Tourist Cities In China Research Articles

Using Virtual Reality to Determine how Visual Factors Impact Pedestrian Behavior - A Case Study in Hubin Road, China

This paper investigates a comprehensive system to apply the spatial-temporal grid method based on a visual, virtual model to collect adequate information for an in-depth understanding of pedestrian behavior affected by the landscape elements in an empirical study of the Hubin Road area (closed to West Lake) of Hangzhou, Capital of Zhejiang Province, one of most famous tourist cities in China. Using some well-known benchmarks of pedestrian practices, the paper presents the temporal distributions of walking activities and behaviors. This paper has four parts: (1) introduces the present research on the spatial-temporal method and the problems with the concept to analyze the effects on the pedestrian behavioral study, (2) defines the new model assembled by spatial modeling linked QTVR technology for presenting pedestrian behaviors in central sightseeing destinations, (3) summarizes the results of sequential pedestrian movement collected from the spatial-temporal grid investigation and the virtual experiences during sightseeing and strolling activities on the case study area, and finally, (4) make suggestions for the spatial planning of the study area, and implementing a vision of future studies based on this system.

Skills and work in the hospitality sector

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop a picture of the skills profiles, work background, educational attainment, attitudes and plans of the employees in front office in hotels in China by means of a survey of employees in four and five star hotels.Design/methodology/approachData was collected by means of a questionnaire survey conducted in major tourist cities in China, including Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Jinan, Qingdao and Weihai. In each selected city, four and five star rated hotels were chosen as those properties most likely to be operating in the international market. The survey focused on staff working in front office in four and five star hotels and all questionnaires were collected onsite. A total of 350 questionnaires were distributed and 276 of these returned were usable which form the basis of this analysis of hotel front office work in China.FindingsResults show that the main workforce strength of front office in Chinese hotels consists of graduates from tourism colleges and professional schools. Front office work is a challenging and demanding area of work and oral communication is identified as the most important skill.Practical implicationsGathering information about this important area of service and work in the hospitality industry provides first‐hand data for improving training and career development. The paper concludes that high‐quality human resources are lacking in the hospitality sector in China and it is essential for hotels to develop professional development and further training in order to improve the skills of staff in front office.Originality/valueThis paper is one of the first to look in detail at employees within the hospitality sector in China.

Role of intervening opportunity in tourist destination development

Intervening opportunity is an important factor in spatial interaction, and has very important impacts on tourist destination development in a region. There are few literatures on this topic in tourist researches, and especially in China fewer tourist researchers pay attention to intervening opportunity theory. This article, taking Lin’an as a case study, aims to introduce intervening opportunity theory in tourist destination development by the comprehensive analysis of some data including literatures, Internet information, longitudinal data and some tourist surveys. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are all used in this research. Firstly, the authors expatiate upon the definition of intervening opportunity, by reviewing the literatures in detail, take Lin’an of Zhejiang Province as a case study, and then analyze some necessary factors of intervening opportunity, such as regional tourist demands and supplies, tourist attractions, spatial distance and transportation, tourist images and costs, regional competition and cooperation in tourist destinations. Finally the impacts of intervening opportunity on Lin’an tourist development are analyzed in detail. The results show that intervening opportunity do not occur everywhere, and there must be some critical factors, and intervening opportunity surely plays important roles in tourist destination development. The tourist development in Lin’an is attributed to intervening opportunity of the spatial location between Hangzhou and Huangshan that are two famous tourist cities in China, and the occurrence of intervening opportunities in Lin’an is the integration of some external and internal factors.