Landscape Values Research Articles

<b>Narrative Features of Planting Design</b><b></b>

The narrative character of planting design is the fun of landscapes, telling stories and morals in a unique way in planning. When the landscape stimulates our multiple senses, it even has a great impact on our behavior, our views, and our psychological perception of the world. The way of landscaping tells stories or conveys ideas from four planting design angles, including the symbolic meanings of plants, dynamic storytelling, philosophical design and contrast with Eden. It reflects the importance of a successful landscape and public values, and enhance the interaction with public emotion. This paper provides a detailed exposition of methods and specific scenarios for creating narrative landscapes through the use of plants, drawing on examples from classical gardens in various countries, including Europe, England, and China. This study aims to organize and summarize the cultural symbols present in planting design, clarify the expressive techniques of narrative landscapes through plant design, and provide theoretical insights for interpreting and understanding classical gardens, as well as practical support for future landscape design endeavors.

Projecting the global potential distribution of nine Rhododendron Subgenus Hymenanthes species under different climate change scenarios

As one of China’s most treasured traditional flowers, Rhododendron Subgen. Hymenanthes is renowned worldwide for its evergreen foliage, vibrant flowers, and significant ornamental, landscaping, and economic value. However, climate change poses a serious threat to its future, leading to population declines and endangerment of some species. Despite the ecological and economic importance of Rhododendron Subgen. Hymenanthes, the future distribution of suitable habitats and the most effective strategies for its conservation and utilization remain unclear. This study employs the MaxEnt model, which is well-known for its reliability in predicting species distribution under changing environmental conditions, to predict the potential global distribution of nine species of Rhododendron Subgen. Hymenanthes. The goal is to provide a solid foundation for their conservation, cultivation management, and breeding. The results indicate that, under future climate scenarios, suitable habitat areas for four species (R. irroratum, R. agastum, R. decorum, and R. arboreum) will significantly decrease, while suitable habitats for the remaining five species (R. delavayi, R. fortunei, R. calophytum, R. simiarum, and R. wardii) will experience slight expansion. Temperature and precipitation are identified as key environmental factors influencing the growth and distribution of these species, affecting their ability to colonize new regions. The migration direction of the expanding regions for all nine species is consistent, with their centroids shifting towards the northwest. These findings provide critical insights for developing targeted conservation strategies, including identifying potential refugia and prioritizing conservation areas under future climate conditions.

Projekty tras turystycznych prowadzących przez obszary zieleni miejskiej Krakowa jako przykłady rozwoju turystyki i ekspozycji dziedzictwa kulturowego – dydaktyka, praktyka

Krakow is one of Poland’s most important cultural heritage treasures, but many tourists only visit the city’s iconinc and world-famous monuments. Far fewer people take a walk around the entire Old Town, visit the former suburbs of Krakow, not to mention the parts further afield. The reason for this can be attributed, among other things, to an insufficient number of marked tourist routes that would, on the one hand, encourage people to visit these areas and, on the other hand, be a motivating factor for better exposition of valuable landscape forms. Such measures are already becoming increasingly popular in Poland, also in rural areas, where newly designed tourist routes serve to exhibit even the smallest forms of cultural heritage and encourage tourists to visit a given region. This paper presents student designs of tourist routes running along the northern and southern sides of Krakow’s Old Town, together with the result of the pre-design research on which they were based. From a didactic point of view, they provided an opportunity to sensitise future landscape architects to the beauty and necessity of protecting and displaying Poland’s cultural heritage, both within and outside historic cities. When made available to the public, these routes can encourage people to visit more places of interest in and around the old town of Krakow, with a particular attention to the various forms of urban greenery, as well as their better exhibition and, in turn, the revalorisation of non-existent or forgotten landscape elements.

Field experiment confirms high macroplastic trapping efficiency of wood jams in a mountain river channel

Identifying macroplastic deposition hotspots in rivers is essential for planning cleanup efforts and assessing the risks to aquatic life and the aesthetic value of river landscapes. Recent fieldwork in mountain rivers has shown that wood jams retain significantly more macroplastic than other emergent surfaces within river channels. Here, we experimentally verify these findings by tracking the deposition of 64 PET bottles after 52–65 days of transport in the mid-mountain Skawa River (Polish Carpathians) under low to medium flow conditions. Despite variations in river channel management and the resulting morphological patterns along the study reach, the majority (71.9%, n = 46) of tracked bottles were trapped by wood jams near the low-flow channel. The trapping efficiency was three times higher in the straight, regulated reach (14.8% per km) than in the highly sinuous, unregulated reach (4.5% per km). In the regulated reach, water inundations and wood jams are confined to a narrow zone near the low-flow channel, which may explain the high macroplastic trapping efficiency under low to medium flow conditions. In contrast, in the unmanaged, seminatural reach, where wood jams and water inundation occur over broader areas formed by extensive gravel bars, the trapping potential is lower under similar flow conditions. Previous observations showed that macroplastic deposition hotspots associated with wood jams predominantly form in wide, unmanaged river sections, where numerous jams are inundated during high flows. Our results detail this understanding, suggesting that under low to medium flows, macroplastic hotspots can also form on wood jams in regulated, narrow reaches. These findings suggest that the occurrence of wood jams, channel morphology and past flow conditions are key predictors of macroplastic hotspots formation in mountain rivers.

Envisioning ‘Jefore’ and Its Attributes: Evidence from Gurage Rural Landscape

Contemporary understandings of landscapes are focusing on their attributes for sustainable human-environment interactions. This article explores the socio-cultural, aesthetic, and therapeutic attributes of Jefore as a peculiar socio-ecological landscape of Gurage countryside. As research design and tools of data collection, ethnographic research design and ethnographic data collection tools such as key informant interviews, focus group discussions, observations, and a transect walk were used to generate data from three districts of West Gurageland. Scoring from diverse data sources, Jefore is the long-existing local landscape tradition. It has diverse attributes that embeds aspects of Gurage's life such as identity, social interactions, socio-cultural and economic productions, livelihoods, and well-being. For socio-cultural attributes, it remains the core of cultural production and reproduction, social interactions, social alliances, identity as well as heritages for the group. Aesthetic and therapeutic attributes magnify the wider well-being associations of the landscapes for its embodiment effects. Largely, maintaining Jefore landscape tradition ensuring sustainable socio-ecological landscape values and attributes that serve long generations. Hence, diverse stakeholders need to consider indigeneity of Jefore landscape and its diverse attributes in the midst of their decisions and interventions.

The influence of perceived landscape value on tourists' behavioral intentions in historical and cultural blocks.

Historic cultural blocks are areas where a city's material cultural heritage and humanistic characteristics converge, showcasing the city's unique features and preserving rich and complete urban memories. Research on historic blocks primarily involves strategies related to protection, renewal, planning, and enhancement. However, there is a paucity of studies that explore the relationship between landscape value perception and tourist behavioral intentions from the perspective of recreation participants during the development and renewal of historic cultural blocks. This study uses the Zhongshan Road and Sifang Road historic cultural blocks in Qingdao as a case example. By collecting multi-source data such as online texts, tourist questionnaires, and interviews, and employing qualitative analysis and structural equation modeling as quantitative analysis methods, the study reveals the structural relationship between landscape value perception, place identity, and tourist behavioral intentions: (1) Landscape value perception has a significant positive effect on tourist behavioral intentions; (2) Landscape value perception has a significant positive effect on place identity; (3) Place identity, as a mediating variable, does not mediate the relationship between ecological landscape value perception and skill education value perception, but partially mediates the relationship between historical cultural value perception and recreational value perception. Based on the research results, feedback on the development effectiveness of historic cultural blocks from the perspective of recreation participants can be visually obtained. This helps identify the pain points in the renewal and development process, pinpoint the perceptual dimensions of landscape value that need improvement, and effectively enhance the multiple dimensions of landscape value perception in the blocks. This, in turn, activates the tourism vitality of historic cultural blocks and forms a virtuous cycle model for their development.

An Analysis of Visual Behavior Characteristics of Naturalistic Gardens Using Eye-Tracking

Background and objective: As the understanding of biodiversity and sustainable ecological landscapes has increased, public interest in naturalistic landscapes has grown. However, naturalistic landscapes are still often seen as messy or even unsafe, and research findings on public perceptions remain inconsistent. The purposes of this study were to analyze public’s perception of naturalistic landscapes in Korea and to explore the value of naturalistic landscapes. Research on naturalistic landscapes in Korea remains limited. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze public’s perception of naturalistic landscapes in Korea, and explored the value of naturalistic landscapes.Methods: This study explores the perceived value of naturalistic landscapes in Korea in terms of ecological value, aesthetics, and preference for naturalistic and formal landscapes. An eye-tracking experiment was conducted to investigate the visual patterns of participants and differences in their attention toward the landscape elements of naturalistic and formal landscapes. Forty participants evaluated six images (three naturalistic landscapes and three formal landscapes) containing six elements (trees, shrubs, flowers, water, buildings, and hardscapes).Results: The results revealed significant differences in perception between naturalistic and formal landscapes. Although participants were more familiar with formal landscapes, they had a higher perception of the ecological value, aesthetics, and preference for naturalistic landscapes. The eye-tracking results showed that the visual patterns were relatively dispersed across the naturalistic landscapes, while they were more concentrated in the formal landscapes. Participants spent more time looking at shrubs and flowers in the naturalistic landscapes. In the formal landscapes, attention was drawn more to hardscapes, buildings, and water.Conclusion: These findings suggest that naturalistic landscapes not only benefit biodiversity and ecological sustainability but also align with public aesthetics. There is thus a need to consider incorporating more naturalistic landscapes into urban landscape design and to explore natural planting methods and compositional schemes that highlight their value.

백두대간 산림경관의 시각적 선호도 분석 연구

The purpose of this study is to find alternatives for improving the visual resource of forest resources and the landscape value in terms of public interest of forests through the analysis of visual preference of forest landscapes targeting Baekdudaegan forest resources. The research methods consist of theoretical consideration and presentation of an analysis framework, a visual preference survey for improving forest landscapes, and suggestions for improvement alternatives through this. The visual preference survey selected a sample group consisting of 50 landscape experts and used the SD scale technique using landscape adjectives. Then, the final preference model was presented through factor analysis and regression analysis. The implications of this study are that the selection of viewpoints and analysis of visual preferences in forest landscapes are meaningful results in terms of providing high ecosystem services through visual resource utilization of forest landscapes in terms of wise use of forest landscapes. In addition, it is judged to be significant as a basic research and reference frame when conducting in-depth research in terms of increasing the usability and efficient management of forest landscapes in the future.

Current Status and Solutions for Developing Tourism in Phu an Bamboo Village in Binh Duong Province, Vietnam

Phu An Bamboo Village in Binh Duong Province is a nature reserve, aiming to preserve and develop bamboo - a typical cultural symbol of Vietnam. With its lush green landscape, rich ecosystem and educational value, Phu An Bamboo Village has great potential for developing ecotourism combining cultural and natural conservation. However, the current status of tourism development here still has many limitations, including incomplete infrastructure, weak promotion capacity, and insufficient participation of the local community. This research paper aims to comprehensively assess the current status of tourism in Phu An Bamboo Village, thereby proposing specific and feasible solutions for sustainable development of this area. The research also focuses on understanding the significance of Phu An Bamboo Village for the development of green tourism in Binh Duong Province, and at the same time recommends effective development strategies, such as improving service quality, enhancing promotion, and building appropriate support policies. The article not only contributes to the local socio-economic development but also raises public awareness about protecting natural resources, preserving culture and building a sustainable tourism image for Vietnam.

Tourists’ willingness to pay for protecting the agricultural landscapes maintained by Rukai traditional agricultural methods

ABSTRACT This study employs a choice experiment method to examine tourists’ willingness to pay (WTP) for foxtail millet grown using the Rukai people's traditional mixed cropping methods and the associated landscapes in Wutai Township, Taiwan. The Rukai people’s complex method of growing and harvesting foxtail millet with mixed cropping creates diverse agricultural landscapes that provide various foods, ensure food security, maintain biodiversity, help crops adapt to extreme climates, improve societal resilience to climate change, and generate cultural assets and tourist attractions. The traditional agriculture certification of the Rukai people is used to evaluate the landscape, ecological, and cultural values of these practices. The results indicate that respondents are willing to pay an average of NT$60.97 more for certified foxtail millet products compared to non-certified ones. This added value translates to approximately NT$15.8522 million, considering that 260,000 tourists visited Wutai Township in 2020. These findings underscore the potential economic benefits of certification in promoting traditional agricultural methods and landscapes. Moreover, the study highlights the significance of pretesting in choice experiments. The pretest revealed respondents’ concerns about comprehension, legitimacy of subjective value assessments, and the feasibility of the survey. Incorporating respondents’ feedback significantly improved the questionnaire's clarity and the policy recommendations’ feasibility.

The multifaceted aspects of agricultural landscape value and agricultural landscape valuation exhibit diversity

The agricultural landscape is a synthesis of human culture and natural environment. This cultural landscape possesses a distinct identity and holds significant importance. Both urbanization and agricultural operations have an impact on the values and environment of agricultural landscapes. Numerous global organizations have implemented policies that protect and address environmental issues in agricultural areas. However, Thailand still emphasizes on economical values. This study, therefore, aims to evaluate the worth of different agricultural landscapes and apply this assessment to the agricultural landscape of Thailand. By thoroughly examining relevant organizations' documents, research papers, publications, and policies, the agricultural landscape has been established to have multiple dimensions, including both natural and cultural elements. Agriculture processes that contribute to the distinctive landscape of agricultural Landscape have varied degrees of value across multiple aspects, such as (1) The value of cultural elements that can be physically perceived for their historical values, antiquity, and uniqueness; (2) Agriculture and traditional natural values, including local flora, water sources, tree clusters, and landforms; (3) The wisdom-based approach that enhances the value of agricultural land by promoting the development of natural and semi-natural agricultural landscapes that align with the original ecology; and (4) The aesthetic value and beauty of the place that make it an attractive destination for recreational, agricultural, and cultural tourism. The purpose of agricultural landscape assessment is to safeguard their inherent qualities, restore depreciated value, and plan for development. Finally, the evaluation consists of four primary indicators. This assessment utilizes a quantitative evaluation to assess the land cover as well as a qualitative evaluation to assess intangible dimensions such as aesthetics and attractiveness.

What If an Intense Rain Event Should Trigger Diffuse Shallow Landslides in a Small Mediterranean Catchment? Numerical Modeling Through Remote Sensing Techniques

The Mediterranean region is increasingly experiencing intense and short-term rainfall, whose effects on the ground trigger widespread and quickly evolving phenomena including debris flows and shallow landslides which cause damage to buildings and infrastructure and occasionally even loss of life. In this research, we focus on the central Mediterranean in an area exposed to high-intensity rainfall that impacts small catchments which have been intensively anthropogenically modified through the years. The Portofino Promontory is characterized by a high cultural and landscape value where nature and historical anthropogenic landforms and signs coexist. The Promontory attracts tourists from all over the world, but it is exposed to a high number of hazards related to debris–mud flow processes that may impact cultural heritage, tourism facilities and infrastructure. In addition, the ancient man-made terraces that are widespread along the Promontory’s slopes may play the role of being a source for shallow landslides, as this similarly happens in many Mediterranean regions. In 2011, heavy rainfall impacted the similar landscape of the Cinque Terre, triggering hundreds of small mud–debris flows whose combined effect was devastating. To this end, a ground effects simulation was developed as part of the H2020 project RECONECT which aims to contribute to a European reference framework on nature-based solutions, based on the high-detail and -precision remote sensing data acquired within the project. The data allowed us to assess the triggering areas, the transport channel, the observed deposition zones and the interaction with the exposed elements before building a possible risk scenario. The simulation and the entire approach may be upscaled to many similar areas where shallow landslide hazards originating from man-made terraces threatens buildings, cultural heritage, tourism facilities and infrastructure.

A Study of Historic Urban Landscape Change Management Based on Layered Interpretation: A Case Study of Dongxi Ancient Town

In the face of external shocks from urbanization and the inherent needs of economic development, it is essential for urban and rural heritage to adapt timely to achieve sustainability in development. Employing Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) methodologies for change management holds significant implications for the sustainable preservation and utilization of heritage. This study used Dongxi Ancient Town as a case study, characterized by a distinct evolutionary trajectory and diverse layers of accumulation throughout its historical progression, making it an exemplary instance for change analysis. This paper analyzed the processes and outcomes of historic urban landscape changes through a layered historical approach. Combining historical data translation methods with ArcGIS spatial analysis, we documented and mapped the cultural and natural characteristics of Dongxi Ancient Town. The layered process of the town’s historical landscape was categorized into four stages: the primary formative period from the Western Han to the Ming dynasties, the rapid development during the Qing dynasty, the prosperous period of the Republic of China, and the transitional expansion period following the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. The study analyzed the morphological changes and values of the historical landscape throughout these periods. Based on the analysis results, we suggest three transformation management strategies for historical landscapes oriented towards economic development: (1) converting cultural heritage into cultural assets, (2) implementing moderate and controlled quantitative changes, and (3) enhancing operational feasibility through collaborative efforts among multiple stakeholders. These strategies aim to establish a sustainable model that balances heritage conservation with economic growth.

NILAI ISTIMEWA LANSKAP PERDESAAN: LITERATUR REVIEW

Landscapes are dynamic and balanced combinations of nature and culture under human influence which form the distinctive character of each region. The cultural landscape formed by the interaction between humans and nature will intentionally produces areas with distinctive characteristics, which cover rural to urban areas. This article aims to find out the forming process of rural landscapes, as well as to identify the special values of rural landscapes. This study was prepared using a literature study approach, by utilizing library sources and documents to obtain research data without going to the field. The rural landscape was originally formed because of basic human needs for life. Rural landscape is land inhabited, cultivated and modified by humans by utilizing its natural resources. Natural landscape patterns are modified in such a way as to create new forms of land use which often present extraordinary characteristics in the form of rural landscapes. The rural landscape is one of the physical manifestations of the cultural landscape, which is the result of human interaction with the natural environment which forms the character of an extensively built landscape which still has stronger natural characteristics than the urban landscape. Rural landscapes have features that include cultural values, social values, economic values, and scientific values and functions. All the processes that occur in the rural landscape will produce a visual product that has a unique aesthetic value.

Does current forest management affect the ecologic and esthetic assets of the landscape in Poland?

Abstract Forestry in Poland finds itself currently at a crossroads. On the one hand, there is powerful social pressure and concern for sustainable development and landscape assets of forests, while on the other hand, the output function is still important. Forest complexes are a crucial element contributing to the esthetic value of landscapes. The esthetic and landscape assets of forests at a regional or local level are determined by numerous elements. Examples of measures at the regional level are afforestation programs, while at the local level, one of the most important factors influencing the landscape is the extent of clear-cut areas or the increase in the proportion/use of natural regeneration. Forest management must take into account the multifaceted role of forests, in which the landscape function is extremely important. Allowing for a variety of ecosystem services that forests supply can contribute to minimizing the risk of potential conflicts whilst maximizing the benefits derived from forest ecosystems by different stakeholder groups. The aim of this paper is to present the results of a literature review relating to the impact of forest management (with its tools) on ecologic and esthetic landscape values at both regional and local levels.

The Role of Geological Information’s in The Development of Geopark Area in South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract A geopark is a single geographical area with geological, biological, and cultural diversity. The purpose of geopark is to promote the earth’s heritage and prosper its people. Geoparks must have geological heritage sites and valuable landscapes related to geological, biological, and cultural diversity. Geological diversity is the backbone of geoheritage, geoconservation, and modern society. Geological diversity has a value of existence (regardless of its use), cultural, aesthetic, economic, functional, scientific, and educational values. The United Nations Educational Scientific and Culture Organization (UNESCO) has included the Maros Pangkep Geopark area in South Sulawesi as part of the UNESCO Global Park (UGG) in 2022. This has had a positive impact on several areas in South Sulawesi to create new geopark areas that have geological variations. Therefore, this paper provides information on the role of geological information in the development of geopark areas in the South Sulawesi Province. The research method used is field survey, data analysis through geological assessment and geosite as a source of geoheritage information. It is hoped that this research will provide geological heritage information towards a new geopark area after the Maros Pangkep Geopark in South Sulawesi.

An Investigation into the Linguistic Landscape of Cultural Tourist Scenic Areas: A Case Study of Guandi Temple in Shanxi Province

This study aims to investigate empirically the linguistic landscape of Guandi Temple, a 4A cultural tourist scenic area located in Shanxi Province in China. The study has found that most of the language signs use two or more languages, and only a small number of signs are in Chinese. Among the five languages that appear in the scenic area, including Chinese, English, French, Japanese and Korean, Chinese is the "preferred code", performing informative function, while English, French, Japanese and Korean belong to the "marginalized code", mainly performing symbolic function and highlighting the "internationalization and linguistic diversity". The study has also found that the most obvious differences are reflected in the language types and signage design. The "top-down" signs are set up by the scenic spots and the government, which show a strong bilingual and multilingual tendency, while the "bottom-up" signs are set up by individual businesses, which show a strong monolingual tendency. Moreover, from the perspective of sign designing, "top-down" signs are consistent and elegant, while "bottom-up" signs are diverse and crude. Three issues could be identified in the linguistic landscape construction, such as uneven quality of translations, non-standardized use of language, and lack of overall planning. Accordingly, it is suggested that the scenic area management authority should take into account the diversity of the tourists source countries; and local cultural elements should be integrated into the "top-down" signs. Lastly, the "bottom-up" signs should increase the number of languages other than Chinese to improve the service capacity so as to better utilize the economic value of the linguistic landscape and promote the Guan Gong culture to the world market.

ПЕРЕДУМОВИ ТА ПЕРСПЕКТИВИ РОЗВИТКУ ІНФРАСТРУКТУРИ ЗИМОВИХ ВИДІВ СПОРТУ У М. КРЕМЕНЕЦЬ, ТЕРНОПІЛЬСЬКОЇ ОБЛАСТІ

The article examines the potential for the development of professional and amateur winter sports infrastructure in Kremenets town, Ternopil region. On the basis of pre-project studies, a project concept for the development of winter sports infrastructure in Kremenets town was developed. The expediency of expanding the existing material base of winter sports and supplementing it with new facilities, in particular, the creation of an educational and recreational center for alpine skiing in the Volovytsia mountain within the city limits, is substantiated. The following methods were used during the research: content analysis of scientific, normative, archival materials and urban planning documentation; field surveys with analysis of residents' movement trajectories; comparative analysis of the design experience of winter tourism and sports centers in Ukraine and abroad; monitoring of some of these complexes visitors behavior; analysis and evaluation of the natural and urban planning potential of the city territory; analysis of technical, ecological and socio-economic aspects related to the design of a new center of winter sports in Kremenets. The principle approaches to the formation of the concept of winter sports infrastructure development in the Kremenets town, Ternopil region are defined: the application of a systemic approach with the modernization of the existing resource base and the combination of new facilities with the existing ones with the help of convenient transport and pedestrian connections; ensuring a sufficient number of beds for reception and accommodation of athletes in the city; taking into account the visual relationships between the planned centers of winter sports and the landscape and architectural dominants of the city; taking into account the value of natural landscapes when choosing the location of the planned complexes of winter recreation and sports.

Understanding how landscape value and climate risk discourses can improve adaptation planning: Insights from Q-method

Climate change poses significant risks to socio-ecological systems, especially at the local level. Local government climate change adaptation strategies must respond to the physical impacts of a changing climate as well as community perceptions about climate change risks and impacts. However, adaptation strategies often overlook diverse stakeholder perspectives and expectations, potentially leading to ineffective and inequitable outcomes. To build stakeholder support for actions that may be unpopular, honest conversations and debate about policy alternatives are necessary. Using Q-method, we identify different discourses about climate change risk and landscape values among residents of Huon Valley, Lutruwita/Tasmania, and consider how discourses, values, and risk perceptions can inform adaptation planning. Our research revealed four distinct landscape value discourses (“Pristine wilderness”; “Accessible places”; “Rural lifestyle”; and “Coastal connections”). Discourses were differentiated by wilderness preference, prioritization of accessibility, and the significance of industry in the region. We also identified five distinct climate change risk discourses (“Governments must mitigate”; “Individuals must act”; “Community will respond”; “It may be too late”; and “Local government must adapt”). These discourses reveal differing stakeholder perspectives about perceived government responsibility, the prioritization of adaptation over mitigation, and risk appetites versus innate resilience. Results highlight relationships between risk perception and landscape values. If attentive to coupled risk-value discourses, and welcoming of debate about alternative options, policymakers and practitioners could formulate adaptation strategies that better respond to community needs.

Assessment of Tourism Development in Belarus: A Comprehensive Analysis of Infrastructure, Cultural Heritage and Natural Resources

Purpose: This study examines the development of tourism in Belarus, evaluating its infrastructure, cultural heritage potential, and natural resources. The research aims to identify key factors influencing tourism development and assess their relative impact on the sector's growth. Design/methodology/approach: The study employs a mixed-methods approach, primarily utilizing a quantitative survey (n=512) of local stakeholders across six regions of Belarus, supplemented by comprehensive statistical analysis. The research instrument included 17 structured questions measuring perceptions of tourism development across multiple dimensions. Data analysis was conducted using chi-square tests and Cramér's V coefficient to determine statistical significance and relationship strength. Findings: The results indicate moderate tourism development in Belarus (39% of respondents rated it as average, 42% as high). Infrastructure quality shows significant regional variation (χ2(4)=31.50, p<0.001, V=0.56). Cultural heritage emerged as a primary attraction (72% agreement), while natural resources received varied evaluations (57% highlighting landscape value). The study identified key development barriers: visa restrictions (74% of respondents), insufficient marketing (62%), and underdeveloped transport infrastructure (51%). Research limitations/implications: The study's cross-sectional nature and focus on domestic stakeholders may limit its generalizability. Future longitudinal studies incorporating international perspectives could provide additional insights. Conclusion: The study reveals that Belarus's tourism development exhibits a complex pattern of strengths and challenges. While the country possesses significant potential through its cultural heritage (72% positive evaluation) and natural resources (57% positive assessment), its tourism development is constrained by structural barriers. The research demonstrates that future tourism growth requires a three-pronged approach: (1) systematic infrastructure modernization, particularly in regional areas; (2) reform of visa policies to enhance accessibility; and (3) development of comprehensive marketing strategies. The statistical significance of these findings (p<0.001) supports the need for evidence-based policy interventions. This research contributes to both theoretical understanding of tourism development in transition economies and practical policy formulation, while establishing a methodological framework for future studies in similar contexts.