A GIS approach towards estimating tourist's off-road use in a mountainous protected area of Northwest Yunnan, China

To address the environmental impacts of tourism in protected areas, park managers need to understand the spatial distribution of tourist use. Standard monitoring measures (tourist surveys and counting and tracking techniques) are not sufficient to accomplish this task, in particular for off-road travel. This article predicts tourists' spatial use patterns through an alternative approach: park accessibility measurement. Naismith's rule and geographical information system's anisotropic cost analysis are integrated into the modeling process, which results in a more realistic measure of off-road accessibility than that provided by other measures. The method is applied to a mountainous United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site in northwest Yunnan Province, China, where there is increasing concern about potential impacts of unregulated tourist use. Based on the assumption that accessibility tends to attract more tourists, a spatial pattern of predicted off-road use by tourists is derived. This pattern provides information that can help park managers develop strategies that are effective for both tourism management and species conservation

Information Technology Applications in Hospitality and Tourism: A Review of Publications from 2005 to 2007

The tourism and hospitality industries have widely adopted information technology (IT) to reduce costs, enhance operational efficiency, and most importantly to improve service quality and customer experience. This article offers a comprehensive review of articles that were published in 57 tourism and hospitality research journals from 2005 to 2007. Grouping the findings into the categories of consumers, technologies, and suppliers, the article sheds light on the evolution of IT applications in the tourism and hospitality industries. The article demonstrates that IT is increasingly becoming critical for the competitive operations of the tourism and hospitality organizations as well as for managing the distribution and marketing of organizations on a global scale

An analysis of the travel motivation of tourists from the People’s Republic of China

Since the Chinese economic reforms, the government’s policy towards travelling and tourism activity has changed. The population of the People’s Republic of China gained significant rights and possibilities to travel in their own country and conquer the international tourism market by package tours. However, the literature so far neglected the motivation of Chinese travellers in choosing their holiday destination. We compiled a new database of the preferences of Chinese tourists in domestic tourism and foreign tourists in China. The identification of the specific preferences of Chinese travellers helps to assess in how far tourists’ preferences for attractions and regions are similar. Another aspect of investigation is about the impact of tourism promotion in China on destination choice. The results of an analysis of Chinese marketing strategies are translated into recommendations for foreign travel promotion that targets at Chinese tourists.Tourism, China, travel motivation, pull factor, tourism promotion

The application of GIS in railway heritage management: the case of Yunnan-Vietnam Railway

Abstract. Railways were a key mode of transporting goods and people for industrial and urban development in the late modern age. Their special part in economic growth comes with their role in the development of cultural heritage along their pathways. However, because of competing urban construction, many railway heritages are in danger, such as the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway (YVR) in China, an important international narrow-gauge railway built in 1901, acknowledged as a railway heritage in 2018. As a typical linear heritage, the railway integrates both the natural and cultural landscapes, related to the large spatial extent and complex composition of single heritage elements. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) offer a great support in the investigation, assessment, and management of railway heritage. In this research, the huge cultural heritage related to the YVR was studied using a combined geo-historical and GIS approach. This paper aims to 1) give a brief review of the current status of the application of GIS on linear railway heritages studies, including heritage resources surveys, spatial analysis, thematic mapping and public service, 2) introduce the case study of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, and 3) present a geodatabase design for the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway heritage management.</p

THE CHINESE ARE COMING – AN ANALYSIS OF THE PREFERENCES OF CHINESE HOLIDAY MAKERS AT HOME AND ABROAD

We analyse the destination choice of Chinese tourists in China and abroad. Abroad, Chinese tourists prefer to travel to large and rich countries, and are little deterred by distance. Climate, coast, culture and political stability are irrelevant. Chinese tourists travel disproportionally to “approved destinations”, but this is being eroded as more countries acquire this status. The model predicts that Southeast Asian countries are harmed most by the extension of the ADS system, while North America suffers most from being excluded. Domestically, Chinese tourists prefer rich and densely population areas, but dislike cities. They value easy access by road and rail, and are attracted by nature. Cultural attractions are less important, and may even reduce tourist numbers. Although potential tourist numbers are large, tourist operators should not assume that Chinese tourists behave like other tourists.International tourism, domestic tourism, China, destination choice

Potential impacts on important bird habitats in Eiderstedt (Schleswig-Holstein) caused by agricultural land use changes

Agricultural land on the Eiderstedt peninsula in Schleswig-Holstein (Germany) is traditionally dominated by extensively used grassland. These grassland areas are home to many (endangered) bird species, making Eiderstedt one of the prime bird habitats at the West coast of Schleswig-Holstein. Plans exist to convert large shares of grassland to arable farm land to grow crops needed in an intensified dairy production and for biofuels. In this study, three possible scenarios of agricultural land use change on Eiderstedt in the next couple of decades are developed. Using a GIS the possible impacts of such conversions on breeding bird populations of four key species are determined. The results indicate that an increase of arable farm land to approximately two thirds of the whole agricultural area drastically reduces suitable bird habitat, thus considerably diminishing the number of breeding pairs supported by the environment. The ornithological impact is greatest if conversion takes place throughout Eiderstedt extending from already existing areas of arable farm land. But even though the reduction in suitable breeding habitat is less pronounced in the other scenarios, every one of them induces a severe pressure on populations of meadowbirds that rely on habitat on Eiderstedt for successful reproduction.land use

Application of the LBS and GIS Integration in Scenic Area

Development of smart scenic spot has received great attention from individuals and enterprises. This paper focuses on the LBS application in resort management and wants to get an innovation technology applying example in China tourism industry. The LBS can embed in the original GIS platform in OCT east, and then it can provide the added-value service such as promptly catch the visitor location, navigate tour itinerary, schedule scenic transportation shuttle. The new findings in this program is a new system model that integrated GIS and LBS has been put to use, therefore, a LBS service network covering the whole OCT East area can be developed. Through the design, field experiment and simulation tests of this model, the program is proved viable for the promotion in the services of OCT East, and could increase the scenic quality of service, enhance visitor satisfaction Keywords: LBS, Scenic Areas, GIS, Mobile Communicatio

Evaluation of Urban Improvement on the Islands of the Venice Lagoon: A Spatially-Distributed Hedonic-Hierarchical Approach

This paper presents a model for the evaluation of environmental and urban improvements on the islands of the Venetian lagoon. The model simulates the changes in residential real estate values using a value function integrated in a geographical database which provides spatial distributions of values changes. The fairly weak market signals, fragmented demand and strong externalities, and the scarcity of market data available do not permit the use of econometric models for value appraisal. Appropriate hedonic-hierarchical value functions are calibrated on the basis of a set of indicators of the characteristics of the buildings and the location. Some applications of the model are illustrated simulating two scenarios of future interventions which are actually being discussed or realised and involving the island of Murano, Burano and S. Erasmo in the Venice Lagoon. The interventions considered are: subway beyond the lagoon connecting Murano with Venice and the mainland, and the solution of “high water” problems on Murano, Burano and S. Erasmo.Public work assessment, Property value, Hierarchical analysis