从全新视角看国外区域旅游合作研究

A New Way to Review the International Literature Concerning Regional Tourism Cooperation

文章从分析1978年至2010年间发表在国外英文类核心期刊上的区域旅游合作文章入手,以全新的视角,解释了国内学者参考国外区域旅游合作文献的必要性,分析了区域旅游合作的基本概念、合作的经济诱因、合作动机、合作范围和合作模式,并着重介绍了公共治理理论在区域旅游合作中的应用。文章目的在于向国内学者介绍该如何参考国外区域旅游合作文献,吸收国外研究的精髓,以指导自身的旅游研究和实践操作。

This paper explains the necessity for domestic researchers in China who are addressing the concept of regional tourism cooperation to study and use core international regional tourism cooperation literature. This paper uses global literature from 1978 to 2010 to examine the characteristics of regional tourism cooperation. It discusses the economic incentives, motives, domains and modalities of the cooperative arrangements listed in the international literature. Yet, most importantly, the international literature clearly presents how to effectively apply governance theory to the study of regional tourism cooperation. The discussions within this paper are based on two assumptions. The first assumption is that general urban and tourism concepts can be applied to regions with differing political and economic backgrounds. This includes regions in developing countries such as China. The second assumption presents the ＇city＇ as a basic operational unit that enables regional tourism cooperation. There is no universal definition of regional tourism cooperation, as we discuss in this paper. This ambiguity of geographical scale and the types of joint efforts used in tourism cooperation leads to, and creates, obstacles and confusion for cross-cultural and international comparative tourism studies. Therefore, in the future a specific definition of regional tourism cooperation is required. This definition should provide a basis for determining the factors influencing the effeetiveness of regional tourism cooperation. Our paper explores two economic incentives requiring the tourism sector to cooperate at a regional level. These components are the spatial-economic incentives of cities inside a region and the micro-economic incentives of tourist products in different cities. Furthermore, the paper eonsiders the point that tourism cooperation, and particularly regional tourism cooperation, is a popular ＇scientific＇ term in Chinese tourism literature. Comparatively, there are more academic regional tourism cooperation studies published in China than across the rest of the globe. However, the Chinese contributions are somewhat weaker than the international papers. This weakness is particularly evident in the development of theoretical concepts, the design of research frameworks and in the presentation of theoretical or empiricalrecommendations. Moreover, theories and theoretical frameworks, especially those in the field of tourism cooperation, are rooted in the societal and political contexts from which they originate. The international theories and frameworks are formulated and tested by Western case studies in the context of the West. Therefore, the influential factors found in these studies, which are bedded in the evolution of capitalist economies over many years, may not be suitable for the unique political economy of China, particularly during its current stage of rapid development. A scientifically proven model for the Chinese regional tourism context is needed. A review of governance theory and literature from the international tourism sector will assist the development of future regional Chinese tourism cooperation research. This will aid in the determination of influencing factors and help explain how regional Chinese tourism cooperation can reach its goals. Therefore, future research should extend the scope of existing Western theories and frameworks into the Chinese context. The factors identified by the international literature that are of particular importance for the effective cooperation of regional tourism will need to be adjusted, developed and aligned for the unique Chinese situation.