Research On The Competitiveness Of The Coastal Tourism Destination Of China

Recent years have seen a steady increase in Chinese coastal tourism. However, the upgrading of its competitiveness still remains an unavoidable necessity due to the reasons within and without. Outwardly, China has fallen into an unfavorable position for its inceptive coastal tourism when competing with such world-famously mature countries. Inwardly, the conflict has been more violent among domestic coastal cities, arising from the imbalance between ever-large tourist industry and limited demand. Therefore, a research on the tourism competitiveness of main coastal cities in China will provide, undoubtedly, an overall prescient knowledge of district competition pattern and tendency in district development of tourism as well as a promotion of Chinese competitiveness in global tourism market.Drawing on the theory and methods in tourism and economy the paper well defines basic concepts like coastal tourism destination (CTD), competitiveness of CTD, based on the combination of theory and case studies, quantitative and qualitative analyses, as well as vast reference to the field-related materials. The factors affecting the competitiveness thoroughly analyzed, the paper also forms the relevant assessment index system. Besides, this factor analysis has also been employed to compare and assess the tourism powers in Dalian, Qingdao, Xiamen and Sanya. In the end, suggestions on promoting such powers have been put forward for Chinese coastal tourism cities: First, improve the tourism functional taste level, access to international high-end tourism market and second, a sense of strategic alliances, the implementation of the overall marketing strategy; third, to join the international tourism chain management network, the Group of the development of quality tourism; Fourth, strengthen Tourism infrastructure construction, strengthen the coastal tourism "hard base"; Fifth, the government-led efforts to strengthen and improve the coastal tourism "soft environment."The paper consists of five chapters with the first one an introduction briefing the background information, significance, research frame and methods, together with relevant concepts and existent research at home and abroad. The second chapter deals with factors influencing the competitiveness of CTD, followed with chapter four which, via case study, factor analysis and SPSS software, analyzes the competitiveness of Dalian, Qingdao, Xiamen and Sanya, all being coastal cities. The last chapter, when tourism competitiveness of the four afore-said cities anatomized, voices a few operational improving measures for Chinese CTDs.