development

Co-build regional ecotourism brands, enhance joint marketing

Strengthen ecological and environmental protection

Enhance regional cooperation, avoid redundant construction and product homogeneity, realize resource sharing,

diversity development and

coordinated development

National Ecological Scenic Byways (NESB)

Renovate ecological landscape along the corridor

Strengthen the construction of recreational services and supplementary camps

Implement the protection of landscape resources

Build a representative eco-landscape industry belt of counties or regions

National Ecological Tourist Routes

Connect key ecotourism scenic spots and unified public services

Implement unified marketing and publicity for ecotourism products

Promote cross-regional enterprises cooperation

Develop well-known ecotourism pro-ducts, create a number of high quality ecotourism routes

Ecotourism Destinations

Improve destination infrastructure and raise public service level

Increase policy support and propaganda promotion Make destinations with international well-known brands

platforms for cooperation, strengthen communication bet-ween different collaborative bodies, form vertical and horiz-ontal collaboration networks to establish and promote diver-sified ecological compensation mechanisms in ecotourism cooperation areas, and support the construction of ecotour-ism facilities in less developed regions.

5.2 Strengthen the construction of cross-regional transportation facilities

It is important to build traffic network systems that streng-then cross-regional transportation connection facilities, im-prove the coordination of transportation services, operation mechanisms, and traffic signs between ecotourism destina-tions. This development should allow for effective connec-tions between the infrastructure and service facilities in neighboring regions.

5.3 Enhancing the standardization of regional ecotourism development

It is necessary to establish standards for ecotourism public services, ecological facilities, tour guide systems, interpreta-tion, public information services, etc. Moreover, manage-ment services should be tightly linked with these standards, forming a standard-specified and function-perfect public services system to comprehensively promote cross-regional ecotourism public services.

5.4 Improving security services

It has been suggested that ecotourism destinations develop and implement a security strategy. To ensure ecological conservation and tourist safety, security laws and regula-tions, tourism insurance systems, ecotourism rescue proce-dures, etc., need to be improved by applying scientific and technological methods with reference to China’s social pu-bic security system. Security management and supervision

systems with multi-level networks need to be constructed.

6 Conclusions

Developing ecotourism is an important way to maintain the integrity of regional ecosystems. However, arbitrary gov-ernance often fragments ecosystems. Thus, it is crucial to create regional ecotourism collaboration systems built around natural zones, social and cultural similarities, re-gional economic synergy and policy integration.

To construct an effective governance pattern for ecotour-ism, we propose using classified and differentiated devel-opment measures, featuring coordination in space, policy, planning and gains, to solve essential problems like admin-istrative barriers, government-led models and loose coop-eration. Instead, a top-down pattern with active grass roots participation will be formed. It is worth noting that this pa-per presents a spatial development model of regional ecot-ourism collaboration proposed from the national level, which includes global guidance and can also play a role in the construction of cooperative models in some areas. However, due to China’s vast geographical area, specific problems vary from region to region, and more detailed in-stitutional mechanisms may be needed to support diversified development meeting the needs of specific localities.

The development of ecotourism in China should focus on tackling cross-government and regional-segmentation issues. A comprehensive, cross-regional space management system should be constructed, covering ecotourism functional areas, collaboration areas, scenic byways, lines and nodes. Devel-opment priorities should be defined for different levels and support should be provided for construction of cooperation models, coordination mechanisms, institutions, security, etc. In this way, a regional collaborative development system for ecotourism that is appropriate to China's specific environ-ment can be established.

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中国生态旅游区域协作影响因素及其模式研究

虞 虎 1,2，钟林生 1,2

1. 中国科学院地理科学与资源研究所，北京 100101；

2. 中国科学院区域可持续发展分析与模拟重点实验室，北京 100101

摘 要：生态旅游区域协作是联合生态资源开发、促进自然生态保护和实现区域发展的制度保障，也是解决中国生态旅游

发展掣肘的关键。中国地域广阔，山地、水域等大型自然地理实体常常是行政区的自然分界线，受到行政体制分割的影响，这些

地区的生态资源利用通常是独立分化式开发，造成地方政府之间生态旅游产品的低层次、重复建设，限制了我国生态旅游水平的

进一步提高。因此，需要针对以上问题，构建符合我国国情的区域生态旅游合作的空间体系和模式。本文系统梳理了生态旅游区

域协作发展的影响因素和发展障碍，提出了中国生态旅游区域协作的空间发展和协作模式。结果表明：（1）生态旅游区域协作是

建立在自然地带性、文化社会相似性、区域经济发展协同性和政策一体化基础上的必然选择；（2）生态旅游区域协作主要存在有

行政区划壁垒、合作动力不足、合作模式松散、区域划分不清等四个关键问题；（3）中国生态旅游协作发展应采用生态旅游功能

片区、协作区、风景道、线路、节点相结合立体化空间治理模式，从点、线、面三个层次构建一体化的协作体系。本研究对于未

来中国的区域生态旅游协作和空间体系构建具有理论指导意义。

关键词：生态旅游协作；影响因素；发展模式；中国