Study On Formation And Competitiveness Assessment Of Tourism Industry Cluster

In recent years, owing to its significant effects in regional economic growth and competitiveness advantage, industry cluster is a hot topic in the world. However, there are so few researches on tourism field and service industry. In terms of industry cluster, combining with the theories and research methods of the Industrial Economics, Economical Geography and Sociology, this research makes a systemic study on tourism industry cluster. The formation and development of industry cluster and the evaluation of the competitive ability are the logic thoughts of this research. On the basic of redefining tourism industry cluster, this research tries to discuss the issue that how tourism industry cluster form and how to evaluate its competitive ability. The remarkable significance of this research is to enrich research method of industry cluster, to advance the quantitative research of industry cluster and guide the tourism industry cluster's practice activity.Combining with division theory of labor, transaction theory and industry cluster rent theory, this disseratation has a good analysis on the formation of tourism industry cluster. Firstly, this dissertation holds that tourism cluster is the result of tourism product factors'agglomeration. Maximizing profit is the nature of product factors's holder. However, labor division, cooperation and innovation will help to increasing production efficiency. So production factors can pursue profit maximization by deciding which space and industry should enter. Then this dissertation analyzes the formation condition of tourism industry cluster, including its industry and space condition, which provides a good proof on the existing of tourism industry cluster and the possibility of its development. The industry conditions include long value chain, differentiation ability, transportable and low transportation cost, high correlation of value chain and innovative need. While the space conditions include rich natural endowments and factors of products, efficiency organizations, mass supply and demand, and valid institution.Secondly, the author analyzes the formation mechanism of tourism industry cluster. On one hand, based on maximizing profit and the instinct of tourism cluster, tourism enterprises aim of increasing rewards of scale, which is the original impetus of the development of tourism industry cluster. On the other hand, based on maximizing utility, each tourist hopes more consumption amounts and more landscape at a low cost, which is the important impetus of the development of tourism industry cluster. Last but not least, the high interdependence of tourism value chain, the continuity of tourism service and personalization of tourist need is the important factor that promotes the development of tourism industry cluster.Thirdly, this dissertation summarizes that tourism industry cluster has six positive effects, including resource agglomeration effect, division effect, cost effect, learning and innovating effect, competition and cooperation effect, and brand effect. Eventually, this dissertation further discusses its four factors on formation of tourism industry cluster, which are tourism endowments, tourist need, infrastructure, related industries and governments.Fourthly, combining with division theory of labor and transaction, especial industry cluster rent theory, which can be divided into industry rents, geography rents and organization rents.This dissertaiton holds that tourism industrial clusters come into being due to the tourism industrial clusters rents, and the dissipation of industrial clusters rents causes the tourism industrial cluster's decline. As the main sources of tourism industrial clusters rents turn to the organization rents from the industry rents and geography rents, the tourism industrial clusters evolve from the informal industrial clusters to the organized industrial clusters and innovation industrial clusters.Fifthly, based on analyzing the sources of industry clusters competitiveness, the author identifies four key elements, which are concentration, correlation, innovation and accessibility. Combining with the findings in geography and sociology, the author breaks through traditional evaluation method for competitiveness evaluation in industry clusters, propes new methods for assessing cluster competitiveness. It will enrich research method of industry cluster. Lastly, in the case study, appling the above method of assessing tourism industry cluster competitiveness, this dissertation further study the growing status quo and competitiveness of tourism industry cluster in Fujian Province.