A Framework For Identifying Rural Summer Health Tourism Destinations Serving The Urban Elderly

With the rapid aging of the population and the promotion of the rural revitalization strategy,as well as the increase of disposable income,the demand for retired senior citizens living in cities with high summer temperatures to go to areas with comfortable temperatures for summer health is rapidly increasing.High altitude mountainous villages have more comfortable climate and ecological resources than cities,which can provide a better living environment for the elderly,so more and more urban elderly people choose to go to the countryside for summer vacation and health in season.This industry may be identified as a key development industry by some villages that are not suitable for the development of this industry,resulting in inefficient use of land resources and financial resources.Therefore,it is necessary to build a framework in time to identify whether the countryside is suitable for the development of "rural summer health tourism for urban elderly",so that the countryside suitable for the development of this industry can develop this industry and avoid the waste of resources.On the basis of defining the connotation of "rural summer health tourism serving urban elderly",this study firstly listed the list of indicators to evaluate the suitability level of the development of this industry in a certain region through literature review,and then constructed an evaluation index system consisting of 12 indicators in 4dimensions after expert consultation,and then used expert scoring and hierarchical Then,the weights of indicators at each level were determined by using expert scoring and hierarchical analysis,and the scoring rules of these 12 evaluation indicators were determined through literature review and expert consultation,which completed the construction of the identification framework of rural summer health destinations serving urban elderly people,consisting of the indicator system,the weights of the indicator system and the scoring rules of the indicators.Finally,the identification framework was applied to 100 districts(counties)in Jiangxi Province to carry out the actual evaluation and identify the areas in Jiangxi Province that can develop rural summer health tourism serving the urban elderly,and the case application shows in detail how to obtain and process the specific index data.This study is intended to provide a reference for decision making in the planning and development of rural summer health tourism serving the urban elderly in Jiangxi Province,and to provide a theoretical reference for the practice of identifying rural summer health tourism destinations serving the urban elderly across the country.The main research findings are as follows:(1)An evaluation index system was constructed to identify whether a region is suitable for the development of "rural summer health tourism for urban elderly".The evaluation index system includes 4 dimensions of climate environment,topography,infrastructure and resources,and 12 indicators of summer temperature,summer humidity,summer PM2.5,altitude,slope,water system,transportation,medical care,tourism reception capacity,tourist attractions,potential sources of tourists,and vegetation coverage.(2)The weights of the index system and the scoring rules of the 12 indexes were determined.From the weighting results,it can be seen that among the four dimensions of climate environment,topography and landscape,infrastructure and resource situation,climate environment is the most important.Among the three indicators included in climate environment,summer temperature is the most important;among the three indicators included in topography and landscape,elevation is the most important;among the three indicators included in infrastructure,transportation is the most important;and among the three indicators included in resource situation,tourist attractions are the most important.(3)The suitability of developing rural summer health tourism in 100 districts and counties in Jiangxi Province was evaluated,and the evaluation results can directly guide the development planning of the industry in Jiangxi Province.(4)The most suitable areas for rural summer health tourism development were identified through a series of comprehensive indicators in Jiangxi Province,including Wuyuan County,Lushan City and Jinggangshan City.The framework constructed for identifying RSHTUE destinations is therefore valid,as it is consistent with the actual existing development of this sector in Jiangxi Province.