Study On Division And Evaluation Of Ecotourism Resources In Linzhi Prefecture, Tibet

Ecotourism, which has evolved from traditional tourism, is an important junction point of developing modern tourism and realizing the sustainable development of tourism resources. With putting forward the scientific concept of development and the historic mission of building a harmonious society, implementing ecotourism with focus on environmental protection in West China, where the eco-environment is comparatively backward and the natural environment is vulnerable, means making use of the advantages of its natural and cultural resources in order to realize quick and healthy development of the tourism under the precondition of protecting resources.The tourist industry ranks the first among the six economic pillars in the Tenth Five-year Plan of Tibetan Autonomous Region. After the three symposiums on Tibet held by the central government, helped by the relevant unit in the inland, Linzhi Prefecture, which lies in southeast of Tibet, has listed tourism as its priority and great progress has been made in the tourist industry. Linzhi, with its unique qualities in natural environment, known as "A region south of the Yangtze River" in Tibet, enjoys commendable tourism resources—the rare species and the long traditional religious culture. The plateau environment system with forests as the main part in Linzhi Prefecture, where the forest coverage is 46.09%, contributes to China and the world at large in such aspects as air regulation, conservation of water supply and biodiversity, etc.With China's opening up to the outside world, the tourism in Linzhi began to develop and it has been growing steadily with the deepening of China's reform. Now Linzhi is facing a key problem—protecting the current tourism resources. However, the administration of tourism resources in Linzhi is merely at the preliminary stage, so it is necessary to carry out a complete investigation of the tourism resources, to classify them systematically and to evaluate them scientifically so as to come up with an appropriate development mode for ecotourism.Ever since the selection of research subject, greater attention has been paid to thefollowing aspects: the ecosystem in Linzhi is very important, but the geologic age is young and the eco-environment is vulnerable;with Linzhi Airport to be brought into service and the rebuilt Sichuan—Tibet Road and the whole Qinghai—Tibet Railway Line to be opened to traffic, a large number of tourists from home and abroad will pour into Linzhi to enjoy the beauty of its natural environment, which will unavoidably bring pressure to bear on the tourism resources there. Therefore, effective measures must be taken to prevent any damage to the natural and cultural resources. This thesis was approved at the critical moment and research has been conducted on Linzhi's ecotourism resources in the following aspects:1. Investigation of Tourism ResourcesThe investigation has been made in seven counties within Linzhi Prefecture. Both detailed investigation and general investigation have been conducted on the basis of the specific conditions of the scenic areas and scenic spots. Some places have been investigated and checked on spot including on-the-spot observation, testing, recording and taking pictures. The whole investigation involves 645 objects of tourism resources with forms filled out respectively. According to the new classification criterion on tourism resources issued by China National Tourism Administration, Linzhi's tourism resources are classified into main type, subtype and fundamental type. All the 645 objects of tourism resources fall into 8 main types, 29 subtypes and 131 fundamental types. Compared with Tourism International, Linzhi has 2 fewer subtypes and 24 fewer fundamental types.2. Regionalization of Tourism ResourcesLinzhi has a vast territory. Only after tourism resources are regionalized, can its regional characteristics be understood objectively, the inherent law be found out and its basic regional advantages be ascertained, which helps to achieve the goal of protecting and making good use of the tourism resources. Based on the investigation and classification and in accordance with the principle of integrity of tourist territory contiguity, similarity of tourism resources origin, university of development trend, rationality of traffic lines and unitary of administrative management, all the data concerning the 645 objects of tourism resources have been sifted, classified and then marked on the Map of Linzhi Prefecture tie the scale of 1:700000. Taking quality and quantity of the tourism resources and traffic conditions into account, all the townships within the seven counties of Linzhi Prefecture have been determined as units of the same kind. In line with geological and geomorphologic features, climate conditions and gross features of the tourism resources in Linzhi, the above 2nd-class sub-regionshave been analyzed and summed up. According to the regionalization principle of tourism resources, the above lst-class sub-regions have been adjusted to make it more rational and beneficial to protecting the tourism resources and the tourism development in each county with in the prefecture as well.3. Evaluation of the Tourism ResourcesThe objects of tourism resources and the five regionalized lst-class regions have been expounded and proved with both qualitative evaluation and quantitative evaluation. Qualitative evaluation means evaluating the value, beneficial results and conditions for protection and development of tourism resources. One of the two methods adopted for quantitative evaluation is to grade tourism resources by using the national standard of China National Tourism Administration. Fuzzy mathematics and sep-analysis have been adopted as the other method for quantitative evaluation, in which the results are arranged in order after the five 1 st-class regions have been evaluated. The results show that more attention should be focused on protecting the folk cultural comprehensive tourist area(4th subregion) along the Yaluzangbu River in Bayishi Town with plateau mild, subhumid and semiarid climate, the landscape canyon tourist area with mountain tropical and subtropical humid climate and the river valley and basin tourist area with warm and humid climate in Palongzangbu Plateau(2nd subregion).4. Protection of Tourism ResourcesIt is never outdated for West China to focus on preventing eco-environment. The State Forestry Administration has put forward that the distribution of productive forces and production relations should be readjusted. The task will be carried out in accordance with the general principle of "expanding forest coverage in the east, improving forest quality in the west, utilizing forests in the south and stopping felling forests in the north". The reason for making the policy decision of "improving forest quality in the west" is because the eco-environment is vulnerable and smooth implementation of China's West Development needs ecological support. The purpose of "improving forest quality in the west" is to carry out protective construction of the eco-environment and to protect the biodiversity. It is true that only after the environment is well protected in Linzhi can sustainable development of tourism be guaranteed. But still some specific measures should be taken in order to achieve the goal.5. Some Modes For Developing EcotourismBased on the results obtained from the investigation of ecotourism resources,more attention should be paid to protecting these areas: 1) the folk cultural comprehensive tourist area(4th subregion) along the Yaluzangbu River in Bayishi Town with plateau mild, subhumid and semiarid climate, the landscape canyon tourist area with mountain tropical and subtropical humid climate and the river valley and basin tourist area with warm and humid climate in Palongzangbu Plateau(2nd subregion);2) the ecotourist area along the upper reaches of the Niyang River with plateau warm, cool, semiarid and subhumid climate;3) the folk cultural comprehensive tourist area with dry river valleys and basins. Taking the specific situations of different tourists spots into account, eight ecotourism development modes have been worked out: Linzhi Summer Resort Tour;Ecological and Leisure Tour to Basongcuo, Ecological Sightseeing Tour to the Niyang River Valley;Ecological Tour to Primeval Forests;Folk Custom Tour to Gongbu;On-foot Scientific Investigation and Exploration Tour to the Yaluzangbu Canyon;Tour to Ancient Town of Taizhao and Ancient Roads to Vassal States in the Tang Dynasty;Religious Cultural Tour to Holy Zharisaba Mountain and Bujiulamaling Temple. All the eight modes will be carried out one after another in order.It is with the help of fund provided the returned overseas Chinese students to carry out research in China that a complete and systematic investigation of the tourism resources has been successfully finished in Linzhi Prefecture. The latest data on 645 objects of tourism resources have been collected. All the objects of tourism resources have been classified, regionalized and evaluate, the general direction and order for ecotourism development have been determined theoretically. Some typical modes for the development of the ecotourism sources in Linzhi have been put forward. The Tourism Bureau of Linzhi Prefecture speaks highly of the research because it provides scientific evidence for drawing a tourism blue print for Linzhi's The Eleventh Five-year Plan and lays a theoretic foundation for the further research on the ecotourism in the prefecture...