Predictive Modeling of Transportation Systems in Jiuzhai Valley World Heritage Site, China

Xiaoqing Xu,Derrick Taff,Rui Yang,Youbo Zhuang,Peter Newman

doi:10.1177/2158244020924375

Abstract

Tourist congestion is a significant issue in Jiuzhai Valley World Heritage Site (JVWH). The “demand-driven” approach of alternative transportation system (ATS) has led to the issues related to visitor crowding, visitor safety, and visitor experience quality. JVWH requires a more efficient approach to achieve a suitable tourist distribution while preserving the quality of visitors’ experiences. Accordingly, this study examines descriptive data, which are collected in 2015 regarding visitor use of the ATS in JVWH to spatially model current and future distribution scenarios. Researchers developed four theoretical scenarios by using the computational model which imitate the current ATS system. Imitation results indicate Scenarios 3 and 4, which adjust spot combination and tourist duration are the two most effective methods for balancing tourist distribution, and are, therefore, the most effectively ways to optimize the current ATS system. This research provides a glimpse into potential management strategies for the tourist distribution of JVWH and possibly other parks in China.

Highlights

Introduction and Research ObjectivesChina is a populous country, and millions of people flock to its national parks every year, which leads to tremendous tourist congestion and negatively impacts the natural structure of these parks (Pedersen, 2002; Tourism Administration of People’s Republic of China, 2005)
In Scenario 1, the tourist duration time and the number of tourists distributed to each spot were adjusted
The researchers concluded that only altering the numbers of tourists distributed to each spot could not solve the spatial–temporal imbalances in each zone

Summary

Introduction

Introduction and Research ObjectivesChina is a populous country, and millions of people flock to its national parks every year, which leads to tremendous tourist congestion and negatively impacts the natural structure of these parks (Pedersen, 2002; Tourism Administration of People’s Republic of China, 2005). Tourism management is one of the most important issues affecting Chinese national parks. Tourist congestion and imbalance are the most popular problems in more than 80% of Chinese national parks. The Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area (the official Chinese name for the Jiuzhai Valley World Heritage Site [JVWH]) is a national park located in the southwest part of China (Figure 1). Due to the increasing demand of tourists, in 1999, the JVWH became the first Chinese national park to adopt an alternative transportation system (ATS), which initiated a shuttle bus system throughout the national park. To adjust the spatial–temporal imbalance of their tourist congestion and streamline their tourist management, the JVWH administration department developed a strategy to regulate tourist transportation and visitation distributions. According to the official data and field observations, the tourist congestion at the park gate is the highest between 8:30 and 10:00 a.m.

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Methods

Findings

Conclusion