Evaluation of ontological value of regional tourism resources:A case study of Hainan Island,China

Evaluation of tourism resources is necessary for tourism regionalization and planning and for the development of tourism destinations.Furthermore,the scientific evaluation of the status of existing tourism resources is important for optimally combining and rationally developing regional tourism resources.In this study,a conceptual model for estimating the ontological value of tourism resources was developed and an evaluation indicator system was designed for the ontological value.On the basis of the quantitative and spatial characteristics of regional tourism resources,six indicators were constructed:quantitative density,richness,dominance,combination,aggregation,and accessibility.Furthermore,spatial differentiation characteristics of the ontological value indicators of county-level tourism resources on Hainan Island were analyzed,and the ontological value of the tourism resources was comprehensively evaluated and ranked by using a fuzzy clustering evaluation method.Finally,the evaluation results were verified on the basis of the quantity,quality,and accessibility of regional tourism resources by using an expert scoring method.The results showed that the test results were consistent with the inferences drawn from the ontological value,indicating that the evaluation indicator system is scientific and reliable and that it is an effective alternative to existing evaluation indexes of regional tourism resources,which are inconsistent.The fuzzy clustering evaluation method overcomes the subjectivity in the evaluation process and is practical for the quantitative evaluation of regional tourism resources.The evaluation indicator system for regional tourism resources designed in this study can provide a reference for the evaluation of the tourism resource development value on a regional scale,and the evaluation results can facilitate informed policymaking for the rational development of regional tourism resources.