中国区域旅游发展

J.Jackson/TourismManagement27(2006)695–706

705

themediumterm,withanindustrystilldominatedbyverticallyconstructedstate,nationallyandinternation-allyownedbusinesses.Thistensionbetweensocialism,withthestateasthedominantformofbusinessownership,operatinginacompetitivecapitalist-stylemarketsystemmotivatedbyeconomicobjectiveshasalsobeennotedbySo eldandLi(1998).

Apossiblesolutiontothedisinterestatindividualbusinesslevelmaybeprovidedbylocalgovernmentof cialswhohaveoftenbeenthedrivingforcesbehindlocaleconomicdevelopment(Christerson&Lever-Tracy,1997,p.573).Theseof cialscouldplayavitalpartinactivatinglocaltourismclustersinfosteringlocalcollectives,suchasthosebasedonethnicminoritygrouphandcraftsinUrumqi(So eld&Li,1998,p.374)andalsoprivatelyownedtourismSMEs.Additionally,theyhavearoleinidentifyinganddrawingoutadynamicprivatesectorleadership,ininstitutionalisingconcepts,relationshipsandlinkagesbysupportingthestrengthen-ingoflocaltourismtradeassociationsandensuringawideinvolvementofclusterparticipantsandassociatedinstitutions.

Thereisalsoaroleintheactivationoftourismbusinessclustersfornationalgovernment,CNTA,provincialgovernmentsandprovincialgovernmentauthorities,suchastheSichuanProvincialTourismBureau,whichbetweenthemcouldprovidetheappro-priatecontextincludingcoordinationandtransporta-tion,information,communication,legal,educationalandeconomicinfrastructurefortourismclusterdevel-opment.Additionally,assistancecouldbeprovidedininstitutionalisingthelinkagesandrelationshipsthatwillensurethelonger-termsurvivalofthecluster.

Whileitisimportantthattheemergingclustersarenotoverlyin uencedintheirdirectionbytherepresen-tativesofacademicinstitutions,thepresenceinthewestofanumberofuniversitiessuchasSichuanandYunnanUniversities,activelyteachingandresearchinginthe eldsoftourismandhospitality,providesnecessaryeducationalinfrastructuretotheclusters.Academiacouldalsobecomeinvolvedbyprovidingguidanceonappropriatestructuresforindustryorganisationsandgovernmentagenciesandassistancewithgatheringandinterpretingeconomicandstatisticalinformationinadditiontoensuringawell-educatedworkforce.

6.Conclusion

Inrecognitionoftheimportanceoftourismactivitytoregionaleconomicdevelopment,theexistingregionalinequalitiesandchangingbusinessclimateinChina,thispapersetouttoexploretheapplicabilityofamodelofregionalandlocallybasedtourismclustersbasedonPorter’s(1998)work.Additionally,inthelightofthemovementawayfromacentralgovernment-controlled

tourismindustrytheneedforalternativemodelsforregionaltourismdevelopmentinChinawasidenti ed.ItwasproposedthatbusinessclustersmightbeasuitablemeansoffosteringastructurewithinwhichrelatedandsupportingindustriescaninteractwhichisappropriatefortheemergingintersectionofeconomicparadigmsinChinaanditsdistinctivesocialandculturalheritage.

Throughbusinessclusterinitiativeslocalcommunitiescanbeenabledtocontributetotheirowndevelopment,ratherthanrelyingongovernmentlargesseanddirec-tion.Amoreself-suf cient‘bottom-up’approachtoregionaldevelopmentwithhorizontallinkagesincorpor-atingprivate/publicsectorpartnershipsandpartner-shipsbetweeninternational,nationalandlocallyownedbusinessesseemsdesirableindevelopingregionaltour-ism.ThedevelopmentofbusinessclusterscouldsupportlinkagesbetweenrelatedandsupportingindustriesinthecontextofChina’scultureandpoliticaleconomyanditsshifttowardsa‘socialistmarketeconomy’,giventhepresenceoftheadvantageousfactorendowmentanddemandconditions.

Porter’smodelappearstobeidealandthereseemstobestrongsupportforsuchamodelatanindustryleadershipandacademiclevel.However,atthemicro-businesslevel,withade ciencyofsmallcollectiveorprivateenterprisesoutsidestateplans,thereisagooddealmoreworktobedonebeforelocaltourismbusinessclusterscanbeactivatedtoassistintheconversionofconsiderablecomparativeadvantagestocompetitiveadvantage.

References

Bordas,E.(1994).Competitivenessoftouristdestinationsinlong

distancemarkets.TheTouristReview3.

Beccatini,G.(1987).MercatoeForzeLocali:IlDistrittoIndustriale.

Bologna:IlMulino.

ChinaNationalTourismAuthority(CNTA).;

Accessed3December2004.

ChinaNationalTourismOrganization(CNTO)./

chinastats.asp;Accessed3December2004.

./westchina/overall.

htm;Accessed29November2004.

Christerson,B.,&Lever-Tracy,C.(1997).ThethirdChina?Emerging

industrialdistrictsinruralChina.InternationalJournalofUrbanandRegionalResearch,21,569–588.

Demurger,S.(2000).EconomicopeningandgrowthinChina.OECD

developmentcentrestudies.Paris:OECD.

Doeringer,B.,&Terkla,D.G.(1995).Businessstrategyandcross

industryclusters.EconomicDevelopmentQuarterly,9,225–237.Fu,W.W.,&Hu,M.(2001).Openingup,co-operationand

development:theinternalopportunities,constraintsandchallengesfacingChina’stourism.ProceedingsoftheForumonChina’sTourism(Y.Zhang,Trans.).Chengdu,China,22–24June2001.Gao,L.,&Ge,F-X.(2000).Formulationofthegreatstrategy:The

WestDevelopmentstrategy(Y.Zhang,Trans.).Beijing:EconomicDailyPublishing.