Spatial distribution patterns and factors influencing rural tourism destinations: An empirical study of China’s agritainment resorts

Abstract

Agritainment is one of the essential aspects of rural tourism and plays an important role in the economic transformation and revitalization of rural areas. Taking 9200 agritainment resorts in China as a research object, this paper systematically uses geospatial analysis methods to analyze their spatial distribution patterns and influencing mechanisms. The results indicate: (1) All types of agritainment have a condensed distribution in space and are oriented in the northeast—southwest direction, with a central axis generally located in the Beijing–Zhengzhou–Wuhan line. (2) The distribution of agritainment is uneven across different spatial scales, and there are high-density clusters in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Sichuan–Chongqing region as the core, and sub-high-density distribution areas in the Shaanxi–Gansu–Ningxia border, the southern coastal region, and the Xiangan–Jiang–Hubei border, manifesting prominent spatial distribution characteristics of large agglomeration and low dispersion. (3) Agritainment has a significant positive spatial autocorrelation. The Matthew effect is highly significant in space. The distribution of cold hot spots in the agritainment space shows a distribution pattern of "hot in the south and cold in the north." (4) The spatial distribution of agritainment is influenced by human factors such as society, economy, and the tourism industry as well as natural factors such as terrain, water systems, and climate. The intensity of influence of first-level human factors on the spatial distribution of agritainment ranks as follows: tourism industry factors (0.69) > social factors (0.37) > economic factors (0.30). The natural distribution of agritainment tends to be in humid plain and hilly areas with an altitude below 1000 m and annual precipitation above 800 mm. Agritainment is mainly distributed in the subtropical monsoon climate area adjacent to rivers. The research findings offer valuable insights for optimizing the spatial distribution pattern of agritainment in China, promoting the high-quality development of agritainment, and the sustainable development of rural tourism.