Study on Institutional Innovation of China’s Urban Tourism

摘要

With the emergence and development of urban tourism in nations around the world, urban tourism has gradually become an important form of tourism, accounting for a rising percentage of tourists and tourism revenues. Despite its short history, urban tourism has surged in China in recent years. The author of this paper uses a combination of empirical and normat ive methods in the research, examines the development of domestic and overseas urban tourism, and argues that China's city development process suffers from some institutional hindrances, which have seriously constrained the healthy development of urban tourism. Through analyses, the author finds that at present institutional hindrances constraining the development of Ch ina's urban tourism are largely manifested in the following facts: first, legislation on urban tourism has lagged behind; second, city leisure space layout has yet to be incorporated into urban planning; third, the existing urban tourism investment management system suffers from various deficiencies; and fourth, notions of leisure and leisure tourism commercialism remain outdated. On the basis of the above research findings, the author draws the conclusion that as an integral party of urban economic development and the turning point and area of growth for the urban economy, the urban tourism industry is set to significantly boost the development of China's urban socio-economic development; given Ch ina's vast resources in urban touris m, its development prospects are brilliant; and that to meet the demand of domestic and overseas tourists for urban tourism, institutional supply must be innovated. Thus, the author proposes the following measures: (1) to administrate tourism according to the law; (2) to improve the planning of urban tourism; (3) to improve the operating management system of the urban tourism industry; and (4) to reform mentality and build a leisure education system. The innovation of this paper lies in its comprehensive examination of the problems with the institutional supply of China's urban tourism, and its proposal of highly operational measures.