Mental health key to tourism infrastructure in China's new megapark

Ralf Buckley; Linsheng Zhong; Steve Martin

doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104169

Mental health key to tourism infrastructure in China's new megapark

Tour Manag. 2021 Feb:82:104169. doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104169. Epub 2020 Aug 4.

Authors

Ralf Buckley^{1

2}, Linsheng Zhong¹, Steve Martin³

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.
² International Chair in Ecotourism Research (Emeritus), Griffith University, Australia.
³ Former Director, Grand Canyon National Park, US National Parks Service, USA.

Abstract

The global economic value of parks through improved mental health of tourists has been estimated at about ten times greater than direct park tourism expenditure. The Chinese term for this health services value is jing hua xin ling, psychological destressing. Here we present the first case where optimal tourist infrastructure is influenced by including mental health. Using a multi-stage, cross-lingual, differential stakeholder method, we analyse conflicts between road- and roadless-access tourism in the very large new Sanjiangyuan National Park, Qinghai, which offers jing hua xin ling to domestic tourists from eastern-seaboard cities. This provides a powerful tourism attraction, and hence economic opportunity, for the region around the park. If these mental health aspects are included, together with their direct and indirect consequences for tourism, then roadlessness is preferable to new roads. Similar infrastructure conflicts occur for park tourism worldwide, and jing hua xin ling can provide a global theoretical framework.

Keywords: Adventure; COVID-19; Culture; Health; Protected area.