Environmental and Community Regeneration: Exploring Design Approach for Inclusive Tourism Based on Visualization Methods

Abstract

Studies have extensively explored inclusive tourism in rural areas in the recent past. However, several forms of inclusive tourism are associated with several limitations. Firstly, few tourists travel to rural places because they consider the developed areas unattractive. Secondly, the area is not attractive because the design and services do not match the area. Thirdly, the people living in rural areas are not content and happy. The aim of the present study is to propose a visualization method-based dynamic design strategy for exploring a new balance between tourism experience and local development. The research and application of the method were conducted in two traditional Chinese villages in western Zhejiang, China. The classification of landscape services (LS) and historical landscape elements (HLE) was used to define the design goals. The visualization method was used during the whole design and construction process of revitalizing Yuan Touli village. The results showed that the method allows for easy analysis and is an efficient tool for developing participant designs based on the different roles in village tourism. The visualization method can circumvent the limitations of ensuring inclusive tourism. The design definition, study’s limitations and future research directions are presented in the study.