The Prospect of Wulong Tourism Development

尚雅迪

Abstract：Tourism in an impoverished area can create enormous employment opportunities.It can increase income，raise local residents living standards.Therefore，tourism is regarded as a great aid in the impoverished areas nowadays.Wulong County，as a typical example，is becoming more prosperous than before by its tourism industry recently.From my point of view，the prospect of Wulong tourism development is bright and attractive，but the government still needs to implement some reforms to overcome different obstacles.In order to support my viewpoint，the SWOT（strength，weakness，opportunities，threats）analysis method will be used to analyze its advantages，disadvantages，chances and challenges.

The paper is divided into 3 parts.The first part is about the current situation of Wulong County.The second part is about the outlook of Wulong tourism construction.And in the final part，a few opinions and proposals about how to promote its tourism images will be put forward.

Key words：Wulong County，county tourism development，tourism construction，SWOT analysis

Part I.CURRENT SITUATIONS

Wulong County is a county level subdivision of Chongqing Municipality in South-Central China.Chongqing is one of the four provincial level municipalities of China directly under the central government.By the end of 2013，Wulong had a population of over 4，144，488 people.The natural population growth rate is 4.02‰.There are 13 ethnic groups in Wulong with the predominance of Han，Miao and Tujia.The economy in Wulong has grown rapidly in recent years.In 2013，the GDP was over 1.07 million yuan，with an increase of 13.6% over 2012.

From the statistics，Wulong has made dramatic progress due to its tourism development.In addition，the tourism construction in Wulong is quite unique owing to its outstanding natural and cultural conditions.

Strengths

1.Natural tourism resources

Wulong is famous for its Karst features.Numerous Wulong Karst limestone rock formations are scenic landmarks in Wulong County.They are protected within the UNESCO South China Karst World Heritage Site.

The Wulong Karst is a karst landscape located within the borders of Wulong County.It is divided into three areas containing the Three Natural Bridges，the Qingkou Tiankeng and Furong Cave respectively.It is a part of the Wulong Karst National Geology Park as well as part of the South China Karst.

Wulong Karst Landscapes National Geological Park is one of the largest geological parks in Chongqing.With amazing topographical features，China South Karst Phase was listed as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational，Scientific and Cultural Organization in 2007.Wulong Karst was evaluated as a national AAAAA scenic spot in China.

Wulong Karst is a valuable natural treasure.It is a cluster of several karst landscapes，consisting of gorges，natural bridges，caves and underground streams.These karst landforms，developed in the carbonate rocks，have vividly recorded the development and evolution of karst terrain in the Three Gorges area since Pleistocene Era.

Compared with Stone Forest Karst in Yunnan and Libo Karst in Guizhou，Wulong Karst is located in a relatively remote area away from the impact of human activity.Therefore，Wulong Karst retains its original features of karst landforms that have been despoiled elsewhere，hence its outstanding universal value.

2.Cultural tourism resources

The most famous cultural attraction of Wulong County is the performance called Expressions of Wulong.It was directed by Yimou Zhang in 2011.The performance is about chants sung by boat trackers in Sichuan region.Because of the threat of extinction，this kind of chants is listed as National Intangible Cultural Heritage in China.The show is exceedingly inspiring and encouraging.The whole stage is in a real canyon and the audiences sit in the valley while enjoying the show.The show combines both cultural elements and natural elements perfectly.During the trip，the author of this article got an opportunity to watch the show.Siting in the valley，hearing the chants and watching the performances，she was quite impressed by the beauty of the local cultures.In the authors opinion，Expressions of Wulong is a valuable resource for Wulong to develop its cultural tourism.

Additionally，owing to Wulongs unique geographical features，many films were filmed here.It was selected as the film location for Curse of the Golden Flower by Yimou Zhang in 2006.It was the first time that Wulong was shown in a movie.Before this movie，few people knew about this county.But after watching this film，people began to notice the beauty of Wulong.Many tourists flew there and wanted to have a look at its wonderful scenery.

With the development of tourism in Wulong recently，the picturesque county served as a location for the film Transformers：Age of Extinction.This Hollywood movie is well-known all over the world，so its influence is profound and overwhelming.Although there is only a 10-minute cut about Wulong in the film，global movie fans were impressed by the dramatic landscape.The propaganda about Wulong Karst was so successful that more and more foreign tourists began to visit the county nowadays.It has become a hot travel destination.In 2010，the total number of tourists amounted to 10 million.The income of tourism was over 5 billion Yuan.

Not only many movies were shot there，but also the most popular national variety show of Dad Where Are We Going in Hunan TV also came here for programs.Therefore，due to the excellent dissemination of Wulong，this county enjoys overwhelming superiority in the development of tourism.

3.Convenient transport conditions

Wulong County is a little over 100 miles from Chongqing City，and the main transport depot with access to the scenic area is Baiguo.The distance is about one-hour drive.It takes buses from Chongqing about 2 hours，30 minutes to get there.

Several railways run through Wulong County.Yuhai railway and Naipei railway are the two most important ones for Wulong.In particular，Yuhai railway runs through the whole county.In the territory of Wulong，the railway is 49.82 kilometers long with 6 stations.26 trains run back and forth a day through Wulong County.

Besides the railways，there are a number of highways cross the county.Yuxiang super highway，about 67 kilometer long，is considered as the main road to Wulong nowadays.There are some other expressways passing the county，such as，319 national highway，S409 county road etc.

Wulong Fairy Mountain Airport is under construction.A lot of key routes will be open to major cities such as Beijing，Guangzhou and Shanghai etc.The airport will be finished and put into use in 2020.Additionally，Wulong County is close to Wujiang，with advantageous water transport conditions.Its water carriage and port industries have entered in the period of rapid development recent years.

The traffic conditions of Wulong have improved greatly.People can get the county with different kinds of vehicles.With the infrastructures of railways，land and air transportations，Wulong County is becoming more and more popular these days.Information flow and logistics has provided the county with an inviting prospect.

Weaknesses

In spite of the natural，cultural and transport advantages，Wulong still has some shortages in many aspects as follows：

1.The disadvantages of basic facilities

Although Wulong is a tourist city，it still needs to improve the standard of essential facilities.During the 5-day stay，the author of this paper walked around the town near the scenic spots Three Natural Bridges and Lotus Cave.However，it was found medical facilities are backward.The standard of the general hospital in that area is low and poor.It is exceedingly important to have high-quality health services.So the medical service in Wulong still needs improving.

Secondly，there are few shopping malls and supermarkets in the town.Nowadays，with the rapid development of tourism in Wulong，many tourists choose this place as their holiday destination.Thus，the services need to cater to various tourists requests and special needs during the trip.

Thirdly，very few local stores sell cultural specialties.On both sides of the street，the vast majority of buildings are hotels and restaurants.Special stores selling their own goods are rare.13 ethnic groups of people live Wulong.If the government sets up some shops to sell a batch of modern works with distinctive ethnic features，the economy will be more dynamic.The local culture will be also disseminated rapidly.

2.The disadvantages in supervision

In Wulong，the safety and sanitation for food and drinks should be supervised strictly.Most of the restaurants there are private and owned by local residents.The standards of food should be checked by the government periodically.In the field of tourism，the quality of service is far more important than many other elements.

Meantime，prices should be controlled by the government.During the peak tourist season，demand for hotels and restaurants exceeds supply，leading to exorbitant prices.This phenomenon still exists in some parts of Wulong County.If prices fluctuate markedly，fewer tourists would come here for a second chance.

Part II.PROSPECTS OF TOURISM CONSTRUCTIONS

With the analysis of the tourism development in Wulong，it can be found that both opportunities and challenges exist.The local government needs improving the current tourism construction and enhancing its international images.

Opportunities

Firstly，as the shooting scenery for the two world-known films – Transformers：Age of Extinction and Curse of the Golden Flower，Wulong is becoming more famous than before.It is disseminated via media and the Internet.More and more tourists are attracted by its picturesque and unique landscape.Wulong County tends to play out with more international publicity nowadays.

Secondly，Wulong is close to Chongqing and Peiling.So it has the stable source of tourists.Residents from these two cities can come here for relaxation on weekend.Thanks to adequate tourists，Wulong tourism development will be enhanced and stimulated.

Thirdly，a lot of policies have been launched by the Chinese government to improve the economy in poverty areas.Wulong，as a county of Chongqing，can benefit from these policies.Moreover，with the development of mess media，Wulong has got an excellent reputation in the world.

Threats

On the one hand，China has made great progress in many aspects.The rapid development requires an increasing number of talents.However，there are few schools in Wulong.The level of education in this county is low.Many children will have to go to towns to get higher education.Most talents may go to major cities and work for generous salaries after graduation.Few people will come back and stay in this small county.In a word，the number of talents for Wulong urban structure is insufficient and scarce.

On the other hand，many heritages of national culture are vanishing.Wulong contains many minorities.Those heritages are exceedingly valuable not only to Wulong，but also to China.They are invaluable treasures of the local cultures and indicate the history of a local place.

Part III.OPINIONS AND PROPOSALS

In order to develop tourism industry in Wulong County，some actions must be taken as soon as possible.

Primarily，the government needs to improve the standard of the basic infrastructures and tourism facilities.Some government departments should be established for the purpose of supervising the quality of these facilities closely.The fundamental principles guiding tourism development need to be formulated.At present，a portion of tourism services in Wulong is promoted by villagers.Therefore，it is significant for the local officers to strengthen and standardize sound and efficient managements.

Additionally，Wulong needs to attract more talents to construct the county.Tourism industry can create employment opportunities.The government can cooperate with some universities or institutions to cultivate more excellent tourism talents.Providing numerous chances and implementing some policies are crucial ways to get educated people.

Moreover，the Wulong Karst geologic park is an infrequent natural and representative karst sight.It is of great importance in scientific study and tourism development.Based on sustainable principles，Wulong should establish goals and objectives for an ecologically sustainable approach to tourism industry.According to The International Ecotourism Society，Ecotourism is now defined as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment，sustains the well-being of the local people，and involves interpretation and education”.That means，people should build environment and cultural awareness and respect.The government can design，construct and operate low-impact facilities in order to protect the environment.In the authors opinion，ecotourism can generate financial benefits for both the local people and private industry.Tourists and local residents will be increasingly conscious of protecting both the natural and cultural resources.

Conclusion

By using the SWOT analysis method，the paper puts forward some proposals.Combined with both its natural and cultural advantages，Wulong will have a bright prospect in future.As a small county，an impoverished area in China，Wulong will meet a lot of obstacles and difficulties in the process of construction.The local government needs to seize opportunities and face challenges aggressively.

In conclusion，the pattern of Wulong tourism will bring a wealth experience to the development of county tourism.Based on both external and internal elements，the tourism development in impoverished areas needs to improve their international images and cooperate fully with each other.Only in this way will the tourism industry not only promote the local economy，but also narrow the gap between the rural and urban areas.

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