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Arid Land Geography ›› 2024, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (1): 127-136.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2023.133

• Regional Development • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Assessment and spatial pattern of inclusive tourism development in China: Based on panel data of 287 cities

WANG Rui1(),GUO Li1,DAI Juncheng2,CHENG Zhe1()   

  1. 1. School of Public Administration, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, Shaanxi, China
    2. Cultural Economics Research Institute, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing 102206, China
  • Received:2023-03-24 Revised:2023-06-04 Online:2024-01-25 Published:2024-01-26

Abstract:

The development of inclusive tourism plays a crucial role in promoting social justice, protecting the rights and interests of vulnerable groups, and ensuring equitable benefits from tourism, particularly in developing countries. However, existing studies lack quantitative assessments of inclusive tourism development at the country and regional levels. In this study, a comprehensive evaluation system of inclusive tourism development was constructed, consisting of nine indicators across three dimensions: tourism participants, economic inclusiveness, and resources and environment. Based on panel data from 2010 to 2019 and applying the entropy method, the inclusive tourism development level of 287 cities in China was assessed in this study. Spatial analysis methods were employed to reveal the spatial distribution characteristics and evolution trends of inclusive tourism. Furthermore, the gray correlation degree method was used to identify the factors influencing inclusive tourism development in China. The results are as follows: (1) Significant spatial differences exist in inclusive tourism development in China, transitioning from zonal to clustered distributions, and finally forming a point-like distribution. The disparity in inclusive tourism development has widened, spatial polarization has intensified, and unbalanced development has become prominent. (2) Inclusion tourism development in China can be divided into four types: underdeveloped, low-development, medium-development, and highly developed areas. The highly developed areas of inclusive tourism are mainly concentrated in the eastern region. (3) The level of inclusive tourism development in China shows a “W-shaped” trend of fluctuation and rise, with increasing spatial differences. It can be divided into two stages: slow growth from 2010 to 2014 and rapid growth from 2015 to 2019. (4) The urban registered unemployment rate, the number of star-rated hotels, and the per capita green park area are the major factors affecting the spatial pattern of inclusive tourism development in China, while air quality and the proportion of tertiary industry in the GDP are secondary factors. This study provides a scientific basis for optimizing the spatial distribution of inclusive tourism development in China. It contributes to enriching the global knowledge system of inclusive tourism development and aids scholars and practitioners in gaining a deeper understanding of inclusive tourism development in China.

Key words: inclusive tourism, spatial pattern, development trend, impact factor, development assessment