A Research Of Ancient Town Development On Tourist Motivations Basis

The ancient towns in China are the transitional human habitats between cities and villages. Over the centuries, the ancient towns acquired historical and cultural characteristics which differ from region to region. The ancient towns offer an authentic picture of how ancient China looked like in various aspects. For city residents, the ancient towns are perfect getaway places for relaxation as well as places for people to learn about the lifestyles of their ancestors. Therefore, these ancient towns have become a new preferred tourist attractions. Local developers are vying to attract more tourists to their ancient towns, which leads to over development or even exploitation of these ancient heritages. The authenticity and sustainability of these ancient towns are being challenged. Developing a sustainable strategy of protecting the authenticity while showing the tourist the full beauty and charm of these towns should be brought onto the agenda.The author of this dissertation paper chooses the ancient town of Yunshuiyao, in which the world cultural heritage Huaiyuan House and Hegui Town locate, as the research subject into the possible development models for enhancing the quality of the ancient town tourism. The paper starts off with summarizing the existing ancient town development theories both in China and abroad, aiming at identifying successful development cases for further research and investigation. Based on solid understanding of ancient town tourism and useful guiding theories, field study on Yunshuiyao town was performed in order to identify the current tourism status and the constraints that keep it from being further developed. A sample survey questionnaire was conducted upon the ancient town tourism market. With the help of SPSS 18.0, the predictive analytics software, the analysis on the behavior of tourists who choose Yunshuiyao town as their tourism destination was performed. The motivational factors were analyzed and concluded from the research. A detailed analysis of the difference in motivations were performed based on the sample population statistics. The research paper came to a conclusion that the tourism development of the Yunshuiyao ancient town should start with paying close attention to the preservation of the authenticity of this town. It is necessary to innovate ancient town tourism characteristic products, present ancient town’s unique culture, enhance the experiential project in the ancient town and improve and upgrade its infrastructure facilities. The Yunshuiyao case analysis should provide valuable reference for the development of ancient towns in China.