Governing for Spatial Reconfiguration in Tourism-Oriented Peri-Urban Villages: New Developments from Three Cases in China

Abstract

Peri-urban villages have become the new hotspot of rural tourism development in China as different actors strive to reconfigure the rural environment in order to meet growing tourist demands, provide distinctive tourism experience, and improve villagers’ quality of life. The presence of diverse stakeholders requires new governance wisdom. This situation also underscores the importance of examining emerging trends to enrich existing literature and guide future practices. Based on first-hand information from interviews, field investigation, and questionnaire surveys, this study illustrates the evolving structure and dynamics of governance approaches and the roles of stakeholders in creating characteristic peri-urban tourism destinations. Three exemplary cases, headed respectively by the local government, a state-owned enterprise, and artists, are investigated and evaluated. We find that collaborative approaches that foster value co-creation and benefit-sharing are gradually replacing earlier governance models that are dominated by a single party, and that proper leadership and institutional design are key to achieving collaborative governance. The findings support recommendations on openness to participation, negotiation and coordination, division of rights and responsibilities, and a combination of incentive and regulatory policies in rural tourism development.