Journal article 2 views
Exploring local government behaviors towards the sustainable development of tourism real estate in Hainan Island: A public choice theory perspective
Dan Jin,
Zhanar Nurgazina,
Ruotong Liu,
Kei Wei Chia,
Erose Sthapit,
Brian Garrod 
Tourism Planning & Development
Swansea University Author:
Brian Garrod
Abstract
Local governments in Hainan Island, China, have been observed to make decisions about the development of tourism real estate that seem to conflict with their broader sustainable tourism development goals. The purpose of this study is to apply public choice theory to: (i) identify the drivers of loca...
| Published in: | Tourism Planning & Development |
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| Published: |
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa72134 |
| Abstract: |
Local governments in Hainan Island, China, have been observed to make decisions about the development of tourism real estate that seem to conflict with their broader sustainable tourism development goals. The purpose of this study is to apply public choice theory to: (i) identify the drivers of local government decision-making with respect to the development of tourism real estate, and (ii) explore the apparent misalignment between their real-estate development decisions and broader sustainable tourism objectives. In-depth interviews were undertaken with 12 real-estate developers and three provincial officials. The resulting data were then subjected to thematic analysis. The analysis revealed two main drivers of decision making: the duality of national policies that simultaneously encourage the expansion of tourism real estate and the application of strict, albeit weakly enforced, real-estate regulations; and the reliance of local governments on land sales, performance evaluations based on GDP growth and political cycles encourage the prioritization of the real-estate development and rent-seeking behaviors. These findings reinforce the view that local governments behave as rational economic actors by balancing public obligations and self-interest. The result is that real-estate speculations tend to be privileged over sustainable tourism development. |
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| College: |
School of Management |