Progress and Prospects in Tourism Research on Agricultural Heritage Sites

Agricultural heritage is an important type of world heritage. The special features of this kind of heritage are that they are “living” or “real life” systems, in both the ecosystem and in the cultural sense. So, agricultural heritage needs to be conserved in a special way. In a well-reasoned approach to dynamic conservation of agricultural heritage, careful development of heritage sites can realize greater sustainability of the traditional agriculture by considering both conservation and development though tourism. This paper examines the Global Important Agricultural Heritage Systems （GIAHS） as designated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations （FAO） and listed by United Nations Educational, Scientiifc and Cultural Organization （UNESCO） as agricultural heritages sites. Currently, the research in China focuses on tourism resources evaluation and development, production design and marketing, tourism perception and the impacts of tourism development and so forth. There is less emphasis on research about benefit sharing of heritage tourism evolution mechanisms, environmental impacts of agricultural heritage tourism and study methods which should be analyzed in-depth, so as to iluminate the theories and practices of development in a living landscape.

Review of Research on Characteristic Tourism Resources Exploitation in Sichuan Province

With the rapid development of tourism in China＇s Sichuan Province,research on the development of tourism resources in Sichuan has drawn increasing attention from the academic community. This article briefly reviews three aspects of the literature on the development of tourism resources in Sichuan： a survey and evaluation of Sichuan tourism resources,the development of tourism resources that are characteristic of Sichuan,and the development of tourism resources in Sichuan. The current situation of the development of Sichuan＇s tourism resources was considered and seven factors were evaluated： tourism in ancient towns,tourism in ethnic areas,folk tourism,eco-tourism,rural tourism,red tourism and earthquake tourism. The article also addresses the development of tourism resources in Sichuan. Most existing studies of the development of tourism resources in Sichuan are based on applied research; they are deficient in both scope and depth,and cannot serve as a basis for the development of theory. Few studies have focused on market demand for tourism,the establishment of management mechanisms or the development of regional cooperation. In the future,tourism theories like space theory for space competition,RMP analysis theory,cultural ecology theory,and other tourism theories should be closely integrated with the development of tourism resources in Sichuan. Whether the subject matter is sustainable development,market demand,management mechanism construction,regional collaborative development or other concerns,this will allow more systematic,in-depth studies that produce improved results that are both pertinent and realistic.