Changes in Ecotourism Flow in Hunan Province of China in the Context of COVID-19

doi:10.5814/j.issn.1674-764x.2023.02.006

Abstract

Abstract:

This study analyzed the changes in ecotourism flow in Hunan Province before and after the COVID-19 epidemic by obtaining the ecotourism route data for 2019 and 2020 from online tourism platforms such as wasp nest, poor travel, Ctrip, tuniu and qunar, and determining geographical distribution characteristics, node characteristics and network characteristics with the help of software such as UCINET, Netdraw and ArcGIS. The results revealed major changes in spatial distribution, the roles of nodes, and the structure and composition of the flow network. (1) COVID-19 has changed the spatial distribution pattern of ecotourism flows in Hunan Province. Under the influence of the epidemic, the spatial geographical concentration trend in Hunan Province decreased from 30.42 in 2019 to 28.94 in 2020, the flow in the North weakened, and the hot spots shifted to the south. In order to promote the development of global tourism in Hunan Province, we should focus on how to correctly handle the differences in tourism resources and the imbalance in tourism development between the Xiangxi region and other tourism regions. (2) The COVID-19 epidemic triggered changes of the roles of some nodes in the ecotourism flow network in Hunan Province. The comprehensive efficiency value of the node decreased from 266 to 222, indicating that crisis events such as the epidemic have caused damage to the ecotourism flow in Hunan Province, and the surrounding low-density ecotourism sites with good natural scenery have become more favored by tourists after the COVID-19 epidemic. (3) The COVID-19 situation has affected the structure and composition of the ecotourism flow network in Hunan Province. The overall network density of ecotourism flow in Hunan Province increased from 0.18 to 0.14, the degree of separation between ecotourism destinations increased, and tourists’ demand for health and safety has driven the development of ecotourism flow in Hunan Province towards multinode and multiregional characteristics.

Key words: tourism flow, COVID-19, ecotourism, digital footprint, tourists

ZHU Anni, ZHONG Yongde, WEI Juan. Changes in Ecotourism Flow in Hunan Province of China in the Context of COVID-19[J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2023, 14(2): 276-288.

Figures/Tables 9

References 47

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Tourism node	Degree Centrality		Closeness Centrality		Betweenness Centrality
Tourism node	Out	In	Out	In	Betweenness Centrality
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park	44.74	57.90	68.42	75.88	217.80
Fenghuang	57.90	52.63	75.00	72.37	181.42
Tianmen Mountain	52.63	44.74	71.93	68.86	161.40
Orange-islet	50.00	44.74	70.61	69.30	157.90
Shaoshan	36.84	42.11	64.04	68.42	98.24
Yuelu Mountain	44.74	36.84	67.54	64.47	68.21
Dongting Lake	28.95	34.21	60.09	63.16	49.49
Hengshan Mountain	26.32	28.95	58.33	59.21	30.27
Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon	28.95	28.95	58.33	60.53	22.53
Dongjiang Lake	21.05	13.16	51.75	50.22	45.78
Gaoyi Ridge	15.79	13.16	50.44	51.32	35.59
Junshan Island	21.05	21.05	55.70	54.39	6.30
Shiniu Village	10.53	18.42	45.18	55.70	28.28
Yangtian Lake	13.16	13.16	48.25	44.52	36.07
Huanglong Cave	21.05	18.42	53.95	55.26	5.78
Mei River	10.53	7.90	46.93	42.11	45.95
Xiangjiang Scenic Belt	21.05	13.16	55.70	50.44	12.52
Miaoren Valley	18.42	18.42	52.63	55.26	5.23
The Peach Garden	15.79	13.16	52.19	50.22	8.32
Liuye Lake	18.42	10.53	53.51	48.03	6.06
Nanhua Mountain	7.90	15.79	47.81	53.95	9.53
Aizhai Wonder Tourist Area	18.42	10.53	52.63	48.03	4.66
Su Xianling	13.16	15.79	48.68	51.10	4.59
Deben Grand Canyon	13.16	13.16	49.12	50.44	3.73
Huilongshan	5.26	13.16	37.50	51.75	21.88
Baofeng Lake	13.16	13.16	49.56	50.00	0.82
Jiulong River	7.90	10.53	46.49	43.20	14.40
Langshan Mountain	7.90	7.90	45.61	46.93	13.97
Martyr Park	7.90	13.16	43.64	51.75	4.05
Mengdong River	7.90	13.16	46.05	48.25	0.00
Shennong Valley	7.90	10.53	46.93	47.15	1.21
Purple Magpie Terraces	5.26	13.16	34.87	46.71	10.46
Big Bear Mountain	5.26	5.26	43.42	43.20	13.10
Qiliang Cave	5.26	10.53	44.30	49.56	0.00
Shiyan Lake	5.26	7.90	42.11	45.18	2.76
Mangshan Mountains	5.26	7.90	35.97	43.64	2.69
Chuanyan Mountain	2.63	0.00	2.63	0.00	0.00
Huangyan Grand Canyon	0.00	2.63	0.00	2.63	0.00

Tourism node	Degree Centrality		Closeness Centrality		Betweenness Centrality
Tourism node	Out	In	Out	In	Betweenness Centrality
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park	44.74	57.90	68.42	75.88	217.80
Fenghuang	57.90	52.63	75.00	72.37	181.42
Tianmen Mountain	52.63	44.74	71.93	68.86	161.40
Orange-islet	50.00	44.74	70.61	69.30	157.90
Shaoshan	36.84	42.11	64.04	68.42	98.24
Yuelu Mountain	44.74	36.84	67.54	64.47	68.21
Dongting Lake	28.95	34.21	60.09	63.16	49.49
Hengshan Mountain	26.32	28.95	58.33	59.21	30.27
Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon	28.95	28.95	58.33	60.53	22.53
Dongjiang Lake	21.05	13.16	51.75	50.22	45.78
Gaoyi Ridge	15.79	13.16	50.44	51.32	35.59
Junshan Island	21.05	21.05	55.70	54.39	6.30
Shiniu Village	10.53	18.42	45.18	55.70	28.28
Yangtian Lake	13.16	13.16	48.25	44.52	36.07
Huanglong Cave	21.05	18.42	53.95	55.26	5.78
Mei River	10.53	7.90	46.93	42.11	45.95
Xiangjiang Scenic Belt	21.05	13.16	55.70	50.44	12.52
Miaoren Valley	18.42	18.42	52.63	55.26	5.23
The Peach Garden	15.79	13.16	52.19	50.22	8.32
Liuye Lake	18.42	10.53	53.51	48.03	6.06
Nanhua Mountain	7.90	15.79	47.81	53.95	9.53
Aizhai Wonder Tourist Area	18.42	10.53	52.63	48.03	4.66
Su Xianling	13.16	15.79	48.68	51.10	4.59
Deben Grand Canyon	13.16	13.16	49.12	50.44	3.73
Huilongshan	5.26	13.16	37.50	51.75	21.88
Baofeng Lake	13.16	13.16	49.56	50.00	0.82
Jiulong River	7.90	10.53	46.49	43.20	14.40
Langshan Mountain	7.90	7.90	45.61	46.93	13.97
Martyr Park	7.90	13.16	43.64	51.75	4.05
Mengdong River	7.90	13.16	46.05	48.25	0.00
Shennong Valley	7.90	10.53	46.93	47.15	1.21
Purple Magpie Terraces	5.26	13.16	34.87	46.71	10.46
Big Bear Mountain	5.26	5.26	43.42	43.20	13.10
Qiliang Cave	5.26	10.53	44.30	49.56	0.00
Shiyan Lake	5.26	7.90	42.11	45.18	2.76
Mangshan Mountains	5.26	7.90	35.97	43.64	2.69
Chuanyan Mountain	2.63	0.00	2.63	0.00	0.00
Huangyan Grand Canyon	0.00	2.63	0.00	2.63	0.00

Tourism node	Degree Centrality		Closeness Centrality				Betweenness Centrality
Tourism node	Out	In	Out		In		Betweenness Centrality
Yuelu Mountain	39.47	44.74	68.42		67.98		311.57
Orange-islet	42.11	42.11	69.30		66.67		188.67
Fenghuang	42.11	39.47	67.11		64.91		181.22
Hengshan Mountain	36.84	34.21	65.79		62.28		175.73
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park	31.58	44.74	60.53		67.98		122.96
Dongting Lake	34.21	21.05	64.04		53.51		121.10
Tianmen Mountain	39.47	26.32	67.11		57.46		100.40
Gaoyi Ridge	18.42	28.95	52.19		60.09		97.66
Dongjiang Lake	18.42	23.68	53.29		54.83		88.69
The Peach Garden	15.79	15.79	53.07		50.44		78.91
Shaoshan	21.05	18.42	55.70		53.51		42.57
Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon	18.42	23.68	53.07		55.04		12.60
Shiyan Lake	10.53	7.90	47.37		43.20		44.30
Baofeng Lake	18.42	15.79	51.54		48.47		16.28
Xiangjiang Scenic Belt	13.16	7.90	50.88		44.30		23.56
Nanhua Mountain	21.05	7.90	55.26	44.08		7.79
Aizhai Wonder Tourist Area	13.16	10.53	50.00	43.64		17.39
Yangtian Lake	13.16	10.53	48.25	44.52		12.20
Huanglong Cave	13.16	13.16	47.15	45.40		0.25
Martyr park	10.53	10.53	47.37	48.25		1.99
Dawei Mountain	2.63	5.26	40.79	33.55		36.00
Miaoren Valley	5.26	15.79	41.45	49.34		0.50
Su Xianling	7.90	7.90	44.08	43.64		8.06
Junshan Island	5.26	10.53	44.08	46.49		1.02
Jiulong River	7.90	7.90	44.08	41.45		2.15
Shennong Valley	7.90	5.26	44.30	39.91		4.99
Mangshan Mountains	7.90	10.53	40.13	39.69		3.99
Shiniu Village	7.90	5.26	45.83	36.18		2.95
Red Stone Forest	7.90	5.26	44.52	37.28		0.25
Mengdong River	7.90	5.26	43.20	37.94		0.00
Liuye Lake	2.63	10.53	34.65	42.33		2.57
Lianyun Mountain	2.63	5.26	30.04	41.45		12.32
Yuntai Mountain	5.26	2.63	42.98	34.43		1.44
Weishan	7.90	2.63	44.08	29.91		2.12
Purple Magpie Terraces	2.63	2.63	35.18	33.55		0.83
Deben Grand Canyon	0.00	5.26	0.00	43.64		0.00
Meishan Dragon Palace	0.00	5.26	0.00	42.33		0.00
Wan Huayan	0.00	2.63	0.00	37.94		0.00

Tourism node	Degree Centrality		Closeness Centrality				Betweenness Centrality
Tourism node	Out	In	Out		In		Betweenness Centrality
Yuelu Mountain	39.47	44.74	68.42		67.98		311.57
Orange-islet	42.11	42.11	69.30		66.67		188.67
Fenghuang	42.11	39.47	67.11		64.91		181.22
Hengshan Mountain	36.84	34.21	65.79		62.28		175.73
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park	31.58	44.74	60.53		67.98		122.96
Dongting Lake	34.21	21.05	64.04		53.51		121.10
Tianmen Mountain	39.47	26.32	67.11		57.46		100.40
Gaoyi Ridge	18.42	28.95	52.19		60.09		97.66
Dongjiang Lake	18.42	23.68	53.29		54.83		88.69
The Peach Garden	15.79	15.79	53.07		50.44		78.91
Shaoshan	21.05	18.42	55.70		53.51		42.57
Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon	18.42	23.68	53.07		55.04		12.60
Shiyan Lake	10.53	7.90	47.37		43.20		44.30
Baofeng Lake	18.42	15.79	51.54		48.47		16.28
Xiangjiang Scenic Belt	13.16	7.90	50.88		44.30		23.56
Nanhua Mountain	21.05	7.90	55.26	44.08		7.79
Aizhai Wonder Tourist Area	13.16	10.53	50.00	43.64		17.39
Yangtian Lake	13.16	10.53	48.25	44.52		12.20
Huanglong Cave	13.16	13.16	47.15	45.40		0.25
Martyr park	10.53	10.53	47.37	48.25		1.99
Dawei Mountain	2.63	5.26	40.79	33.55		36.00
Miaoren Valley	5.26	15.79	41.45	49.34		0.50
Su Xianling	7.90	7.90	44.08	43.64		8.06
Junshan Island	5.26	10.53	44.08	46.49		1.02
Jiulong River	7.90	7.90	44.08	41.45		2.15
Shennong Valley	7.90	5.26	44.30	39.91		4.99
Mangshan Mountains	7.90	10.53	40.13	39.69		3.99
Shiniu Village	7.90	5.26	45.83	36.18		2.95
Red Stone Forest	7.90	5.26	44.52	37.28		0.25
Mengdong River	7.90	5.26	43.20	37.94		0.00
Liuye Lake	2.63	10.53	34.65	42.33		2.57
Lianyun Mountain	2.63	5.26	30.04	41.45		12.32
Yuntai Mountain	5.26	2.63	42.98	34.43		1.44
Weishan	7.90	2.63	44.08	29.91		2.12
Purple Magpie Terraces	2.63	2.63	35.18	33.55		0.83
Deben Grand Canyon	0.00	5.26	0.00	43.64		0.00
Meishan Dragon Palace	0.00	5.26	0.00	42.33		0.00
Wan Huayan	0.00	2.63	0.00	37.94		0.00

Before COVID-19				After COVID-19
Tourism node	Effectiveness	Efficiency	Limitation	Tourism node	Effectiveness	Efficiency	Limitation
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park	19.55	0.82	0.39	Hengshan Mountain	16.24	0.81	0.39
Fenghuang	19.52	0.78	0.43	Yuelu Mountain	15.83	0.75	0.52
Tianmen Mountain	17.38	0.72	0.52	Orange-islet	15.14	0.80	0.37
Orange-islet	17.12	0.78	0.44	Fenghuang	14.47	0.76	0.45
Shaoshan	13.62	0.76	0.45	Zhangjiajie National Forest Park	13.72	0.76	0.39
Yuelu Mountain	12.17	0.68	0.54	Dongting Lake	11.86	0.79	0.53
Dongting Lake	10.82	0.77	0.54	Gaoyi Ridge	11.54	0.82	0.62
Hengshan Mountain	10.07	0.78	0.55	Tianmen Mountain	10.80	0.68	0.55
Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon	8.36	0.60	0.65	Dongjiang Lake	9.20	0.84	0.57
Junshan Island	7.83	0.71	0.60	Shaoshan	8.54	0.71	0.62
Shiniu Village	7.82	0.87	0.36	Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon	7.18	0.65	0.72
Dongjiang Lake	7.78	0.87	0.53	The Peach Garden	6.49	0.81	0.49
The Peach Garden	7.40	0.82	0.42	Nanhua Mountain	6.20	0.77	0.66
Miaoren Valley	6.96	0.70	0.79	Aizhai Wonder Tourist Area	6.11	0.76	0.59
Su Xianling	6.41	0.80	0.59	Shiyan Lake	4.84	0.81	0.56