Path dependence and tourism area development: the case of Guilin, China

Abstract

In recent years, tourism geographers have paid increasing attention to the concepts of ‘path dependence’, ‘path creation’ and ‘lock-in’ as key ingredients in constructing an evolutionary approach to tourism studies. The path dependence model of tourism area evolution discussed in this paper is used to explain the emergence, rise and decline of a tourism area, especially to figure out specific path dependence and lock-in of dominant tourism products and sectors. The model is tested by using it to explain the last 40 years of tourism area development in Guilin, China. It is found that the emergence of the Guilin tourism area was not only influenced by contingent events, but also basically rooted in its initial conditions. The findings show that over time Guilin experienced path preformation, path creation and development, path as a dynamic process, and a new path creation and development phase. Moreover, the general path-dependent process of evolution of the Guilin tourism area is embedded in the resource-based path dependence of tourism products and the institutional path dependence of tourism sectors. We conclude that the concept of path dependence requires further application and elaboration to understand the different path-dependent processes of tourism products, sectors or institutions in different tourism areas.