Sustainable or Not? Tourism Development in Agricultural Heritage Sites

doi:10.5814/j.issn.1674-764x.2021.04.012

Abstract

Abstract:

Tourism is often considered as one of the dynamic conservation and adaptive management approaches in Agricultural Heritage Sites. It has been over 15 years since the GIAHS programme was initiated in China, and tourism developed quickly in the Agricultural Heritage Sites, to some extent because many researchers consider tourism as a significant engine of the local economy. However, this is contrary to the original intention of agricultural heritage tourism as it was proposed in the first place. Apparently, there are some overt problems during the tourism development process, which are mainly as follows: Some threats to Agricultural Heritage Systems are ubiquitous; The tourism development mode in Agricultural Heritage Sites is questionable; Community involvement is difficult to implement; And the negative environmental impacts are easy to overlook. Under the context of global development, the UNWTO sustainable tourism criteria provide some guidance for agricultural heritage tourism. Based on the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria, combined with previous survey experiences and related researches, this paper analyzes the tourism sustainability of all the 15 GIAHS sites in China, and explores the current sustainable tourism development level. On this basis, an agricultural heritage sustainable tourism development framework was built in an attempt to find the road to sustainability for agricultural heritage tourism. The framework in the global and local contexts is trying to connect all the important elements related to agricultural heritage tourism according to the UNWTO sustainable tourism criteria.

Key words: sustainable tourism, Agricultural Heritage Systems, tourism development

SUN Yehong, SONG Yuxin, CHEN Yuexin, YAO Cancan, LI Wenhua. Sustainable or Not? Tourism Development in Agricultural Heritage Sites[J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2021, 12(4): 543-554.

Figures/Tables 6

References 44

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No.	System name	Location	Year of designation
1	Rice-Fish Culture System	Qingtian County, Zhejiang Province	2005
2	Hani Rice Terraces System	Yuanyang County, Honghe County, Lvchun County and Jinping County, Yunnan Province	2010
3	Traditional RiceCulture System	Wannian County, Jiangxi Province	2010
4	Dong’s Rice-Fish-Duck System	Congjiang County, Guizhou Province	2011
5	Dryland Farming System	Aohan Banner, Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region	2012
6	Traditional Tea Agrosystem	Pu’er City, Yunnan Province	2012
7	Urban Agricultural Heritage of Xuanhua Grape Gardens	Xuanhua District, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province	2013
8	Kuaijishan Ancient Chinese Torreya	Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province	2013
9	Traditional Chinese Date Gardens	Jiaxian County, Shannxi Province	2014
10	DuotianAgrosystem	Xinghua County, Jiangsu Province	2014
11	Jasmine and Tea Culture System	Fuzhou City, Fujian Province	2014
12	Zhagana Agriculture-Forestry-Animal Husbandry Composite System	Diebu County, Gansu Province	2017
13	Mulberry-dyke and Fish-pond System	Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province	2017
14	Yellow River Old Course Ancient Mulberry Grove System	Xiajin County, Shandong Province	2018
15	Rice Terraces in Southern Mountainous and Hilly Areas	Longsheng County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region; ChongyiCounty, Jiangxi Province; YouxiCounty, Fujian Province; Xinhua County, Hunan Province	2018

No.	System name	Location	Year of designation
1	Rice-Fish Culture System	Qingtian County, Zhejiang Province	2005
2	Hani Rice Terraces System	Yuanyang County, Honghe County, Lvchun County and Jinping County, Yunnan Province	2010
3	Traditional RiceCulture System	Wannian County, Jiangxi Province	2010
4	Dong’s Rice-Fish-Duck System	Congjiang County, Guizhou Province	2011
5	Dryland Farming System	Aohan Banner, Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region	2012
6	Traditional Tea Agrosystem	Pu’er City, Yunnan Province	2012
7	Urban Agricultural Heritage of Xuanhua Grape Gardens	Xuanhua District, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province	2013
8	Kuaijishan Ancient Chinese Torreya	Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province	2013
9	Traditional Chinese Date Gardens	Jiaxian County, Shannxi Province	2014
10	DuotianAgrosystem	Xinghua County, Jiangsu Province	2014
11	Jasmine and Tea Culture System	Fuzhou City, Fujian Province	2014
12	Zhagana Agriculture-Forestry-Animal Husbandry Composite System	Diebu County, Gansu Province	2017
13	Mulberry-dyke and Fish-pond System	Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province	2017
14	Yellow River Old Course Ancient Mulberry Grove System	Xiajin County, Shandong Province	2018
15	Rice Terraces in Southern Mountainous and Hilly Areas	Longsheng County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region; ChongyiCounty, Jiangxi Province; YouxiCounty, Fujian Province; Xinhua County, Hunan Province	2018

Index	Criteria
A/Demonstrate sustainable destination Management	A1-Sustainable destination strategy, A2-Destination management organization, A3-Monitoring, A4-Toursim seasonality management, A5-Cliamte change adaptation, A6-Inventory of tourism assets and attractions, A7-Planning regulations, A8-Access for all, A9-Property acquisitions, A10-Visitor satisfaction, A11-Sustainability standards, A12-Safety and security, A13-Crisis and emergency management, A14-Promotion
B/Maximize economic benefits to the host community and minimize negative impacts	B1-Economic monitoring, B2-Local career opportunities, B3-Public participation, B4-Local community opinion, B5-Local access, B6-Tourism awareness and education, B7-Preventing exploitation, B8-Support for community, B9-Supporting local entrepreneurs and fair trade
C/Maximize benefits to communities, visitors, and culture; minimize negative impacts	C1-Attraction protection, C2-Visitor management, C3-Visitor behavior, C4-Cultural heritage protection, C5-Site interpretation, C6-Intellectural property
D/Maximize benefits to the environment and minimize negative impacts	D1-Environmental risks, D2-Protection of sensitive environments, D3-Wildlife protection, D4-Greenhouse gas emissions, D5-Energy conservation, D6-Water management, D7-Water security, D8-Water quality, D9-Wastewater, D10-Solid waste reduction, D11-Light and noise pollution, D12- Low-impact transportation

Index	Criteria
A/Demonstrate sustainable destination Management	A1-Sustainable destination strategy, A2-Destination management organization, A3-Monitoring, A4-Toursim seasonality management, A5-Cliamte change adaptation, A6-Inventory of tourism assets and attractions, A7-Planning regulations, A8-Access for all, A9-Property acquisitions, A10-Visitor satisfaction, A11-Sustainability standards, A12-Safety and security, A13-Crisis and emergency management, A14-Promotion
B/Maximize economic benefits to the host community and minimize negative impacts	B1-Economic monitoring, B2-Local career opportunities, B3-Public participation, B4-Local community opinion, B5-Local access, B6-Tourism awareness and education, B7-Preventing exploitation, B8-Support for community, B9-Supporting local entrepreneurs and fair trade
C/Maximize benefits to communities, visitors, and culture; minimize negative impacts	C1-Attraction protection, C2-Visitor management, C3-Visitor behavior, C4-Cultural heritage protection, C5-Site interpretation, C6-Intellectural property
D/Maximize benefits to the environment and minimize negative impacts	D1-Environmental risks, D2-Protection of sensitive environments, D3-Wildlife protection, D4-Greenhouse gas emissions, D5-Energy conservation, D6-Water management, D7-Water security, D8-Water quality, D9-Wastewater, D10-Solid waste reduction, D11-Light and noise pollution, D12- Low-impact transportation

Index	A/Demonstrate sustainable destination management														B/Maximize economic benefits to the host community and minimize negative impacts									C/Maximize benefits to communities, visitors, and culture; minimize negative impacts						D/Maximize benefits to the environment and minimize negative impacts
Case	A1	A2	A3	A4	A5	A6	A7	A8	A9	A10	A11	A12	A13	A14	B1	B2	B3	B4	B5	B6	B7	B8	B9	C1	C2	C3	C4	C5	C6	D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6	D7	D8	D9	D 10	D 11	D 12
1	√	√	√			√	√	√	√			√	√	√	√		√	√	√		√	√	√	√			√	√	√	√	√	√				√	√	√	√	√	√
2	√	√	√	√		√	√		√			√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√			√	√	√	√	√	√					√	√		√
3	√	√	√			√	√		√			√	√		√		√		√		√	√	√	√			√	√	√	√	√	√				√	√			√
4	√	√	√	√		√	√		√			√	√	√	√	√	√		√		√	√	√	√			√	√		√	√	√				√				√
5	√	√	√			√	√	√	√			√	√		√	√	√		√		√	√	√	√			√	√	√	√	√	√				√	√	√		√
6	√	√	√				√	√	√			√	√	√	√	√	√		√		√	√	√	√	√		√	√	√	√		√					√	√	√	√
7	√	√	√				√	√	√			√	√	√	√	√			√		√	√	√	√			√	√	√	√	√	√		√		√				√
8	√	√	√	√			√		√			√	√	√	√				√		√	√	√	√			√		√	√	√	√				√		√	√	√
9	√	√	√				√	√	√			√	√		√				√		√	√	√	√			√		√			√					√			√
10	√	√	√				√		√			√	√		√		√		√		√	√	√	√			√	√		√	√	√				√				√
11	√	√	√				√	√	√			√	√	√	√				√		√	√		√			√			√	√	√				√				√
12	√	√	√				√	√	√			√	√		√		√		√		√	√		√			√					√				√				√
13	√	√	√	√	√		√	√	√			√	√	√	√	√	√		√		√	√	√				√	√	√	√		√				√	√	√		√
14	√	√	√				√	√	√			√	√		√		√		√		√	√	√	√			√			√	√	√	√			√		√	√	√
15	√	√	√				√		√			√	√		√	√			√		√						√			√	√	√				√				√