The Role Of Transport In Spatial-temporal Changes Of Tourist Flows

Transport provision is a key element in the development of tourism.Many researchers have also recognized the importance of transport infrastructure as an essential component of successful development in that it induces the creation of new attractions and the growth of existing ones.Tourism transport research,especially research on the role of tourism transport in destination development became the focus and popular subject in tourism and geography studies.We choose China Domestic Tourism Survey of Rural Residents(CDTSRR)from 2002 to 2007 and Domestic Tourism Survey of Jiangsu(DTSofJS)with the time period 2005-2007 as the basic database.Using the adjustive forms of the two database,gravity model with panel data,instrumental variable method(IV),Travel Dispersal Index with Distance-Angle(TDIDA)and simultaneous equations model(SEM)are used to detect the role of tourism transport in the spatial-temporal changes of tourist flows with and within provinces.Combined the empirical research results and over advance and inappropriate construction status in quo of China’s transport infrastructures,some suggestions and propositions are given.The theoretical and practical contribution to tourism and geography research is:detecting the impact of tourism transport on tourism in different spatial scale,focus on endogenous effect in tourism-transport system,enriching related methods and indexes of tourism transport research.This dissertation comprises four sections with eight chapters.Section one is chapter one which is an introduction of the research background,research significance,article structure,methodologies and procedures.The research significance of this dissertation includes both theoretical and practical sides.In this section,we also give the major content and technical procedures of this dissertation.Section two includes chapter two and three.Chapter two involves definition and essence of tourism transport,literature review on international and domestic tourism transport research include the regional impact of tourism transport(including the regional economic,environmental,and social impact);the regional characteristics of tourism transport(including the tourism transport product and experience,and spatial pattern and planning of tourism transport infrastructure);spatial behavior of tourists in international research and the spatial attributes of tourism transport,tourism transport planning,the regional impact of tourism transport,and transport management of mega-events and mega-festival.In chapter three,the research paradigms in tourism and geography research are introduced.Analytic methods which include gravity model with panel data,instrumental variable method(IV),Travel Dispersal Index with Distance-Angle(TDIDA)and simultaneous equations model(SEM)are also introduced in chapter three.Section three is the main part of this dissertation,and it includes chapter four,five,six,and seven.In chapter four,the basic databases-China Domestic Tourism Survey of Rural Residents(CDTSRR)with the time period 2002-2007 and Domestic Tourism Survey of Jiangsu(DTSofJS)with the time period 2005-2007 are introduced.Meanwhile,we also give the reason why the time period is chosen and some background of transport infrastructure construction in China.In chapter five,we analyze the role of transport infrastructure in the spatial-temporal changes of tourist flows between provinces.Regional Tourism Development Policy Index(RTDPI)is constructed as the instrumental variable to fix the endogenous effect of transport.Results of gravity model with panel data and IV method indicate that tourism transport infrastructure density of destination led to the growth of tourist flows in certain destination.With the arrival and travel perspective,we find out that the influence factors are different between the eastern,middle,and western areas of China.The antilog form of"inner region tourist flow" coefficient in the models is constructed as a representative index of "Tourist destination preference to inner province".The correlationship between this index and tourism transport infrastructure density suggests that the provision of tourism transport infrastructure can lead to a positive effect on tourist flows between provinces in China.In chapter six,we analyze the role of transport in the spatial-temporal changes of tourist flows within Jiangsu province.Results indicate transport elements change have little effect on the structure of tourism transport mode.With Travel Dispersal Index with Distance-Angle(TDIDA),we analyze the spatial-temporal changes of tourist flows of 13 cities in Jiangsu,and we find the construction of high-speed road can effectively lead the spatial-temporal changes of tourist flows.Meanwhile,the speed provision of railway,station planning,and the schedule of train and long-haul travel can also have some effect of the spatial-temporal changes of tourist flows.In the end of this chapter,we analyze the relationship among transport mode,dispersal angle,and dispersal distance.In chapter seven,we combines the empirical research results and over advance and inappropriate construction status in quo of China’s transport infrastructures,analysis some negative effect of tourism transport infrastructure construction.Some suggestions and propositions are given.In section four,chapter eight,some research results and the innovative works in this dissertation are summarized,and some key points for future research work on this topic are suggested too.The innovation works of this dissertation include:perspective of the impact of tourism transport on tourism in different spatial scale would be a brand-new view in tourism transport research;gravity model with panel data and Ⅳ method,and the new dispersal index can enrich related methods and indexes of tourism transport research;this paper gives an empirical results of tourism transport research in different spatial scale.Future research can focus on the high-speed railway,empirical research of negative effect of tourism transport,and micro-view on tourists in tourism transport research.