Effect of tourist flow on province-scale food resource spatial allocation in China

Abstract

Abstract The spatial pattern of food supply and demand is the most direct reflection of the human-land relationship. Under a market economy, the spatial flow of food resources is mainly driven by the consumption demand. With a rapidly increasing tourist population, the driving effect of off-site consumption on the spatial allocation of food resources in China is becoming increasingly significant. For the first time, this study describes the macroscopic spatial coupling relationship between tourism and food. According to the spatial transfer of food consumption demand due to the flow of tourist population, and by using the provincial administrative unit as the spatial unit, the geographical distribution of food resources was quantitatively calculated for 31 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions of China. This was achieved by employing multi-source data and the inward and outward resource flow balance. The results show that tourism has changed the spatial distribution pattern of regional food consumption demand in China: (1) The highest food consumption demands transferred in and out by tourism were in Guangxi, Hunan, Chongqing, Liaoning, and Shanxi (inward flow) and Guangdong, Tianjin, Sichuan, Shandong, and Shanghai (outward flow). (2) The total transfer (in and out) of food consumption demand due to tourism population flow was the greatest in Beijing (2.2 million tons/year). Ningxia, Tibet, and Qinghai exhibited the least transfer of total food consumption demand. (3) Between provinces, food consumption demand transfer was the highest from Sichuan to Chongqing (296,000 tons/year). (4) On the regional scale, the greatest net value of food consumption demand was transferred from east China to southwest China (292,200 tons/year). This study provides a reference for decision-makers to improve resource allocation efficiency and optimize patterns of food production and sales in the context of the rapid development of tourism in China.