AccScience Publishing / EER / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/EER025060010
Submit to EER
Cite this article
5
Download
92
Views
Journal Browser
Volume | Year
Issue
Search
Forthcoming Issue
Current Issue
View All
News and Announcements
View All
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Tourism resources and development in Xinjiang, China

Liping Li1 ,  Kun Yu1 ,  Qiang Chen1 ,  Fangmiao Chen1 ,  Yanhui Zhang2,3 ,  Zhenglei Xie4 ,  Siyuan He5 ,  Yaomin Zheng2,3*
Show Less
1 Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
2 Department of Organizational Management, Business School, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, China
3 Institute of Cultural and Tourism Development, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, China
4 Department of Marine Resource and Environment, College of Marine Science and Engineering, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
5 Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
EER, 025060010 https://doi.org/10.36922/EER025060010
Submitted: 5 February 2025 | Revised: 25 March 2025 | Accepted: 26 March 2025 | Published: 16 April 2025
© 2025 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Download PDF
Cite
XML
Abstract

We collected data from approximately 500 tourism destinations and revenues of Xinjiang region, China, to assess tourism resources and improve tourism industry development. We analyzed the characteristics, geographical distributions, and environmental conditions of these tourism destinations, summarized changes in regional tourism revenue over the past 34 years, and proposed strategic suggestions for the region’s tourism development. Historical sites and architectures were found to be dominant, followed by natural scenic sites, with major hotspots located in the Altay Mountains, Urumqi-Turpan-Hami line, Ili region, and Aksu-Kashgar-Hotan line. A total of 65% of tourism destinations are located mainly in low altitudes (<1,500 m), with only 20% located in high altitudes (>2,000 m). They correlate spatially with rivers and roads, often in areas with high heatwave index values. Although tourism revenues have grown rapidly in the past decades, with 1998, 2010, and 2015 as breakpoint years, Xinjiang’s tourism volume remains relatively low compared to China’s, especially in international tourism. In 2015, Xinjiang’s total tourism revenue made up 2.9% of China’s total, with international tourism accounting for just 0.5%. Based on the analysis, there is significant potential for tourism development in the Xinjiang region. Hence, we suggest developing mountainous forest tourism based on forest parks in middle and high-altitude areas with relatively lower heatwave index values, targeting the European market, expanding cultural tourism based on diverse ethnic groups, and creating “Silk Road” tourism routes with other western Chinese provinces.

Keywords
Tourism resources
Heatwave index
Tourism revenues
Cultural tourism
Xinjiang
China
Funding
This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant numbers: 72374017 and 82274041).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
References
  1. Huang S. The geological heritages in Xinjiang, China: Its features and protection. J Geogr Sci. 2010;20(3):357-374. doi: 10.1007/s11442-010-0357-9

 

  1. Yang JM, Xu H. Study on the spatial pattern of tourism resources in Xinjiang. Mod Urban Res. 2016;23(5):106-111. doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1009-6000.2016.05.018

 

  1. Wen J, Xiong HG. The spatial difference of Xinjiang international tourism in different regions influenced by major events. J Arid Land Resour Environ. 2014;28(1):163-168. doi: 10.13448/j.cnki.jalre.2014.01.020

 

  1. Xu H, Yang JM, Yu XL. Spatial pattern of high quality tourism resources and the influence mechanism in Xinjiang. Areal Res Dev. 2016;35(1):96-101. doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1003-2363.2016.01.018

 

  1. Li JY, Li XD. The distributions of tourism resources and the spatial distributions of scenic spots of star levels in Xinjiang region. Tour Overv. 2017;16(4):181-183.

 

  1. Gao J, Peng P, Lu F, Claramunt C. A multi-scale comparison of tourism attraction networks across China. Tour Manage. 2022;90:104489. doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2022.104489

 

  1. Nan Y, Zhao LM. Dynamic evolution of foreign tourism market in Xinjiang. J Arid Land Resour Environ. 2012;26(6):220-226. doi: 10.13448/j.cnki.jalre.2012.06.024

 

  1. Ma Y, He LZ. Disparity of tourism scale and construction of system rank-scale distribution in Xinjiang. J Inner Mongolia Norm Univ (Nat Sci Ed). 2017;46(1):121-127. doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1001-8735.2017.01.027

 

  1. Xi YQ, Sang GS, Jiang HN, Nie CL. Study on the spatial-temporal characteristics of rural tourism flow in Zhejiang province based on online travelogues. J Nanjing Norm Univ (Nat Sci Ed). 2023;46(3):42-49. doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1001-4616.2023.03.007

 

  1. Dong DW, Tao H, Zhang ZX. A dataset of heatwaves in Xinjiang during 1961-2019. China Sci Data. 2021;6(4):43-51. doi: 10.11922/11-6035.csd.2021.0061.zh

 

  1. Russo E, Domeisen DIV. Increasing intensity of extreme heatwaves: The crucial role of metrics. Geophys Res Lett. 2023;50(14):e2023GL103540. doi: 10.1029/2023GL103540

 

  1. Wang T, Chen X, Wang WS, Bao AM. Design and implementation of web-based database application system of Xinjiang ecological resources and environment. Comput Eng Appl. 2004;40(23):200-205. doi: 10.3321/j.issn:1002-8331.2004.23.062

 

  1. Statistic Bureau of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Xinjiang Statistical Yearbook. Beijing: China Statistics Press; 1991-2024.

 

  1. Feng Y, Zhang JM. Spatial difference of tourism economy in Xinjiang by applying exploratory spatial data statistics. Tour Sci. 2016;30(2):68-78. doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1006-575X.2016.02.006

 

  1. Li LP, Cui WH, Wang T, et al. Plant conservation priorities of Xinjiang region, China. IOP Conf Ser Earth Environ Sci. 2017;57(1):012034. doi: 10.1088/1755-1315/57/1/012034

 

  1. Feng XH, Wang J, Yu JF. The tourism perception and tourism participation of the residents lived in Tianshan Tianchi scenic spot. J Arid Land Resour Environ. 2015;29(12):227-232. doi: 10.13448/j.cnki.jalre.2015.428

 

  1. Peng F, Halik W, Lu LH, Ablizi A. Study on the spatial variation law of community residents’ participation in tourism in the Grape Valley. J Shaanxi Normal Univ (Nat Sci Ed). 2017;45(3):100-106. doi: 10.15983/j.cnki.jsnu.2017.03.434

 

  1. Yang HY, Yan S, Yu SH. Xinjiang forest park distribution and the tourism development. Arid Land Geogr. 2007;30(1):156-162. doi: 10.3321/j.issn:1000-6060.2007.01.025

 

  1. Wang JT, Sun T. A review on the establishment of the forest park and the development of forestry tourism in Xinjiang. For Xinjiang. 2015;41(4):31-33.

 

  1. Yang ZP, Yan S. A preliminary study on sustainable development of the toursit in Xinjiang. Arid Land Geogr. 1999;22(1):27-33. doi: 10.3321/j.issn:1000-6060.1999.01.004

 

  1. Li C, Cheng MX, Wang XY. Application research of ecotourism demand forecast based on econometric model ---- take Altai region as an example. Environ Prot Xinjiang. 2023;45(2):30-37. doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1008-2301.2023.02.007

 

  1. Xiong HG, Qin S. Estimating the economic values of the forest ecosystem service function in Xinjiang. J Arid Land Resour Environ. 2006;20(6):146-151. doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1003-7578.2006.06.029

 

  1. Yang ZP. Study on tourism territorial system of Xinjiang. Arid Land Geogr. 2003;26(1):57-63. doi: 10.3321/j.issn:1000-6060.2003.01.010

 

  1. Zhang Y, Sun GN, Su JJ. Domestic tourism growth and the crisis inertial measurement for nine provinces along the silk road economic belt. J Arid Land Resour Environ. 2016;30(8):203-208. doi: 10.13448/j.cnki.jalre.2016.273

 

  1. Li JH, Yang ZP, Liu XL. Study on tourism development of salt lake in Xinjiang. Resour Dev Market. 2005;21(2):169-171. doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1005-8141.2005.02.033

 

  1. Tang SH, Yang ZP, Liu XL, Di F. Study on the development model of agrotourism in Kalamay new oasis. J Arid Land Resour Environ. 2009;23(1):159-163. doi: 10.13448/j.cnki.jalre.2009.01.036

 

  1. Di F, Yang ZP, Liu XL. Study on tourism planning for farming gardens of special local products --- a case study for a melon-fruit garden in Shanshan County, Xinjiang. Arid Land Geogr. 2006;29(6):935-940. doi: 10.3321/j.issn:1000-6060.2006.06.026

 

  1. Wang SJ, Qin DH, Ren JW. Spatial development and distribution of glacier tourism in China. Sci Geogr Sin. 2012;32(4):464-470. doi: 10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.2012.04.010

 

  1. Liu B, Huang SS, Fu H. An application of network analysis on tourist attractions: The case of Xinjiang, China. Tour Manage. 2017;58:132-141. doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2016.10.009

 

  1. Zhang JY, Gao MH. Spatial distribution and regional division of province-level intangible cultural heritage in Xinjiang. Arid Land Geogr. 2016;39(5):1128-1134. doi: 10.13826/j.cnki.cn65-1103/x.2016.05.025

 

  1. Zhang XQ, Liao ZY. The development strategy of regimen tourism of Uygur medicine in Xinjiang. Ind Sci Trib. 2017;16(2):32-33.

 

  1. Li D, You YN, Zhang WZ, Wu J. Spatial distribution of tourism corridor and development system in the China- Kazakhstan border area. Arid Land Geogr. 2017;40(2):424- 433. doi: 10.13826/j.cnki.cn65-1103/x.2017.02.022

 

  1. Zeng X, Li Y, Zhang C, Yang X. Sustainable entrepreneurship in tourism: The interaction between tourism enterprise and community. J Hosp Tour Manage. 2024;60:429-440. doi: 10.1016/j.jhtm.2024.09.001

 

  1. Goeldner CR, Ritchie JRB. Tourism: Principles, Practices, Philosophies. 12th ed. New York, USA: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.; 2011.

 

  1. Dai XF. Silk Road tourism should adjust its approach and emphasize the importance of silk road tourism in Southern Xinjiang. Tourism Tribune. 2017;32(5):8-10. doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1002-5006.2017.05.004

 

  1. Zhang ZA, Huang ZF, Kong SJ, Xu DD, Zhan MX, Tang BJ. Spatial-temporal differences and convergence analysis of Xinjiang tourism economy and its influence mechanism research. J Nanjing Normal Univ (Nat Sci Ed). 2016;39(2):134-141. doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1001-4616.2016.02.023

 

  1. Burton AM, Pikkemaat B, Dickinger A. Unlocking sustainable tourism: Exploring the drivers and barriers of social innovation in community model destinations. J Destination Mark Manage. 2025;36:100996. doi: 10.1016/j.jdmm.2025.100996

 

  1. Zhao HS, Wang JL. Spatial distribution characteristics and influence factors of comprehensive tourism demonstration areas. J Arid Land Resour Environ. 2017;31(7):177-182. doi: 10.13448/j.cnki.jalre.2017.233

 

  1. Wang T, Yang Z, Han F, Yu J, Ma X, Han J. Assessment of tourism socio-ecological system resilience in arid areas: A case study of Xinjiang, China. Ecol Indic. 2024;159:111748. doi: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.111748

 

  1. Elgin C, Elveren AY. Unpacking the economic impact of tourism: A multidimensional approach to sustainable development. J Clean Prod. 2024;478:143947. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.143947

 

  1. Yao YL, Zhou H, Gu SZ. On regional difference and drivers of natural resources curse in China. Resour Sci. 2011;33(1):18-24. doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1011.2011.00211

 

  1. Xie X, Zhao DY, Liang ZX, Gao J. Evaluation of the policy of pairing- assistance to Xinjiang for tourism-related economic growth. Tour Trib. 2023;38(9):32-47. doi: 10.19765/j.cnki.1002-5006.2023.00.022

 

  1. Guo J, Yang Z, Xu X, Wang C, Zhao H. Optimization of domestic tourism in Xinjiang under the policy of supporting Xinjiang tourism based on the modified tourism gravity model. J Univ Chinese Acad Sci. 2021;38(3):360-366. doi: 10.7523/j.issn.2095-6134.2021.03.009

 

  1. Zhao LM, Jiao SS, Yao ZG. Distributional dynamic and evolution of China’s tourism economic development. J Arid Land Resour Environ. 2018;32(1):181-188. doi: 10.13448/j.cnki.jalre.2018.028

 

  1. Zhang L, Gao J. Exploring the effects of international tourism on China’s economic growth, energy consumption and environmental pollution: Evidence from a regional panel analysis. Renew Sustain Energy Rev. 2016;53:225-234. doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2015.08.040

 

Share
Back to top
Explora: Environment and Resource, Electronic ISSN: 3060-9046 Published by AccScience Publishing
We use cookies on our website to ensure you get the best experience.
Read more about our cookies here
Accept