| Regional cooperation in tourism is a trend in modern travel industry. It can realize the tourism resource sharing among different regions, marketing complementary cooperation, and optimize the tourism spatial structure. This way the sustainable development of regional tourism can be achieved and the problems of disorder development, disorder competition and management can also be avoided.The northern region presents great necessity in further regional cooperation due to its resource complementation, the cross-region of the products, the share of market and multi-level of the cities, and to break region barrier, promote and optimize the regional tourism special structure, strengthen the integration development, realize the complementing and cooperating in terms of resources, marketing, products and information. The economical level, resources nature, transportation location, the tourism industry policy and development environment in northwest region are different and present features of imbalance, differentiation, and regionalism, therefore the form, function, and benefit of tourism spatial structure display obvious differentiation. For example, the northwest region is lack of systematical tourism cooperation and the integrated cross-regional tourism cooperation concept, the information-share platform and multi-level cooperation mechanism has not been established, thus it is important and practically meaningful to integrate and optimize the tourism spatial structure, realize cross-regional tourism cooperation, and establish the targeted, effective regional tourism industry policy.Regional tourism cooperation is to change the partial conflicts into co-existence in a larger space, thus a harmony and united integrated region could be formed. This would benefit the whole regional competitive power, therefore the change would be a mutal-beneficial and win-win process; A virtuous and interactive competition and cooperation mechanism would be formed. The competition and cooperation mode is ideal for regional tourism development and is bound to help the maximization of economic, social and environmental effect of regional tourism development.This paper reviewed the research results from both home and abroad. The rationale presents the basic theories concerning regional tourism cooperation, research background, cooperation trend, the practical significance, and practical measures; the connotation, mechanism and mode of spatial structure theory of regional cooperation has also been summarized. Relevant concepts and the mode of spatial structure theory of regional cooperation has been induced. The five north-western provinces are taken as samples to be analyzed. On the basis of analyzing the present conditions of north-western region tourism industry, the paper tries to establish the northwest regional tourism spatial network from point to axis to network both theoretically and practically. From the perspective of urban tourism competitive power and cross-regional tourist routes, the feasibility in practice includes the establishment of north-west tourism spatial network, expanding the tourism routes network, promoting the development of the tourism circle. Points are to be connected into axis, axis to net, net to face and finally nets to scopes; the tourism spatial network, circular structure theory include the establishment of urban tourism network,"point-line-face" spatial network mode evolution mechanism, the mode practice, the establishment of the tourism spatial network, the optimum of tourism spatial structure, and the establishment of tourism area and circle.The qualitative and quantitative methods, the static and dynamic analysis are used in the paper as well the research methods are also used in the paper, such as the evaluating analysis on the north western region tourism economical growth contributing rate, the general evaluating analysis of tourism industry, the general evaluating analysis of tourist market resources and the evaluating analysis of tourism competitive power.The following conclusions have been drawn in the paper:Firstly, the spatial imbalance of the northwest region tourism industry (enterprises) development is presented. The tourism industry (enterprise) is lack of marketing competition and expanding capability, and is not concentrated in space. From1999to2011, the tourism economy index is on the rise generally in the northwest region. The tourism industry development is not in balance; the extreme disparity between the inbound tourism scale and domestic marketing scale increases quickly; the tourism market scale differences and integration become more and more obvious and increases year by year; the relative difference is not obvious and the spatial layout is relatively stable.Secondly, the urban competition grading index is adopted to divide the tourism core cities from first to fourth grade and a net work of tourism core cities which is reasonable in structure and complementary in function is guided by first-grade tourism core cities of Xi’an, Lanzhou, and Urumuqi, supported by second-grade tourism core cities, based on the third and fourth grade cities. The first grade tourism core cities of the northwest region include Xi’an, Lanzhou, Urumqi; the second grade tourism core cities include Baoji, Weinan, Xianyang, Tianshui, Jiuquan(including Dunhuang, Yumen), Aletai, Kashen, Tulufan, Ku’erle, Changji, Kelamayi, Akesu, Hami, Zhongwei, Wuzhong, Haidong, Haixi(including Ge’ermu, Delingha); Centering the core cities, nine-city tourism circle is to be established, thus an urban tourism cirle (level) structure which is formed from spot to face.Thirdly, the tourist areas, source market, tourism industry, tourism transportation, tourism organization and the sub-network of each city form a regional tourism industry system which can complement, cooperate and compete with each other so that an organic integration of tourism special structure could be realized. On this basis, the northwest cross-regional tourism route network layout should be expanded; tourism routes should be reorganized; administrative barrier should be broken; the spots, line, and face should be linked into a tourism network. This network would be the complete, stable and closely-related cross-regional tourism spatial network which centers the core cities and urban gradient tourism circle and is based on the cross-regional network tourism route design and integration, the grand Silk Road and the Northwest Grand Channel.Tourism spatial structure and regional cooperation layers are reflected as tourism cooperation regions with several grades or layers which are connected and involved with each other. The advantages and resources of regional economical development should be used and the advantages integration of regional spatial structure and industry structure could be realized therefore the practical tourism development strategy and methods fitting with the local features would be found.Fourthly, the tourism cooperation which is based on the smooth administrative system and oriented by market should be strengthened. This is also the strategy adopted in establishing the tourism spatial structure. It is mainly reflected in the spatial integrity which is supported by the tourist center, the optimizing of basic unit spatial structure of tourism area, the optimizing of spatial structure connected by tourist routes. This way a multi-polar, multi-level and multi-direction circular level structure from point to axis will come into being. As a result the cross-regional cooperation and competition of tourism enterprises could be promoted; the cross-provincial tourism enterprises group should be established; the cooperation mechanism of the northwest region should be built therefore the enterprise competition could be promoted; the tourism brand could be set up. The special tourism product of the northwest region could be designed. The Quality Northwest and tourism product network with regional and national characteristics can be established to promote the tourism brand competition, optimize the spatial structure, and establish the cross-regional tourism product structure. The northwest tourism market operating environment could be improved; the regional barriers could be broken. Therefore, the market structure could be optimized, the northwest tourism market cooperation network with multi-level could be built and cross-regional cooperation and supporting system. The supporting system includes improving infrastructure, developing tourism human resource, promoting tourism information system and realizing the integration of information network. The concept of circle and layer is to establish an urban tourism economical circle of Xi’an-Xianyang, Guanzhong-Tianshui, Lanzhou-Baiyin, Lanzhou-Xining, Wu-Chang, the circle of Xining, the circle of Ge’ermu, Yinchuan-Wuzhong-Shizuishi, and Xining-Ge’ermu.To optimize the northwest tourism spatial structure should be started from spots to line to face. The spatial structure complex with urban-region and market-resource can be realized. Gradually tourism city gradient system with reasonable structure, complementary functions, and complete grade will be established; the tourism cooperation mode with regional multi-polarization, multi-level, and circular levels will be applied. In this mode spot-axis development, regional cooperation development, network development and circular level will be combined. The developing mechanism from spot to axis to network would realize the development integration of "network+multicore+mutual development" of the northwest region. |
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