| Resort lifecycle is the evolving process of a resort. Since the 1980s, the resort lifecycle has been researched and applied to different kinds of destinations by many scholars abroad as a useful conceptual model. It plays an important part in guiding the resort's planning, developing and management. It's in the 1990s that many Chinese scholars begin to research into the theory about resort lifecycle and apply it to many destinations. But the research on the towns'resort lifecycle is rare. This thesis, taking Zhouzhuang town as a case, takes an initial step to research into resort lifecycle. By using first-hand data, this thesis first analyzes Zhouzhuang's domestic market features, discusses the structure, need and expectation of domestic tourists and the foreign tourists'perceptions of tourism culture and analyzes host perceptions of the tourism impacts and tourism development. After introducing Zhouzhuang's supply system, this paper divides the stages of Zhouzhuang's resort lifecycle, discusses the stage characteristics and finally offers some measures to avoid its early decline. This thesis consists of six chapters. Chapter one first introduces tourists's need, expectation and satisfaction theory and reviews the researching process of the resort lifecycle which focus on determining the stages and stage characteristics, analyzing the dynamics which influences the resort lifecycle and discussing this theory's functions. Based on this, the paper presents its research plan including the aim, the contents, the research area, the methods and the data. Chapter two, based on the data got from the on-the spot investigation, analyzes the features of Zhouzhuang's tourism development, the demographic features of domestic tourists, their behavior, their motives, their favourite activities and the quality of the tour. It then discusses the relationships between the domestic tourists market and the resort lifecycle, pointing out that the fast increase of tourists and the seasonal change of the tourists number have bad impacts on the resort lifecycle. The analysis about tourists'motives, their favourite activities and the quality of the tour reflect tourists'need, expectation and satisfaction. These are the characteristics of the present stage, and will have great influence on the future evolving of the resort lifecycle. Chapter three analyzes the overseas tourism development and the foreign tourists perceptions of tourism culture. It reveals the strong need of the foreign tourists which has impacts on the local people's attitude toward languages. With the evolving process of the resort lifecycle, this impact is reflected as follows: the local language is playing a less important role while the tourist language's role is strengthened. Chapter four analyzes the host perceptions of the tourism 's economic, social and environmental impacts and the host attitudes towards tourism development. It includes the overall analysis and the analysis about the he host perception and attitude differences in sex, education, income, job and residential place. On the basis of some relevant theory and Zhouahuang's current tourism development, this chapter analysis the reasons of the host perception and points out the positive influence of the locals'supporting attitude. Chapter five introduces and analyzes Zhouzhuang's fame, its tourism image, tourism resources supply, transportation facilities, tourism reception facilities tourism information supply and the overall environment. Based on this, it briefly discusses the relationship between the elements of tourism supply system and the resort lifecycle. Chapter six determines the stages of Zhouzhuang's resort lifecycle, compares the characteristics of each stage. It then analyzes the dynamics that can influence the resort lifecycle and points out that tourists'need, host's attitude and Zhouzhuang supply system are the main factors and analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of these factors. Based on this and Agarwal's reconstructing theory, it presents some measures such a...
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