| As one of key elements in the tourism industry,scenic areas play a positive role in the development of tourist destinations and regional economic growth.After over70 years of development,China’s tourist attractions are now transitioning from a closed economic model using admission tickets to a sharing model of all-for-one tourism.The pricing of scenic areas’ tickets was left to local governments by the end of the 20 th century,and since then,entrance fees have witnessed a dramatic increase,making them the main source of operating revenues for scenic areas.The economic benefit-oriented development model not only weakens the social,ecological and other comprehensive benefits,but also runs counter to the nature of public welfare of public resource scenic areas.In order to further rationalize the positioning of public resource scenic areas,standardize the management of scenic areas,and fully reflect the integration of social benefits,economic benefits,and ecological benefits,government departments have successively issued a number of regulatory policies,for example,Article 4 of the "Tourism Law of the People’s Republic of China"(2018 Amendment)stipulates: "The tourist places constructed using public resources should reflect the nature of public welfare",highlighting the public welfare of the construction of public resource scenic spots...Although the concept of ‘public resource scenic areas’ is not widely used internationally,the idea of public welfare related to tourist sites is commonly accepted and conveyed by low ticket prices or free entrance.In China,there is no common definition of public resource scenic areas,but emphasis is generally placed on the natural and cultural public resources of tourist sites.In contrast to private goods,the production and consumption of public resource scenic areas exhibit significant externality,resulting in the divergence between private and social costs and between private and social benefits.As evidenced by Olson’s free-rider problem,once a public good comes into existence,all members of society,whether having contributed or not,will be able to enjoy the benefits the goods generate,which in turn will lead to a shortage of voluntary contributions to those goods.Therefore,the government,as a representative of the public interest,will intervene and supply the public good through fiscal expenditures.Funding for attractions oriented to the public interest in the United States(U.S.),mostly national parks,comes mainly from government funds.In China,however,given that public resource scenic areas are limited by a shortage of fiscal subsidies,ticket revenues have become an important source of income,seriously weakening their public welfare attribute.So,this paper combines the demands of theory and practice,takes the public resource scenic areas as the research objects,and study the welfare impact of them from the perspective of supply and demand side and stakeholders.This paper uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to ensure the scientific and accurate research process and results.This study consists of seven chapters.Among them,chapters 1 and 2 are introduction,literature review and relevant theoretical foundations,forming the technical route and framework of this study;chapters 3,4and 5 are the focus of the research,including the development process of public resource scenic areas,the status of public welfare,the impact of social welfare at the micro and macro level;Chapter 6 is based on the summary of the characteristics and laws of the public welfare benefits of public resource scenic areas,and discusses the restriction mechanism,management model and promotion strategies of public welfare of public resource scenic areas.The main research conclusions are as follows:First,using the CCR,BBC and super-efficiency DEA models to quantitatively evaluate the current status of public welfare in 228 public resource scenic areas,it is concluded that:(1)Overall,the efficiency of public welfare in public resource scenic areas is generally low.Only 19.74% of public resource scenic areas have achieved DMU efficiency of comprehensive efficiency and scale efficiency,and the proportion of pure technical efficiency achieving DMU is 27.19%.(2)In terms of time,public resource scenic areas in batches 1 and 2 have the most effective DMU,but the average value of the public welfare efficiency of batch 9 is the highest;In terms of location,Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has the highest comprehensive efficiency of public welfare,and Qinghai Province has the lowest comprehensive efficiency and pure technical efficiency of public welfare.Comprehensive efficiency of public welfare DMU effective of public resource scenic areas are mainly distributed in southern provinces of China,including Guizhou,Guangdong,Jiangxi,Zhejiang,Fujian,etc.,and have a certain spatial overlap with the above provinces with national poverty counties and deep poverty villages,this is particularly evident in provinces such as Guizhou and Jiangxi.(3)Pure technical efficiency—the number of scattered points that are close to the diagonal of the overall efficiency is significantly more than the scale efficiency—the overall efficiency,and there are trends and characteristics that deviate from the diagonal,which shows that in the development of public resource scenic areas in public welfare,the role of technology application is stronger than scale investment.(4)World heritage sites such as Hangzhou West Lake,Putuo Mountain,Wudang Mountain,and Jiuzhaigou have all achieved the best DMU for public welfare pure technical efficiency,and they are all in the stage of increasing returns to scale,indicating that expanding public investment can improve the efficiency of public welfare.(5)Based on the pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency of public welfare,228 public resource scenic areas are divided into 4 categories: comprehensive optimization(I),resource allocation optimization(II),public investment optimization(III),Scale investment optimization(IV).Among them,category II has the largest number,and the optimization and promotion of tourism resource element input and allocation capabilities should be strengthened,while category III has the least,and reasonable investment should be made to reduce costs,optimize the proportion of factor input,and fully enhance the public welfare function.Secondly,using the super-efficiency window DEA,taking 120 national scenic spots as examples,the efficiency of public welfare from 1999 to 2016 was measured,and the factors affecting the efficiency of public welfare were quantitatively analyzed.It is concluded that:(1)On the whole,the average value of public welfare efficiency is relatively low,and presents a relatively typical phase.Before 2010,the average value of public welfare efficiency showed large fluctuations,and after 2010,the average value of public welfare showed a steady increase.Specifically,in 2008,the average value of public welfare efficiency and the effective number of public welfare efficiency DMU reached the maximum,which were 0.929 and 22 respectively.In2002,the effective number of DMU for public welfare efficiency was at least 3.The lowest average efficiency of public welfare in 1999 was 0.32.(2)The level of regional economic development is positively correlated with the efficiency of public welfare,and it has passed the 5% significance test,indicating that for every 1% increase in regional economic development,the efficiency of public resource scenic areas will increase by 0.00043%.Operating expenditure is negatively correlated with the efficiency of public welfare,and it has passed the 5% significance test,indicating that for every 1% increase in operating expenditure,the efficiency of public welfare in public resource scenic areas will decrease by 0.00095%;The completion of fixed asset investment is negatively correlated with the efficiency of public welfare,and it has passed the 10% significance test,which shows that for every 1% increase in the completion of fixed asset investment,the efficiency of public resource scenic areas will decrease by 0.000091%.In addition,variables such as tourism resource level,public investment,and area of scenic spots all failed the 10% significance test.(3)The restriction mechanism of public resource scenic areas public welfare promotion is: the incentives of the central and local governments are incompatible,government-enterprise alliances,lack of community livelihood and development guarantees,and multiple and complex relationships among stakeholders.Third,using the compensation changes and the panel correction standard deviation estimates,a quantitative analysis of the welfare impact of 120 public resource scenic areas from the demand side and the supply side was carried out,and it was concluded that:(1)Demand side: In terms of tourist consumption welfare,ticket prices change in the opposite direction to short-term and long-term tourist consumption welfare.In terms of location,the consumption welfare fluctuations of tourists in the central and western regions are significantly higher than those in the eastern region;In terms of resource levels,the consumption welfare fluctuations of tourists in world heritage scenic spots such as Wuyi Mountain and Taishan Mountain are significantly stronger than other types of scenic spots.Overall,compared with the previous year,the consumption welfare of tourists has not been damaged by the fluctuation of ticket prices.Except that the average tourist consumption welfare in2001 was negative,the rest of the years were positive.(2)Supply side—In terms of production welfare in public resource scenic areas,per capita ticket expenditures maintain relative consistency with short-term and long-term tourism enterprise production welfare,especially the long-term welfare impact,and there is a positive correlation between them.From the perspective of the production welfare of a single national scenic spot,there are both production welfare damage caused by fluctuations in ticket prices per capita,and benefits of production welfare due to fluctuations in ticket prices.The characteristics of each year are different.(3)The total social welfare impact.There is no change found between the average ticket expenditure of 120 public resource scenic areas and its short-term social welfare impact and long-term social welfare impact.However,there is a relatively consistent change law between the short-term welfare impact and the long-term welfare impact.The average short-term and long-term social welfare impacts show a more obvious three-year one-period change characteristic,which is relatively consistent with my country’s current ticket price adjustment regulations.Ticket price fluctuations in some public resource scenic areas have caused a loss of social net welfare,but overall,the net social welfare is positive,and there has been no obvious damage to the total social welfare.Fourth,using the cost-benefit method and the form of Kaldor-Hicks table,taking Shanghai Sheshan National Forest Park as an example,a quantitative evaluation of the welfare impact of its public welfare from the perspective of stakeholders,and it was concluded that:(1)It was found that the implementation of the free-admission policy in SNFP was successful.Although granting free admission increased the financial burden on the local government,the overall social welfare was improved.SNFP has maintained a good ecological environment with more tourists coming to visit after the introduction of free admission,and SNFP also provides a high-quality leisure and recreation space for local residents.(2)The free-admission policy disrupted the original interest distribution pattern,transferring the costs and benefits among stakeholders.The benefits of waiving entrance fees were transferred to local residents and tourists.Operation and maintenance costs have been transferred to the local government,increasing its fiscal expenditures.Part of the consumer surplus has gone to local catering and retailing businesses,thereby increasing local tax revenues.For JDCSNTR,the main beneficiary before free admission,some of the original benefits were turned into expenses for environmental improvement and the construction of supporting facilities.(3)The free-admission policy at scenic areas is in line with Kaldor-Hicks efficiency,and an improvement in social welfare is indeed realised.The losses incurred by SNFP and local governments constitute only one-third of the cost of the benefits gained by local residents,tourism enterprises,and tourists.As the total benefits exceed the total costs,and the benefit-cost ratio is larger than one,there is a significant improvement in social welfare.Finally,according to the evaluation results of the public welfare benefits of public resource scenic areas,it is concluded that: Establish an integrated working mechanism for the public resource scenic areas around the main body and content of the supply,and the clear rights and responsibilities of stakeholders.Implement classified management around the level of economic development and the nature of resources,and innovate the types of eco-tourism products guided by ecological concepts,and explore the dynamic mode of public welfare of public resource scenic areas.Clarify the rights and obligations of public resources and scenic spots public welfare management agencies,and commit to public service and management.Construct a community sustainable development evaluation system from the three-dimensional aspects of economic promotion,social and cultural progress,and environmental improvement.Precise zoning and assessment of resources and environmental effects of tourism development activities.The possible innovations of this study are as follows:(1)Different from the previous public resource scenic areas efficiency measurement focused on economic output,this paper considers economic efficiency,but also considers fairness factors,focusing on public welfare output efficiency.(2)Unlike previous studies that focused more on the impact of consumer welfare on the demand side,this article comprehensively analyzes the welfare impact of public resource scenic areas on the welfare of tourism enterprises and tourism consumers from both supply and demand sides,and comprehensively and objectively analyzes short-term and long-term.The overall social welfare impact of public welfare in public resource scenic areas has,to a certain extent,expanded the depth of public welfare welfare evaluation in public resource scenic areas.(3)Different from the previous focus on the overall social welfare impact,this paper quantitatively analyzes the welfare impact of various stakeholders before and after public welfare in public resource scenic areas from the perspective of stakeholders,and dynamically compares various types of welfare before and after public welfare.Meanwhile,different from the previous studies that focus on the impact of different land use methods on the cost-benefit of stakeholders,this article discusses the impact of different business models on the cost-benefit of stakeholders under the same land-use model.(4)In the past,the public welfare of public resource scenic areas emphasized the main method of ticket reduction and exemption.Based on accurate cost accounting,on the basis of balancing the costs and benefits of various stakeholders,the public welfare process will be promoted in an orderly manner. |
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