Conghua District Government Of Guangzhou Advances Research On Holistic Tourism Development In Coordination With The Third Sector

In order to cater to the changes in people's views and modes of tourism,China National Tourism Administration proposed the concept of “Holistic Tourism” from the perspective of integrated regional development at the end of 2015,in an attempt to shift the tourism industry from sole development of tourism to a broader and more inclusive whole.Thus the tourism industry plays a core and leading role among various industries,with holistic tourism soon gaining its momentum within.Guangdong province as a major tourist destination kept abreast of the national tourism strategies and carried out the project of establishing holistic tourism demonstration areas.At the end of 2016,Conghua District became one among the first list of such areas in Guangdong Province.Ever since 1960s and 1970s,Conghua has become a tourist attraction in the Pearl River Delta,with its hot springs known both at home and abroad.However,its tourism development failed to keep pace with the times and fell into mechanical formalities gradually.As a result,Conghua tourism lost its market share to mushrooming analogues in the neighborhood.Now the fresh idea of holistic tourism came as a breakthrough for Conghua both ideologically and practically.The idea of “establishment by the people and for the people” necessitates due participation of the third sector(e.g.Conghua Tourism Association)besides the government as catalyst and enterprises as players.The third sector,coined in response to government failure and market failure in the Western democratic society and its market economy,is considered to be an effective supplement to government and market.Studies have shown that diversified relationships between the government and the third sector have different impacts on politics and economy of corresponding societies.Hereto this paper looked into the facilitation of the holistic tourism in Conghua from the perspective of the cooperation between the government(represented as the Conghua authorities)and the third sector(represented as the Conghua Tourism Association),in an aim to serve as reference for practice.The paper begins with the background and significance of this research from the point of holistic tourism and the development of the third sector.Then with relevant literature cited,both domestic and foreign cases of coordinated promotion in holistic tourism were analyzed.Relating to theories and research findings about the relationship between the government and the third sector,core concepts and supporting theories in this regard were summarized.Then a body of firsthand materials and data were collected through interviewing typical figures on the basis of related information gathered beforehand.Based on these materials,a conclusion on problems as well as causes of holistic tourism development by the government and the third sector jointly was thus made.Finally,by reference to the efforts made by such authorities as Japan,Hong Kong and Nansha District in Guangzhou to advance holistic tourism with their third sectors,the relation between the Conghua authorities and the third sector,with the plan of establishing Conghua Tourism Federation was pinpointed.All in all,six aspects were discussed in the concluding part to visualize the coordinated development of holistic tourism in Conghua,respectively its top design,public service,supply system,order maintenance,resource environment and brand influence.