Search Results (195)

The value realization of ecological products is an important part of rural and agricultural development. As a significant force for protecting traditional agricultural systems and promoting rural revitalization, agricultural heritage systems (AHSs) have formed diverse value realization paths of ecological products in the process of dynamic protection and adaptive management. Through theoretical research, this article analyzed the characteristics of ecological products in AHS sites (EPAHSSs) and summarized the framework of value realization paths of EPAHSSs. Then, the Wannian Rice Culture System in China was selected as a case for conducting empirical research. The results showed that EPAHSSs exhibit obvious uniqueness in terms of climate environment, germplasm resources, farming and breeding models, and cultural heritage. The value realization paths of EPAHSSs mainly include industrial development support, such as the extension of agricultural industrial chains and the development of tourism, as well as fiscal transfer payments. The case analysis results indicated that Wannian County contains a rich variety of ecological products and developed a value realization pathway mainly based on the integration of industries and supplemented by fiscal transfer payments during the process of protection and development. However, further optimization is needed to promote the development of tourism and other paths. This study not only contributes to the sustainable development of the Wannian Rice Culture System, but the proposed framework is also applicable to other heritage systems and similar regions. Full article

As the global urbanization process accelerates, rural settlements in China are facing the challenges of rural hollowing and widening urban–rural disparities. The establishment of the national scenic area system has made scenic settlements a primary direction for tourism development. However, industrial transformation has led to significant restructuring of the human–land relationship and the spatial functions of these settlements, resulting in issues such as over-tourism, ecological degradation, and cultural loss. This paper focuses on the Mosuo settlements around Lugu Lake, selecting nine villages, including Gesha Village, Wuzhiluo Village, and Daluoshui Village, to explore the formation and expression of Mosuo spatial concepts. Through spatial measurement, area statistics, and the analysis of development paths, the core of the research is to propose that “there is consistency between conceptual order and spatial form,” revealing the multi-dimensional evolutionary mechanism of Mosuo settlement spatial morphology under the intertwining of traditional concepts, market logic, and institutional policies, providing a replicable Chinese reference for global cultural heritage rural areas. Full article

The timeshare is gradually becoming an essential global tourism operation model, especially in rural areas of China, where the leisure industry is developing rapidly. Meanwhile, the environmental issues of the rapidly growing timeshare-related building production have received widespread attention. The existing research on zero-carbon buildings considers carbon emissions as a constant value and cannot adapt to the impact of user changes during the operation phase. Constructing a low-carbon design applicable to timeshare is significant for controlling carbon emissions in the construction industry and responding to the environmental crisis. The practical carbon emissions of touristic apartments depend on the requirement changes in different customer clusters. The timeshare theory reflects the requirement change in different customer clusters based on the timeshare property ownership change. This paper focuses on a dynamic design strategy for zero-carbon building openings to reduce practical carbon emissions. Firstly, this research clarifies the primary customer clusters and conducts a touristic apartment unit model by timeshare property ownership. Then, this research clarifies the changes in customer requirements to analyze the spatial function changes in the operating phase. Finally, the study identifies six dynamic carbon emission indicators, such as the window-to-wall ratio, ventilation rate, and effective daylight area, and through passive design methods, provides 13 variable devices applied in the operating phase to control dynamic carbon emission indicators by customers. This paper also offers a flexible method to effectively decrease and accurately control carbon emissions by reducing the possible device utility. Full article

The creative city concept has gained global recognition, notably through the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN). In Japan, facing declining birth rates and economic stagnation, this framework was seen as a revitalization tool to increase the urban quality. Yet, while the creative city concept clearly appears on the theoretical level, its operationalization usually remains unclear. Additionally, previous research considers sustainability questions through economic, social, and cultural lenses but more rarely through environmental aspects. Thus, this paper aims to explore the implementation of the creative city in Japan, unveil the specific elements composing the policies of UNESCO Creative Cities, and question how environmental sustainability is addressed in these policies. The research method includes a qualitative analysis of the membership monitoring reports (MMRs) submitted by cities to UNESCO. Conducting a field survey in a creative facility and a hearing survey with the city government, the research also focuses on Kanazawa as a case study to explore in greater depth the interaction between creative city strategies and environmental sustainability. Among the research findings, economic perspectives—through support for creative industries and the promotion of tourism—and systematic actions targeting children dominate the MMRs, while socio-environmental aspects receive less attention. Most ambitious initiatives toward environmental sustainability were implemented in rural cities. In Kanazawa, it appears the creative city policy is independent of the local environmental policies, although some opportunities exist to connect them. The field survey indeed reveals that some spontaneous initiatives toward environmental sustainability might emanate from a creative facility. Therefore, the paper provides significance in unveiling the specific content of creative city policies in Japan and in re-examining the notion of creativity to integrate environmental sustainability into the creative city agenda. Full article

The imbalance between urban and rural development has become a global structural problem that needs to be solved urgently. In this context, the tourism industry, with its strong correlation and cross-regional integration characteristics, provides a key practical entry point and mechanism for systematically promoting integrated development by stimulating factor flow, reconstructing the value chain, and reshaping local identity. Based on the synergetic theory, this paper constructs the theoretical framework of the synergetic evolution of the tourism industry and urban–rural integration, and analyzes the synergetic effect of the tourism industry and urban–rural integration in 58 prefecture-level cities in the Yellow River Basin from 2007 to 2021 and the dynamic characteristics of its spatio-temporal evolution by using the entropy TOPSIS, Haken model, and spatial Markov chain methods. The results show the following: ① As the order parameter of synergistic evolution, the tourism industry dominates the evolution direction of the whole system, mainly showing positive feedback effect, showing a significant stage characteristic in general, and gradually reducing the difference from the initial regional differentiation to the middle stage, finally reaching a higher level of unity. ② The synergic evolution of the tourism industry and urban–rural integration in the Yellow River Basin presents significant temporal and spatial differences in the upstream, midstream, and downstream, with the overall characteristics of “collaborative improvement in the upstream, significant agglomeration in the midstream, and reverse decoupling in the downstream”. ③ The dynamic evolution of the synergistic development of the tourism industry and urban–rural integration in the Yellow River Basin has significant characteristics of spatial interaction and dynamic transfer. Its level has the effect of “path dependence”, showing a good trend of upward transfer, and the spatial neighborhood has a significant impact on the synergetic level transfer. The development trend of each region shows that “the upstream region is upward and stable, the midstream region has significant agglomeration and diffusion effects, and the downstream region is driven by polar nuclei and spatial differentiation”. Full article

Rural tourism plays a crucial role in promoting industrial revitalization in mountainous regions. Drawing inspiration from the site selection mechanisms of nature reserves, this study constructs a gap analysis framework tailored to rural tourism destinations, aiming to provide technical support for their spatial layout and systematic planning. By integrating a potential evaluation system based on tourism resources, market demand, and synergistic factors, the study identifies rural tourism priority zones and proposes a development typology and spatial optimization strategy across five provinces in Southwest China. The findings reveal: (1) First- and second-priority zones are primarily located in the core and periphery of provincial capitals and prefecture-level cities, while third-priority zones are concentrated in resource-rich areas of Yunnan and Guizhou and market-oriented areas of Sichuan, Chongqing, and Guangxi. (2) The Chengdu Plain emerges as the core region for rural tourism development, with hotspots clustered around Chengdu, northern and western Guizhou, central Chongqing, eastern Guangxi, and northwestern Yunnan, whereas cold spots are mainly situated in the western Sichuan Plateau and the Leshan–Liangshan–Zhaotong–Panzhihua–Chuxiong–Pu’er belt. (3) The alignment between tourism resources and rural tourism destinations is highest in Yunnan and Guizhou, while Chongqing exhibits the strongest match between destinations and tourism market potential and synergistic development conditions. Overall, 79.35% of rural tourism destinations in the region are situated within identified priority zones, with Chongqing, Guizhou, and Sichuan exhibiting the highest proportions. Based on the spatial mismatch between potential and existing destinations, the study delineates four development types—maintenance and enhancement, supplementation and upgrading, expansion, and reserve development—and offers regionally tailored planning recommendations. The proposed framework provides a replicable approach for spatial planning of rural tourism destinations in complex mountainous settings. Full article

The examination of government intervention in rural tourism within developing countries remains a critical area of academic inquiry. This study investigates the relationship between government intervention in rural tourism and the income growth of rural residents by utilizing a Difference-in-Differences method based on county-level data from the China County-Level Statistical Yearbooks from 2006 to 2022. The findings indicate that government-supported rural tourism development significantly promotes income growth among rural populations. This effect can be attributed to three key mechanisms: stimulation of entrepreneurial activity, promotion of related industrial development, and optimization of resource allocation. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the income-enhancing effect is more pronounced in counties with stronger economic foundations, more developed agricultural sectors, and favorable geographic conditions. However, the intervention has not significantly reduced the urban–rural income gap or reversed the declining trend in the labor income share, suggesting that more targeted and inclusive strategies are needed. These findings offer important policy implications for developing countries aiming to foster rural revitalization through industrial policy instruments. Full article

The rural landscape serves as a window to showcase regional culture and can drive the development of the rural cultural tourism industry. However, driven by the rural revitalization strategy, the construction of rural landscapes in the Yangtze River Delta region faces the challenges of homogeneity and lack of authenticity. A regional evaluation of the rural landscape and strategic suggestions are key to solving this problem. Therefore, this study selected three representative villages in the Yangtze River Delta region and established a regional evaluation model of the rural landscape in the Yangtze River Delta from the perspective of the ecological–production–living concept, utilizing the analytic hierarchy process, a tourist questionnaire survey, IPA, and Munsell color analysis. The results show that (1) the core indicator of the rural landscape regionality is the life landscape, followed by the production landscape, and finally, the ecological landscape; (2) the overall satisfaction of the rural landscape is high, and the satisfaction of the water network landscape is significantly higher than other indicators; (3) the results of IPA show that what needs to be maintained are traditional dwellings and historical relics, and what needs to be improved are sign design and rural public art design; (4) Munsell color analysis shows that the characteristics the of rural landscape in the Yangtze River Delta region are diverse and inclusive. This study is of great significance for maintaining the characteristics of the rural landscape in the Yangtze River Delta region and promoting the protection of rural landscape style under different regional conditions. Full article

It is crucial to clarify the relationship between ecological industry development and ecological civilization construction, as well as their driving forces, to promote high-quality local development. The ecological environment of the karst region is fragile, and it faces a contradiction between ecological preservation and economic advancement. Coordinating the relationship between economic development and ecological protection is crucial for achieving sustainable development in rural karst regions. This study identified karst characteristics in Guizhou province, China, by constructing an index system for ecological industry development and civilization construction. It employed the entropy weight method to calculate a comprehensive score and utilized a coupling coordination model to analyze interactions and symbiotic coordination. Finally, a linear regression analysis model was employed to analyze the impact of ecological industrial development on the construction of ecological civilization. The results indicate the following: (1) The ecological industry and ecological civilization construction levels exhibited a relatively stable growth trajectory across three research areas from 2011 to 2021, with the ecological civilization construction index outperforming the ecological industry development index. (2) The correlation analysis indicated a relationship between the two indices in the research areas, and the divergence trend among the three research areas rose in a uniform direction, indicating a strong positive correlation between the two indices. From the perspective of the coupling degree (C), the degree of coupling between ecological industry and ecological civilization construction in the three research areas exceeded 0.9, indicating a high level of coordination. This suggests that ecological civilization construction and ecological industry in these research areas are effectively coordinated and exist in a state of harmonious co-promotion. There were differences from the coupling coordination degree (D) perspective, but they increased in the three research areas. (3) The regression analysis results indicate that the per capita agricultural output value, per capita forestry output value, per capita forage industry output value, industrial solid waste utilization rate, energy consumption per unit of GDP, tourism income, rocky desertification level, and proportion of the labor force population with a high school education or higher significantly contribute to the development of ecological civilization. The per capita forestry output value greatly advances ecological civilization, significantly enhancing ecological culture and security. The coefficients are 0.0354 and 0.0393, respectively, indicating that a 1% rise in the per capita forestry output value results in increases of 0.0354% and 0.0393% in the ecological culture and security indices. Full article

The agro-tourism integration model combines agricultural production, rural life, and tourism experiences, bringing new opportunities for the sustainable development of counties. The objective of this study is to explore the impact of the agro-tourism integration on the sustainable development of counties, reveal the underlying mechanisms and regional heterogeneity effects, and provide a scientific basis for the formulation of rural revitalization policies. Based on panel data from 1749 counties in China from 2008 to 2021, an empirical test using a propensity score matching-difference-in-differences (PSM-DID) model found that the National Policy on Leisure Agriculture and Rural Tourism Demonstration Counties significantly enhances the level of sustainable development in counties through three mechanisms: stimulating consumer demand, attracting capital inflows, and optimizing industrial structure. Moreover, the effect is more pronounced in the western regions of China. In terms of theory, this study shifts the focus to the county level, constructing a comprehensive measurement index system for county-level sustainable development. It analyzes the mechanisms through which the integration of agriculture and tourism operates and verifies the policy effects. In terms of practice, policy implementations are proposed to adopt a multi-pronged approach to increase agricultural-tourism consumption; to promote government-enterprise cooperation and introduce long-term funding; and to develop the service industry in a location-specific manner to continuously optimize the industrial structure. This study indicates that agro-tourism integration is an effective path for the sustainable development of counties. The policy design needs to take into account the differences in regional resource endowments. This has important implications for promoting county-level development in a location-specific manner under the rural revitalization strategy. Full article

Amid global rural tourism growth and rural revitalization policies, traditional villages’ resource protection and tourism development have drawn international academic attention. To guide villages’ resource planning and management, this study constructed an evaluation index system of cultural, ecological, industrial, talent, and organizational amenities in traditional villages from the perspective of tourists’ perceptions using grounded theory and measured the spatial agglomeration differences, synergistic effects and their influencing factors of traditional village amenities by using location entropy, spatial autocorrelation, and gray correlation degree analysis. The results show that (1) the spatial distributions of cultural, ecological, industrial, and organizational amenities are more balanced, while talent amenities exhibit a more concentrated distribution. (2) The spatial concentration of amenities in traditional villages has a strong positive spatial correlation, the agglomeration level of the high-high type of concentration is distributed in clusters, the low–low type tends to be contiguous, and the low–high type is distributed sporadically around the high–high type; significant synergy between ecological and industrial amenities, and organizations play a supportive role in the spatial agglomeration of cultural, ecological, ecological and talent amenities. (3) Gross regional product, slope, and distance to 3A and above scenic spots significantly influence the spatial agglomeration of amenities. This study provides reference for the sustainable development of traditional villages from the perspectives of exerting agglomeration and radiation effects, synergistically promoting villages’ development, constructing the memory symbol system, and integrating the resource structural system based on the spatial agglomeration difference characteristics of traditional village amenities. Full article

A series of policy measures have been implemented to support the integration of agriculture and cultural tourism (ACT), positioning it as a pivotal component of the modern rural industrial system. Additionally, the rapid growth of e-commerce live streaming has surpassed the limitations of traditional promotional methods in terms of geographic and media reach. The enterprise can attract more consumer groups through live streaming. This article analyzes the signal game between the ACT enterprise and consumers and discusses how consumer types affect enterprise decision-making in both static and dynamic contexts. We have come to the following conclusion: (1) The severity of punishment for companies that transmit incorrect signals is the main influencing factor for the balance to be established. (2) The more types of consumers an enterprise attracts, the lower its price. (3) The comparison of profits in static and dynamic contexts depends on changes in consumer types and the impact of the first-stage strategy on the second stage. Full article

Rural tourism has become a key driver of rural revitalization in China, contributing to poverty alleviation while also irreversibly altering the spatial evolution of rural settlements. In the ecologically fragile regions of northwest China, the rapid expansion of rural tourism destinations has raised ecological concerns, particularly regarding land resource utilization. Therefore, it is crucial to examine the phenomenon of industrial agglomeration in the evolution of rural tourism within the context of tourism-driven poverty alleviation. This study uses Lanzhou City as a case study and employs nearest neighbor analysis and kernel density estimation to analyze the spatial agglomeration patterns of rural tourism destinations, focusing on agglomeration forms, scales, and patterns. Additionally, it explores the spatial coupling distribution between agglomeration levels and influencing factors. The results show that from 1987 to 2022, the development of rural tourism destinations in Lanzhou City has progressed through several stages, from initial emergence to rapid growth. The form of industrial agglomeration has shifted from a dispersed to a clustered distribution, gradually expanding from urban centers to peripheral areas. The spatial agglomeration follows a multi-core hierarchical point-axial diffusion model, forming multiple core and sub-core agglomeration zones of varying scales. This transformation is primarily driven by geographical factors, transportation accessibility, and the presence of high-quality tourist attractions. However, a comparison of land use changes and ecological vulnerability indices over multiple periods indicates that the industrial agglomeration of rural tourism has led to irregular land use patterns and ecosystem instability. Finally, based on the complex relationship between rural tourism development, industrial agglomeration, and ecological sustainability, this study proposes strategies for the development of rural tourism in Lanzhou City, with the aim of providing valuable insights for the development of rural tourism in ecologically fragile regions of China. Full article

Against the background of global climate change, agricultural ecosystems face extreme weather, resource shortages, and carbon emission pressures, necessitating green transitions. Rural tourism, a key driver of rural revitalization, injects momentum into green agriculture through ecological resource monetization, low-carbon technology adoption, and industrial restructuring. This study evaluates rural tourism and agricultural green development levels in Jiangxi Province (2008–2022) using the entropy weight method and explores their spatiotemporal coordination via a coupling coordination degree model and spatial autocorrelation analysis. The study reveals the following: (1) Rural tourism and agricultural green development in Jiangxi Province demonstrate an upward trend overall, though with significant regional disparities. Regions such as Nanchang and Jiujiang exhibit higher coordination levels, while areas like Pingxiang and Xinyu persistently cluster in low-value agglomerations. (2) The coupling coordination degree transitions from “marginal imbalance” to “intermediate coordination”, with Nanchang City achieving “good coordination” status in 2022, forming a high-value radiation zone encompassing Nanchang, Jiujiang, and Yichun. Low-value regions remain constrained by inadequate resource exploitation and technological lag. (3) Global spatial autocorrelation analysis reveals significant positive agglomeration effects (Moran’s I values range from 0.148 to 0.312). Local spatial associations show coexisting patterns of ‘high-high’ synergy and ‘low-low’ lock-in”. The study proposes targeted policy interventions, industrial convergence enhancement, and regional coordination mechanism optimization to mitigate spatial disparities and foster high-quality synergetic development. This study establishes theoretical foundations for agricultural green transition integrated with rural tourism development while offering referential pathways for analogous regions confronting climate change challenges. Full article

Traditional villages, as repositories of cultural heritage and natural landscapes, have gained increasing prominence in the tourism industry. However, balancing authenticity preservation with visitor satisfaction remains a critical challenge. This study employs a combined Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)–Scenic Beauty Estimation (SBE) approach under the theoretical framework of 4E theory (Entertainment, Education, Aesthetics, and Escapism) to comprehensively evaluate visitor satisfaction in traditional village tourism landscapes. Eight nationally designated tourism-oriented traditional villages in Anhua County, China were selected as case studies. Findings from the AHP analysis reveal that aesthetic and escapism experiences are the most influential dimensions in shaping visitor satisfaction, while entertainment and educational experiences, though secondary, remain integral to a well-rounded tourism framework. The SBE evaluation corroborates these results, highlighting that seasonal characteristics, stress relief, and cultural landscape diversity significantly enhance visitor experiences. Conversely, deficiencies were observed in social interactivity, satisfaction with educational experiences, and fulfillment of aesthetic needs, indicating areas for improvement. A strong positive correlation between AHP and SBE scores (Pearson correlation coefficient = 0.867, p < 0.01) underscores the alignment between expert-driven evaluations and visitor perceptions. These insights suggest that integrating expert-based hierarchical analysis with empirical visitor assessments provides a more robust and multidimensional framework for sustainable tourism management. Recommendations include enhancing social interactivity, optimizing educational components, enriching aesthetic experiences, and ensuring the preservation of vernacular landscapes to foster sustainable, experience-driven rural tourism development. Full article