differentiation in tourism industry

Tourism Marketing by Devashish Dasgupta

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Differentiation and Positioning in Tourism

About the destination.

Popularly known as the “Lost City,” it was built high in the Andes by Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui of the Incas. It was rediscovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911 and is one of the world's most impressive archaeological and civil engineering sites.

To learn the basics of differentiation and how it is done in the services, specifically tourism, industry

To learn the basics of positioning and its process and errors

Differentiation and positioning of three Indian states as popular tourist destinations

INTRODUCTION

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Check In for a Personalized Stay: Differentiation Strategies in Hotels

COVID-19’s impact on the tourism sector in general and specifically on hotels has been enormous and has modified consumption habits, market trends, and client needs. We’re entering a new year in which differentiation strategies are going to be essential for maintaining

 a good number of sales in a highly competitive industry like hospitality. This article from Hospitality Net highlights some of the trends that are appearing in the post-COVID world: clients want to minimize contact with others and open and contamination-free zones are in high demand, travel has narrowed its distance and indoor and local tourism has increased, and digital investments are key to increasing the quality of the service and designing customer-centered strategies that focus on the needs of each client. 

Creation of Personalized Experiences 

An IBM study about hotels and the personalization paradox shows that users are demanding a larger differentiation in their hotel experiences and, up until now, most users haven’t seen major qualitative differences. Personalized experiences can have a great impact in the perception of travellers before, during, and after their stay.  

Another piece of data is that 10% of travelers will spend eight or more hours looking for the best price for their trip, be it flights, hotels, or other things. If, in their eyes, the services aren’t backed by a differentiation strategy , the clients will be subject to hours of searching for the best offer because they don’t see significant differences that help them make their decision. 

Consumer expectations are becoming increasingly demanding . In the 2nd edition of the Salesforce State of the Connected Consumer Report , we learned that half of consumers say that companies aren’t providing exceptional experiences across all industries. As you can see, it’s not just important for hotels. 

Implement a Differentiation Strategy

Technological solutions are a very useful addition to developing hotel differentiation strategies . The key is hyper personalization from the first moment: not just during stay, but from the very first interaction with a possible client. Throughout the entire customer journey , hotels must take advantage of the information they collect about their users to adapt their communications to them through all channels: email, social media, telephone. Today, experiences are omnichannel and the tools we use must keep this in mind. The recent CEHAT conference of Spanish hoteliers highlighted the need to bet on hypersegmentation, tactical campaigns, flexibility for users, and quick responses when facing problems.

At the same time as we highlight the importance of service personalization, we must also recognize that there’s another force in play that serves as a contradiction: standardization. This may seem contradictory, but standardization is fundamental for creating a base on which to construct a personalized experience. 

There are five forces that push the need for standardization: consistency, innovation speed, cost, complexity, and expectations . In the case of hotels, clients will demand the same experience and standards in all establishments; this is why the standardization of hotel operations is fundamental. Not just this, but the speed of innovation, like Joantxo Llantada and Giorgio Ascolese highlighted in their study about tourism trends , pushes the need for a standardized environment even further so that hotels can apply agile operations to their administration, add new technologies to their processes, and be at the forefront of guest services.

Standardization doesn’t mean a dehumanization of the service. On the contrary, it allows for human labor to focus on the parts of the service that can truly provide value to the clients. Task automation frees the team’s time so they can focus on clients and improve the client experience. 

So, why is standardization essential for quickly adopting innovation ? IBM describes it perfectly: 

"Hotel chains that have standardized processes will be able to increase effectiveness by eliminating property operational uniqueness and implementing new solutions quickly and more consistently. Hotels that understand the importance of innovating in the next decade will recognize that standardized operations will act as a multiplier in the positive effects that innovation will have on both customers and the bottom line."

Examples of Differentiation Strategies in a Hotel 

There are a large number of possibilities for implementing a differentiation strategy in hotels. Some recommendations to obtain the best benefits of personalization are: care for customers in the minority, give clients the chance to personalize their experience, and offer consistent products and services.  What examples of differentiation can we see in the hotel business? In their study, Llantada and Ascolese mention that many hotels use the virtual assistant Amazon Alexa through Echo, Echo Dot and Echo Plus in Marriott, Westin Hotels & Resorts, St. Regis Hotels & Resorts, Aloft Hotels and Wynn Las Vegas. This allows users to control their room preferences, call reception, listen to music, or even call room service . Hotels also have access to software analysis with user comments about technology, which is fundamental for learning their preferences for future visits.

The power of data is unimaginable. Hotels must take full advantage of the information they store and use it to offer custom plans, filter future promotions for clients, or identify the least popular parts of the experience. The hotel must be placed at the center of the tourism experience ; positioning the establishment at the centre of the tourist experience can be the key to getting to know our travellers and providing them with extra added value within their trip

And we can’t forget that we should be constantly monitoring social media in search of comments and suggestions that come from travellers to improve our service. Checking social media will serve as an inspiration source to make the changes that will make users feel that their comments are valuable and win their loyalty, which rewards programs can’t achieve. 

The key of all this is that personalization works . According to the IBM report, more than 70% of those surveyed had positive experiences with personalization initiatives. It also shows that they had a high response to “both personalization efforts at the property and those through the website and other online channels.” These numbers serve as encouragement for those who are looking to provide online differentiation and offline personalization. The physical and digital worlds are coming together to offer a complete, omnichannel, and customer-adapted service. Are you ready to face the challenge? 

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Market Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning

• First Online: 09 May 2021

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• Richard George 2  

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This chapter explores market segmentation as well as how tourism and hospitality marketers can position their offerings to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. It begins with an explanation of market segmentation, which is essential for designing and implementing a marketing mix. It considers how tourism and hospitality companies decide on which market segments to focus their marketing efforts. It also discusses the criteria used by the marketer to ensure effective segmentation: using demographic, psychological, and behavioural criteria. Further, it discusses the process of target marketing and the different approaches that a tourism and hospitality organisation can take. The chapter concludes with a discussion of market positioning and how companies can position their offerings to gain a competitive advantage. Lastly, the chapter’s case study examines these principles in the context of Moxy Hotels , designed to capture the millennial traveller market, and owned by Marriott Hotels International Group .

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George, R. (2021). Market Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning. In: Marketing Tourism and Hospitality. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64111-5_7

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Table of Contents

• Tourism Management
• Development Studies

• [66.249.64.20|109.248.223.228]
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A positioning strategy for a tourist destination, based on analysis of customers’ perceptions and satisfactions: A case of Kashmir, India

Journal of Tourism Analysis: Revista de Análisis Turístico

ISSN : 2254-0644

Article publication date: 2 September 2019

Issue publication date: 26 September 2019

The purpose of this paper is to measure the perception and satisfactions of consumers of the tourism product of Kashmir region and identify potential niche markets that could be used in the development of the destination’s positioning strategy.

Design/methodology/approach

The author used a case study methodology. Self-completion questionnaires were distributed to tourists visiting Kashmir region at the peak of the 2018 tourism season. The scales used were adapted from two authoritative sources. Data from 479 completed questionnaires were analysed quantitatively by a variety of statistical techniques, including factor analysis.

Four possible niche markets are identified that can inform the development of the destination’s positioning strategy: nature based, adventure, cultural and culinary. The overall conclusions and discussion of the findings should provide a case-based framework for the practical planning and implementation of positioning strategies in the tourism context.

Research limitations/implications

The time frame of the study was five summer months in one year, and only actual visitors completed the questionnaire. The study did not assess their evaluation of the quality of the services provided and consumed.

Originality/value

The overall conclusions and discussion of the findings should provide a case-based framework for the practical planning and implementation of positioning strategies in the tourism context.

• Positioning
• Customer satisfaction
• Destination positioning
• Customer perception

Saqib, N. (2019), "A positioning strategy for a tourist destination, based on analysis of customers’ perceptions and satisfactions: A case of Kashmir, India", Journal of Tourism Analysis: Revista de Análisis Turístico , Vol. 26 No. 2, pp. 131-151. https://doi.org/10.1108/JTA-05-2019-0019

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2019, Natasha Saqib.

Published in Journal of Tourism Analysis: Revista de de Análisis Turístico . Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

1. Introduction

Destinations are the centrepiece of tourism and are acknowledged to be one of the most difficult entities to manage and market. The multiplicity of components that make up the destination product, the complexity of the relationship that exists between them and the involvement of large number of stakeholders are the factors that make a destination more complex. The complexity is further increased when consumer is taken into consideration. Consumers of the destination product often differ in their perceptions, expectations and desired satisfaction of the tourism place. It is the customer who decide how and when they access their travel and tourism information and how and through what process they access and purchase their travel and tourism arrangements. Therefore, for destination to be a success, it requires to be positioned in the mind of the consumer through eliciting consumers' perception. Ries and Trout (1986) assert that marketing is more a battle of perceptions than of products and that the customers mind is more important than the market place and it is better to be first in the mind than to be first in the market place. It is, thus, imperative to understand the psychology of the consumers’ i.e. consumers’ perception.

As mentioned by Blankson and Kalafatis (2004) understanding the customer perspective is essential for the development of a positioning strategy. Boatswain (2015) and Fuchs and Diamantopoulos (2012) are also of the view that that if positioning strategies are based on examination of consumers’ perceptions then they are successful strategies and could last longer and should be assessed by measuring consumers’ perceptions and preferences for the product in relationship to its competitors. Dibb et al. (1997) also noted that positioning of any product is based on consumer’s perceptions and marketers have only partial control of their products positioning in the marketplace. So positioning strategies designed by organisations for the destinations might fail when implemented if they are designed from the organization’s perspective and not from the customers’ perspective ( Brooksbank, 1994 ). For this reason, the image or position a product has in the mind of the consumer is more important to success than the product itself ( Jamal and Goode, 2003 ). This eventually necessitates this research to find a better method of understanding the destination positioning through eliciting consumers' perception.

Kashmir region is one of the most important and famous tourist destinations of India because of its strategic location and uniqueness. It possesses numerous tourist attractions varied in type and appealing to a wide range of interests. The attractions include historical, cultural, archaeological, scenic, climatic, culinary and adventure resources. However, in past decades Kashmir region has become one of the most vulnerable sectors to crises. Crises in region range from political instability, terrorist attacks, war, to various forms of natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods. So one of the biggest impediment to tourism industry in region is crisis and ineffective crises management plans in place ( Saqib, 2018 ). According to Beirman (2003) , long lasting series of crises poses almost a significant threat to the destinations public image and its ability to attract tourists and visitors in articulate and same is true for the region. The region unfortunately has a negative image in the minds of tourists, due to crisis ( Saqib, 2018 ); therefore, it is necessary that tourism stakeholders and the government ensure to create a positive image through proper destination positioning and provide new opportunities to the region in becoming an attractive tourist destination all over the world.

Responding to the increase recognition on the importance of positioning for Kashmir tourism industry, this research will be an attempt to carry out a positioning exercise for the Kashmir region. This study uses the functional and psychological dimensions of customers’ perception and satisfaction as the basis for formulating a destination’s positioning strategy. Specifically, this study uses a case study approach to measures customers’ images of Kashmir regions tourism products and the attributes that influence tourists’ satisfaction, to identify specific niche markets that can be used in the development of the destination’s positioning strategy.

Moreover, the primary review of the literature clearly indicates that there is a scope for carrying research on the positioning strategies for tourism industry in India, especially on the positioning strategies for tourism industry in Kashmir since there are not enough literatures on the positioning strategies for tourism industry in India which were published recently and to the best of our knowledge no researches/literature reviews were focussed on highlighting the positioning strategies for tourism industry in Kashmir region. Hence, this case study will also address this gap in the literature.

The paper is divided into four sections: Section 2 provides a review of the extant literature of positioning strategy, destination image and tourist satisfaction; methodological discussion, including details of sampling procedures and data collection, is presented in Section 3; presentation and discussion of the research findings are given in Section 4; discussion of managerial implications and limitations are presented in Sections 5, 6 and 7.

2. Literature review

It is generally agreed that conceptually, practically and strategically positioning has become one of the fundamental components in modern marketing management, both from the academic point of view ( Aaker and Shansby, 1982 ; Blankson and Kalafatis, 2004 ; Boatswain, 2015 ; Fuchs and Diamantopoulos, 2012 ; Urde and Koch, 2014 ) and from the practical or business point of view ( Ries and Trout, 1986 ; Trout and Rivkin, 1996 ). It is because of its inevitable effect on profitability and long term success of the firm it has been applied to tourism destinations ( Botha et al. , 1999 ; Claveria, 2016 ; Echtner and Ritchie, 1993 , 2003 ; Evren and Kozak, 2018 ; Fyall, 2019 ; Ibrahim and Gill, 2005 ; Pike, 2012 ; Pike et al. , 2018 ; Pike and Ryan, 2004 ; Pike and Page, 2014 ; Tasci, 2011 ; Tasci et al. , 2007 ; Walmsley and Young, 1998 ; Zins, 2014 ).

The concept of positioning has a potential connection with destination in that a location is considered to be a product with brand image, loyalty or equity. Destination positioning is the centrepiece and the most critical element of all future efforts for the tourist and probably economic development of an area. This important form of market communication helps to distinguish tourism destinations from similar destinations so that customers can choose the one that is the most attractive. Thus, true positioning differentiates a destination from its competitors on attributes that are meaningful to customers and gives it a competitive edge ( Chacko and Marcell, 2007 ).

Due to the rapidly increasing number of tourist destinations in the marketplace and since tourism destinations have become dedifferentiated with the effect of globalisation and modernisation. DMOs face the challenge of differentiating the tourist destination and the recognition of this differentiation by current and/or potential visitors ( Dann, 2000 ; Evren and Kozak, 2018 ; Pike, 2012 ; Plog, 2000 ) and because of this dedifferentiation, an explicit positioning strategy is valuable in helping to create a distinctive place in the minds of potential tourists, so that they know how a destination differs from competitive destinations, and how it can satisfy their needs ( Botha et al. , 1999 ) .

Moreover, a major objective of any destination positioning strategy is to reinforce positive images already held by the target audience, correct negative images or create a new image. Therefore, according to Tasci, 2011 , the first step of positioning a destination is the assessment of the image of destination attributes in current and potential target markets. Similarly, Reich (1999) is also of the view that the construct of image forms the foundation for the study of positioning and its basis is the perception or opinion that individuals have regarding both intrinsic and extrinsic elements.

Destination image has become a popular area of investigation among tourism researchers as it has been found to influence destination choice, satisfaction, and post-purchase behaviour ( Munhurruna et al. , 2015 ; Zhang et al. , 2014 ). Destination image can be defined as a tourist’s general impression of a destination ( Fakeye and Crompton, 1991 ), that is, it is “sum of beliefs, ideals and impressions” that a visitor has toward a certain place ( Assaker and Hallak, 2013 ). The image of a destination can have some impact on variables such as the satisfaction or dissatisfaction that a tourist derived from the destination. Chon and Olsen (1991) found that measuring an image by evaluating a list of attributes was significantly correlated to satisfaction with a destination’s products. Ibrahim and Gill (2005) also asserted that a two-way relationship exists between the image tourists have and the satisfaction they derive from their experience. This two-way relationship highlights the importance of placing more emphasis on the measurement/identification of customers’ perception and satisfaction of a tourism product for positioning purposes. Although research examining customers’ satisfaction with destinations’ products and attributes is to be found in the marketing literature ( Crompton and Love, 1995 ; Spreng et al. , 1996 ; Cho, 1998 ; Baker and Crompton, 2000 ), very few research studies acknowledged such a two-way relationship and have attempted to combine the two variables of customer’s perception and satisfaction together to inform the development of a destination’s positioning strategy ( Ibrahim and Gill, 2005 ). We believe that these two variables are important and can be combined together to identify the strongest functional and psychological attributes that can be used for positioning and promotion purposes. Therefore, we propose that the measurement of customers’ perception and satisfaction when combined together can result in identifying specific niche markets, which can be used in developing and promoting an effective positioning strategy for a destination.

“Tourism satisfaction” refers to the degree to which a tourist’s assessment of the attributes of that destination exceeds his or her expectations for those attributes ( Tribe and Snaith, 1998 ). However, measuring satisfaction is a complex process. According to Assaker and Hallak (2013) and Yoon and Uysal (2005) , tourist satisfaction can be measured based on the expectation/disconfirmation paradigm, equity theory, norm models and perceived overall performance. Of these theories, the expectation/disconfirmation theory are the most frequently used ( Kozak, 2001 ; Skogland and Siguaw, 2004 ; Hui Wan and Ho, 2007 ; Chen and Chen, 2010 ). According to Chung and Petrick (2012) the expectation/disconfirmation theory, which was developed by Oliver (1980) , postulates that satisfaction is a result of the discrepancy between expectations and perceived performance. When the performance of a tourism destination, as perceived by the tourist, is higher (lower) than his/her expectations, a positive (negative) disconfirmation will result in satisfaction (dissatisfaction) ( Yoon and Uysal, 2005 ; Hui et al. , 2007 ). However, this conceptualisation has been problematic, particularly in tourism contexts ( Kozak, 2001 ; Yuksel and Yuksel, 2001 ; Millan and Esteban, 2004 ; Hui et al. , 2007 ; Petrick, 2004 ). Due to the intangibility of tourism and leisure products, it has been argued that expectations are inevitably less concrete and less useful. Yi (1990) also claimed that the desires of the consumer, as the key determinants of satisfaction, have not been considered in previous research. Spreng et al. (1996) , therefore, pointed out the necessity of using the concept of desire as a predictor of satisfaction. Desires indicate, “the attributes, levels of attributes, and benefits that the consumer believes will lead to or are connected with higher-level values” ( Spreng and Olshavsky, 1993 ). Baker and Crompton (2000) also supported this view by indicating that factors such as desires, needs and disposition can influence the measurement of satisfaction’.

“Travel Attributes” are set of attributes that describe a place as a travel destination ( Heung and Quf, 2000 ). There are several studies in consumer behaviour indicate that the customers consider the attributes to decide on the goods and the same applies to tourists and destinations. Echtner and Ritchie (1993) concluded in their research that every destination has a combination of functional or tangible attributes and psychological or abstract attributes. For example, a destination’s image is comprised of beliefs about specific attributes such as accommodation, climate, ease of access, etc. as well as a more overall or holistic impression. The functional psychological dimension distinguishes between the parts of an image which are directly observable (e.g. prices) and those which are intangible (e.g. friendliness). The third element, common unique, recognises what is similar about a destination and what is distinctive about it. Similarly, Cho (1998) has identified a number of attributes that are most important in the measurement of tourists’ satisfaction.

From the above literature, one can conclude that to ensure success for the positioning strategy of a destination, it is very much imperative that the image of the destination and the specific product attributes that satisfy the tourists should be identified. Therefore, the measurement of the customer’s image of the tourism product ( Echtner and Ritchie, 1993 ) and the satisfaction of the product attributes, combined with the identification of the tourist needs and desires in a tourist destination ( Cho, 1998 ), can be seen as the basis for identifying specific niche markets for the development of a destination’s positioning strategy ( Ibrahim and Gill, 2005 ) .

We administered a survey consisting of the 37 items and demographic variables to tourists coming to Kashmir region at five famous tourist nodes of region (Pahlagam, Gulmarg, Sonamarg, Srinagar and Kokernag). For the present study, Comrey and Lee (1992) sample guidelines were followed. In total, 500 questionnaires were distributed and returned. After excluding cases with missing values, a total of 479 responses were retained for analysis. The participant profiles are shown in Table I .

3.1 Research variables and questionnaire structure

Destination image is typically measured using attribute scales and a structured semantic differential or Likert-scale type methodology ( Crompton, 1979 ; Gartner and Hunt, 1987 ; Gartner, 1989 ; Hunt, 1975 ; Phelps, 1986 ; Richardson and Crompton, 1988 ). Ritchie and Goeldner (1987) suggested three basic approaches to constructing a scale. The first is to select a scale that has been previously developed and tested by others. The second is to develop a scale either by modifying an existing scale or by introducing a new setoff items. The third is to develop a new scale that is valid and reliable. Bearing this in mind, the two key variables customers’ perception and satisfaction were used in the study. A 19-item scale used to measure customers’ perception of the destination was adapted from Echtner and Ritchie (1993) . This framework allows researchers to better measure destination images, measurements that are useful for positioning and promoting destinations. However, given the particular nature of the destination selected some minor modifications were made and more detailed items were added from prior studies of specifically urban destinations ( Choi et al. , 1999 ). Likewise the scale of satisfaction consisted of 18 items was adapted from Cho (1998) with modifications. Of all the studies reviewed, those carried out by Echtner and Ritchie (1993) and Cho (1998) were considered of special interest, due to his emphasising the importance of destination image to tourism as a whole. The questionnaire was structured into three sections comprising of open-ended and Likert scale questions, with a section designed to collect demographic data. The first section explored customers perceptions, respondents were asked to rate the relative importance of the image attributes on the basis of five-point Likert scale, for example, “How important is scenic beauty for you” – on a scale of one to five (where 1 =  not at all important and 5 =  very important )”. The second section explored customers satisfaction, respondents were asked to asked to rate the relative importance of the satisfaction attributes again on the basis of five point likert scale, for example for example, “How important is safe and secure environment for you” on a scale of one to five (where 1 =  not at all important and 5 =  very important )?”.

What images or characteristics come to your mind when you think of Kashmir as a vacation destination?

How would you describe the atmosphere or mood that you would expect to experience while visiting Kashmir?

List any distinctive or unique tourist attractions that you can think of in Kashmir. These questions were adapted directly from Echtner and Ritchie (1993) without modification.

4. Analysis and discussion

The two key variables of the study (customer perception and satisfaction) were analysed for the functional and psychological dimensions. The analysis of the open-ended questions was based on the approach of Finn et al. (2000) . This required the grouping of similar responses from the open-ended questions and the categorising and labelling of the various descriptions provided by the respondents. This technique was used to identify the most frequent words or phrases used to describe the destination (Kashmir) and its image in the customer’s mind. The analysis of the open-ended questions showed that the image of “breathtaking scenery” and “exotic beauty” is closely associated with Kashmir. The “friendly attitude” of the residents was another factor that was prominent as a destination image in the customer’s mind, which supported the findings of Echtner and Ritchie's (1993) . The most outstanding psychological attributes representing holistic image of the Kashmir region was its relaxing, friendly and laid-back atmosphere. The distinctive and unique attractions (functional attributes) perceived by the tourists were the “Majestic Mountains”, “Dramatic Lakes”, “Meadows”, “Mughal Gardens” and “Flowing Water”.

4.1 Customers’ perception and destination image

The principal axis factor analysis with varimax rotation was used to reduce the 19 item perception attributes included in the questionnaire to measure tourists perception of Kashmir as tourist destination. The factor analysis results are shown in Table II .

The suitability of the dataset for exploratory factor analysis was established through the Bartlett's Test of Sphericity ( p  <   0.001) and Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (0.832) (KMO) which justified the use of exploratory factor analysis. One important decision in the factor analysis is the number of factors to be extracted. By Kaisers criterion six factors (Eigen value greater than 1) could be extracted. However, this criterion is accurate when there are less than 30 variables and communalities after extraction are greater than 0.7 or when the sample size exceeds 250 and the average communality is greater than 0.6. None of the communalities exceeded the value of 0.7 and the average of the communalities was found to be below 0.6. So, on both grounds Kaiser’s rule was not found to be accurate. However, considering the sample size of 479, Scree plot was used for deciding the number of factors to be extracted. To determine the “break”, horizontal line and a vertical line was drawn starting from each end of the curve. In Scree plot ( Figure 1 ) the point of inflexion occurred at the fourth data point the curve begins to flatten between factor 4 and 5; therefore, four factors were extracted.

Furthermore, the items having a loading score lower than 0.40 were excluded from the analysis ( Ford et al. , 1986 ) which ranged from 0.416 to 0.795. After a series of eliminations, 1 item was removed from the scale, 18 items remained and a distinct four-factor structure emerged. Combined factor loadings accounted for 50.237 per cent of the total variance in the factor pattern. For something to be labelled as a factor it should have at least 3 variables, although this depends on the design of the study ( Tabachnick and Fidell, 2007 ). Factor names are based on the characteristics of its composing variables. The attributes that load high on factor 1 seem to all relate to nature, scenery and beauty; therefore, the factor was labelled as natural attractions. The attributes that load high on factor 2 seem to all relate to different aspects of outdoor activities and sports therefore, the factor was labelled as adventure and sports. The five questions that were found to load highly on factor 3 were related to the cultural and historical attractions and thus factor was labelled as cultural/historical attractions. Finally, the questions that load highly on factor 4 consisted of some component related to the food and shopping; therefore, this factor was labelled as culinary and shopping attractions. The resulting four factors are shown in Table III .

4.2 Customer satisfaction

The 18-attribute statements of the satisfaction variable were also analysed using the principal axis factor analysis with varimax rotation. The factor analysis results and associated statistics are shown in Table IV . Prior to the extraction of the factors, several tests were used to assess the suitability of the respondent data for factor analysis. These tests include KMO and Bartlett's Test of Sphericity. The KMO for the customer satisfaction variables was found to be 0.789, which falls in the range of being great. Barlett’s Test of Sphericity was also found highly significant ( p  <   0.001), and therefore factor analysis was appropriate. The Scree-Plot test ( Figure 2 ) was used to decode the number of factors to be retained. This exercise resulted in the extraction of three factors.

Furthermore, the items having a loading score lower than 0.40 were excluded from the analysis ( Ford et al. , 1986 ) which ranged from 0.417 to 0.927 After a series of eliminations, 2 items were removed from the scale, 15 items remained and a distinct three-factor structure emerged. Combined factor loadings accounted for 54.913 per cent of the total variance in the factor pattern. The attributes that load high on factor 1 seem to all relate to security; therefore, the factor was labelled as safety. The attributes that load high on factor 2 seem to all relate to different aspects of service, ambience and mood therefore, the factor was labelled as service and atmosphere. The four questions that were found to load highly on factor 3 were related to the environment, infrastructure and thus factor was labelled as environment and infrastructure. The resulting four factors are shown in Table III .

4.3 Reliability and validity

4.3.1 reliability..

To establish the reliability of the positioning taxonomy two Cronbach's coefficient indices, i.e. the alpha value and item-to-total correlations, were utilised. This study considered an alpha value of 0.6 or more as satisfactory. This bearing is supported by ( Dekovic et al. , 1991 ; Diwan and Bodla, 2011 ; Holden et al. , 1991 ; Malhotra and Dash, 2009 ; Nhat and Hau, 2007 ; Tull and Hawkins, 1993 ) who confirmed that alpha value of 0.6 under each factor, indicated good internal consistency among items. The reliability of extracted factors ranged from 0.639 to 0.761 for image scale and 0.604 to 0.849 for satisfaction scale thus, they lie within the acceptable range, with strength ranging from good to excellent. The results of the reliability test of the scales used in the main survey are presented in Tables V and VI . The acceptable benchmark level of item-to-total correlation was set above 0.3 and all items contained item-to-total correlation above the benchmark value as a result none was removed .

4.3.2 Validity.

In the present study, the validity of the research constructs/dimensions has been tested through content validity and nomological validity.

4.3.2.1 Content validity.

Was strengthened through an extensive review of the literature and also before collecting data; one expert majoring in tourism management and two experts (both had industry experience in destination marketing organisations) were invited to assess the content and relevance of the 37 items. These three experts were invited to evaluate the appropriateness of the dimensions and items, as well as the wording of the item content. During face-to-face discussions, they revised certain items to achieve mutual consent. They also provided recommendations for correcting the wording of the item content and for whether items should be added or removed. The revisions made to the pre-test questionnaire in this study were based on these recommendations. Finally, 37 items were adopted for the formal survey.

4.3.2.2 Nomological validity.

The importance of establishing nomological validity has also been well documented ( Bagozzi et al. , 1991 ; Hair et al. , 2010 ; Netemeyer et al. , 2003 ). Given the congruence of existing positioning strategies the nomological validity of the scale was assured.

5. Results of the study

5.1 positioning strategies.

The factor analysis resulted in seven factors which can be labelled as positioning strategies. Table IV gives a summary of the main extracted factors and their labelling. The description of each positioning strategy is given as follows.

5.1.1 Factor/strategy 1: natural attractions.

Natural attraction (Factor 1) contained five attributes and explained 15.249 per cent of the variance in the data, with an eigenvalue of 2.896. The attributes associated with this factor dealt with the “Natural scenic beauty”, “Beautiful gardens, parks and meadows”, “Flowing Water and Lakes”, “Springs and Glaciers and “Pleasant Climate”. This factor measures the sensational pleasure of the sight. The consumers who scored high on these attributes/statements were nature loving. The highest loading (0.705) item was “Natural scenic beauty” highlighting the importance of “scenery” in the consumer perception of a tourist destination. Positioning on the basis of “natural attractions” emerged as a main strategy in this study.

5.1.2 Factor/strategy 2: adventure and sports.

Adventure and sports (Factor 2) accounted for 13.161 per cent of the variance, with an eigenvalue of 2.501, the factor focuses on outdoor high adrenaline experience. This factor was loaded with four attributes that referred to “Mountaineering/Trekking”, “Snow Skiing”, “Water Rafting” and “Golfing”. Respondents who scored high on this factor were more concerned about getting adventure as they believe that holiday should be adventurous. The item “snow skiing” indicates the highest loading (0.795) in this factor reflecting the opportunity for winter tourism. Mountaineering/trekking water rafting and golfing have also obtained relatively high factor loadings. This indicates that tourism stakeholders need to give importance to adventure tourism.

5.1.3 Factor/strategy 3: cultural attraction.

Cultural attraction (Factor 3) contained four attributes that referred to cultural dimensions. This factor explained 10.439 per cent of the variance, with an eigenvalue of 1.983. The attributes were “Cultural and Historic Sites”, “Variety of Architectural Styles”, “Pilgrimages” and “Festivals/Events”. Among these features, the highest loading (0.743) is found in the case of “pilgrimages” which gives an evidence of the importance of the religious tourism. Thus, a marketer has large scope to position Kashmir on the basis of this strategy for the domestic tourist who likes to visit Kashmir.

5.1.4 Factor/strategy 4: shopping and dining.

Shopping and dining (Factor 4) contained five attributes that referred to local cuisine and art and craft. This factor explained 10.389 per cent of the variance, with an eigenvalue of 1.974. These attributes were “Local cuisine”, “Convenient shopping”, “Local art and craft” and “Good quality of products”. The craze about the Kashmir cuisine is reflected in this factor. Cuisine attained the highest scoring (0.645) followed by shopping (0.624).Therefore, marketers should focus on culinary tourism.

5.1.5 Factor/strategy 5: safety.

Safety (Factor 5) contained three attributes and explained 17.451 per cent of the variance in the data, with an eigenvalue of 3.141. These attributes were “Safety at a tourist spot”, “Personal safety” and “Safety at a place of stay”. Among all the 37 items considered in this survey, “safety at a tourist spot” (0.927) and personal safety (0.927) are two top scorers (i.e. highest factor loadings) which substantiate the importance of this factor. This indicates that there is an immediate need for positioning Kashmir as a safe destination.

5.1.6 Factor/strategy 6: service and atmosphere.

Service and atmosphere (Factor 6) accounted for 13.843 per cent of the variance, with an eigenvalue of 2.492. The factor was loaded with eight attributes that referred “Friendly and helpful local people”, “Restful and relaxing atmosphere”, “Quiet and peaceful atmosphere”, “Fairness of cost at tourist spots”, “Value for money”, “Good quality hotels and restaurants”, “Fairness of cost at place of stay” and “Attitude of staff at place of stay” Among various attributes comprised by the factor, the highest loading (0.678) was of “friendly and helpful local people” followed by restful and relaxing atmosphere (0.660). This indicates that there is a need for social group interactions or friendly people were high on their lists and the need to be in an environment conducive to relaxation was essential to tourists.

5.1.7 Factor/strategy 7: environment and infrastructure.

Environment and Infrastructure (Factor 7) contained six attributes. This factor explained 13.619 per cent of the variance, with an eigenvalue of 2.451.These attributes were “Clean/unspoiled environment”, “Local infrastructure”, “Good local transportation system”, “Availability of travel information” and “Easy access to the area”. The respondents who scored high on this factor believed that Clean/unspoiled environment (0.637) and local Infrastructure (0.612) are more important considerations.

5.2 Niche markets

5.2.1 nature-based tourism..

The results of the study reveals that Kashmir is still considered as a “ Paradise on Earth ”, the high scores were gained for the items like Natural scenic beauty (0.705), Beautiful garden, parks and meadows (0.666), Flowing water and lakes (0.648), Springs and Glaciers (0.617). Thus, among seven identified Image Positioning Strategies, “Natural Attractions” emerged as the top positioning strategy for Kashmir. In support of this finding, several other studies have found that natural attractions as a potential “pull” factor for tourists. Gearing et al. (1974) , while measuring the attractiveness of Turkey, found that “Natural Beauty” was ranked the highest. This was also supported by Var et al. (1977) by studying attractiveness of British Columbia. Their study showed that “Natural Beauty” and “Climate” are two major factors that contribute to the attractiveness of the region. Ritchie and Zins (1978) measured the attractiveness of a destination and also found that, of the eight attributes evaluated, natural beauty and climate were ranked the most important. In an attempt to identify tourist preferences for a specific category of attractions in Southern Africa, Ferrario (1979) found strong emphasis on “Scenery and Landscape”, “Wildlife”, and “Natural Vegetation”. Elwin (1989) found “Climate” to be one of the most significant components for the enjoyment of outdoor tourism activities. Also, Meinung (1989) pointed out that the landscape, its natural form, is the most important factor in attracting visitors to any tourist region. Tang and Rochananond (1990) also support this in their comparison the attractiveness of 32 tourist destinations. They found that all respondents considered natural beauty and climate important. Similarly, Hu and Ritchie's (1993) investigated destination attractiveness and found that Views, Scenery, and 'Climate were evaluated the most attractive by the visitors Weber (1997) studied tourist satisfaction of the German travel market in Australia and found that variables such as “Spectacular Landscapes” and “Watching Unique Fauna” were rated highest. Moreover, according to Vaughan and Edwards (1999) study of tourists experiential perceptions of two winter sun destinations, Algarve and Cyprus, “Climate” was the most important factor in tourists selection of the destination. Morachat (2003) in his study found that the Natural Factors' of Chiang Mai such as climate, water, and vegetation, as being highly attractive.

The region must exploit its own unique natural attributes that create a competitive advantage and assist in positioning its products more effectively in the tourism market. The results of the present study identified the functional unique imagery of the destination in customer’s mind as mountains, lakes, flowing waters and meadows. In addition, the unique psychological attributes were identified as the relaxing environment and the friendly local people. Thus, the combination of the functional and psychological attributes would suggest a nature based tourism niche that can provide a competitive advantage, this niche can effectively be used in the destination’s positioning strategy and promoted as a lucrative niche. To ensure that the customers’ needs are met an ambience promoting rest and relaxation should be developed to support this niche.

5.2.2 Adventure tourism.

Several authors have found that there is a growth in demand for adventure tourism ( Williams and Soutar, 2009 ).The “outdoor activities” factor includes mountaineering and trekking water rafting, snow skiing and other family activities. These attributes can be classified as an adventure tourism niche. This niche can effectively be used in the destination’s positioning strategy to assist in minimising the seasonality associated with the current mass tourism strategy by scheduling sports activities during low season to attract more tourists to the destination like snow skiing during winter season. In support of this finding, Kozak (2002) found that some tourists might visit a destination in the summer season just to relax, but others in the winter to seek adventure. According to Uysal and Jurowski (1994) , Klenosky (2002) and Mohammad and Som (2010) , adventure tourism is a “pull” factor for tourists. Also Ibrahim and Gill (2005) pointed out that adventurous atmosphere particularly water sports was a leading attribute that could be created for Barbados tourists.

To ensure that this niche is developed to its full potential, the services and environmental conditions that contribute to the satisfaction of the tourists should be promoted. The infrastructure and equipment for adventure sports combined with such with the socially accommodating nature of local people can support this niche.

5.2.3 Cultural tourism.

Cultural tourism is a vital aspect which appeals tourists to visit as well as revisit to Kashmir. High scores were gained for this factor during the study. In support of this finding, several other studies have found that cultural uniqueness is a potential “pull” factor for tourists. Zeppel and Hall (1992) and Zhang and Lam (1999) found cultural attractions constitute the bases which appeals tourist. Ritchie and Zins (1978) found that attractiveness in terms of “Cultural Features” was ranked second to “Natural Attributes” in their destination study. Hu and Ritchie (1993) investigated that among educational vacation experience was the uniqueness of way of life of the local population, and historical attractions. Kim (1998) found that the seasonal and cultural attractiveness of Korea was rated the most attractive. Similarly, Ibrahim and Gill (2005) found that the cultural attractiveness of Barbados like interesting caves and cultural and historic sites were rated most attractive.

Rittichainuwal et al. (2001) found that of the thirty-one selected attributes, “Architecture and Buildings”, “Interesting Customs and Culture” and “Numerous Cultural” and “Historical Attractions” were ranked the highest. Kozak (2002) also found “Cultural Motivations” the highest scores among German travellers in Mallorca. Similarly, the most important features of Chiang Mai Province in terms of their attractiveness to overseas visitors are “Cultural Features” ( Morachat, 2003 ).

5.2.4 Culinary tourism.

The distinctiveness of Kashmir food is an opportunity for Kashmir tourism sector to become a culinary tourism destination. High scores were gained for local cuisine; this suggests that Kashmir food can serve as an attraction for tourists. Thus, to enhance positive images and tourists satisfaction, it is essential for Kashmir to exert an effective positioning strategy to promote Kashmiri ethnic food worldwide. Kim et al. (2009) assert that the desire to travel and taste unique and authentic dishes is becoming one of the biggest paradigms in the tourism industry. Few years ago, food events were not considered a reason to travel, but with the popularity of the Food Network and the star chef phenomenon, such events are being recognised as attractions in and of themselves ( Peers, 2006 ). According to Canizares and Canalejo (2015) , local cuisine is an important tourist attraction and an essential element in the way people experience a destination. It is also a non-seasonal activity that can help reactivate the economies of certain regions. Sormaza et al. (2016) are also of the view that Gastronomic/culinary tourism supports regional development by setting the link between food and beverages and tourism and strengthens local identity and culture as well as financial conditions Hjalager and Richards (2002) are of the opinion that destinations can capitalise on elements of culinary tourism unique to their community for destination image building. Culinary experiences can add value to tourism by providing the tourist with a link between local culture, landscape and food, and by creating an “atmosphere” so essential to a memorable travel experience. Boyne et al. (2003) , Hall and Mitchell (2005) , Lin et al. (2011) , Okumus et al. (2013) and Yurtseven and Kaya, 2011 ) also supports that local food as a means of differentiating tourist destinations.

However, the successful promotion of these niches in the destination’s positioning strategy requires accommodating tourists in safe and secure environments. Safety is a major concern for tourists and people would not travel to a location believed to be unsafe ( Davidoff and Davidoff (1994) . Ali et al. (2018) concluded that physical security is an effective measure for improvement of the destination’s image.

The restful and relaxing atmosphere is also an influencing factor for tourists. The results of the present study indicate that there is a need to create an environment conducive to relaxation; this is also supported by study of Mansfeld (1992) , Ibrahim and Gill (2005) and the friendly attitude of the residents was another factor that was prominent as a destination image in the customer’s mind, thus supporting the findings of Echtner and Ritchie's (1993) , Hu and Ritchie (1993) , Ibrahim and Gill (2005) , Rittichainuwat et al. (2001), Vaughan and Edwards (1999) , Yuksel and Yuksel (2001) .

In relation to fairness of price at tourist spots and place of stay which scored high in the tourist satisfaction in the current study is in consistent with the study conducted by Gnoth and Paulin (1995) that price of goods or services influences tourists’ patronage decisions.

Good Infrastructure is also an influencing factor for tourist visiting Kashmir; this finding is consistent with findings of Masterson and Verhoven’s (1995) wide range of accommodation facilities influence tourists satisfaction.

The results, in general, support what was proposed earlier in the literature that the assessment of customer’s perception and satisfaction can play a significant role in identifying attributes that can effectively contribute to the development of the destination’s positioning strategy.

6. Managerial implications

The results of present case study will provide academics, researchers and practitioners working in tourist destination with new insights towards the attributes of the destinations and their role in destination positioning. Since the results indicated that the most important factor that influenced tourists’ satisfaction was the safety, it is recommended that tourism managers should ensure the provision of safety accompany the selected niche markets. It will also help tourism marketers to better understand their customers and hence contribute significantly to the process of planning a destination’s positioning strategy, i.e. it will help the destination to position it differently from the competing destinations and gain a competitive edge.

This study is also important for tourism policy makers, practitioners, and academic researchers interested in tourism in North India. Moreover, the results of this study can provide tourism-marketing researchers, policymakers of the Kashmir region with an insight into the choice of appropriate niche markets based on the unique attributes of the destination, which can differentiate it in the tourist’s minds and also meet the customer’s demand. This example of the measurement of customers’ perceptions and satisfaction with the destination’s attributes can serve as groundwork for future research into the more specific niche markets that satisfy the needs of the target tourists. Further research is also called for into the specific places and activities preferred by different market segments.

7. Limitations

The time frame of the study was five summer months in one year, which permitted only summer tourists to be surveyed. Thus, the respondents’ views would only be those of a particular set of tourists and not representative of year round tourism.

Measurement of image was limited to the tourists currently visiting the destination and excluded the potential tourists. Thus, the image measured in this study corresponds to the complex image as explained by Fakeye and Crompton (1991) .

The satisfaction of the tourist was based on the feelings after exposure to the destination attributes. However, evaluations of the quality of the services provided were not considered in the study.

Scree plot for image variable

Scree plot for satisfaction variables

Demographic profile of respondents (Total N = 479)

Components of satisfaction variable as yielded by factor analysis

* Item already eliminated due to low factor loading ( Table IV )

Source: Based on the primary data

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• Published: 08 November 2023

Spatio-temporal divergence and influencing factors of agritourism integration development in Xinjiang, China

• Yaping Peng 1 ,
• Weizhong Liu 1 &
• Changjiang Xiong 2  

Scientific Reports volume  13 , Article number:  19361 ( 2023 ) Cite this article

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• Agroecology
• Sustainability

Exploring the coupling and coordination relationship between agriculture and tourism industry plays an important role in formulating differentiated integration development policies and promoting regional economic development. We adopt 14 prefectures and cities in Xinjiang, China as examples, and use a coupling coordination model and generalized method of moments estimation to explore the spatial differentiation characteristics and influencing factors between agriculture and tourism industries in various prefectures and cities in Xinjiang from 2009 to 2018. The results indicate: (1) The combined development levels of agriculture and tourism in Xinjiang exhibited a similar development trend over the period, and despite fluctuations in individual years, the overall trend is still increasing. (2) The coupling degree and coordination of agriculture and tourism in various regions presented significant spatial differentiation characteristics. (3) Human capital, residents’ consumption level, and coupling coordination degree are positively correlated, while service capacity, government support, industrial foundation, and market supply and coupling coordination degree are significantly negatively correlated. Finally, based on our results, we present corresponding suggestions on how to improve the level of integrated development of agriculture and tourism in Xinjiang.

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Introduction.

The countryside has multiple functions such as life, culture, and ecology, and together with the towns and cities, constitutes the space for human activities on the basis of mutual promotion and coexistence. Since reform and opening up, China’s agriculture and rural areas have made remarkable achievements, and farmers’ incomes and living standards have been rising. However, they also face problems such as weak agricultural competitiveness, imbalance in the to-go allocation, and insufficient efficiency of agricultural inputs and outputs. In 2017, China proposed the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy to improve quality and efficiency of agriculture. However, for most Chinese villages, agri-tourism integration is a powerful tool for rural revitalization and a new type of industrial innovation. agri-tourism integration leads to transfer of land, capital, and other factor endowments, promotes the development of agricultural socialized services, and ultimately realizes the upgrading and adjustment of industrial structure. As a multi-ethnic agglomeration area in China, Xinjiang is particularly rich in natural, cultural, and ecological resources, the integrated development of agriculture and tourism industry is a realistic option to transform the resource advantages of multi-ethnic agglomeration areas into industrial advantages. Excavating the resource endowment and industrial characteristics of leisure agriculture and rural tourism in Xinjiang, promoting the extension of the agricultural industry chain, enhancing the industry chain, broadening the income chain, and realizing the healthy development of agriculture are of practical and theoretical significance to promote the strategy of revitalization of Xinjiang’s countryside and realize the goal of common prosperity.

We adopt 14 prefectures and cities in Xinjiang as an example to explore the spatial differences and influencing factors between agriculture and tourism industries in various prefectures and cities from 2009 to 2018. We provide theoretical support for the promotion of the healthy development of agriculture-tourism integration. The comprehensive evaluation values of agriculture and tourism in all cities and towns in Xinjiang are on an upward trend, and the overall trend is positive. In general, the level of agricultural and tourism development is better in southern and Northern Xinjiang, respectively. The levels of development vary from region to region, but the phenomenon of “polarization” persists. Regarding industrial integration, the degree of coupling and coordination between the agricultural and tourism industries in all regions exhibit significant spatial differentiation, and the degree of integration of various factors and resources in the southern region needs to be improved. Among the factors influencing the coordinated development of the integration of agriculture and tourism, human capital and residents’ consumption level have a positive influence, while service capacity, government support, industrial base, and market supply have a negative influence.

The contributions of this study are mainly as follows. First, we propose a logical framework for the formation of the integration of agriculture and tourism, which compensates for gap in the previous theoretical research. Second, the factors affecting the coupling and coordination degree of agriculture and tourism are refined into service capacity, human capital, government support, residents’ consumption level, industrial foundation, and market supply. A new methodology was also adopted to empirically test the factors affecting the coupling and coordination degree of agriculture and tourism, which provides a new perspective for further understanding how to push the coordinated development of agriculture-tourism integration in Xinjiang.

Literature review

The current research on agritourism integration mainly focuses on the concept and connotation, mode, measurement of integration, and so on. To clarify the research results of agritourism integration, we investigate the relevant literature from four aspects: connotation, mode, measurement, and the effect of agritourism integration (see Table 1 ).

Connotation of agritourism integration

The development of agritourism integration started earlier in foreign countries. Results on the connotation of agri-tourism integration are mostly from the perspective of industrial boundaries 1 , 2 , integration of new business forms 3 , 4 , resource penetration 5 , sustainable development theory 6 , and other perspectives. The relevant findings are based on empirical research conducted in different countries on the one hand, and the dynamic evolution of the connotation of agri-tourism integration in different historical periods on the other. Chinese scholars have broadened the connotation of agritourism integration to a new theoretical scope and presented new concepts on the basis of foreign studies. For example, Zhang and Chen regarded agri-tourism integration as a new type of agricultural service industry formed by the intersection of primary and tertiary industry 7 . Ye and Zhou offered the new concept of agri-tourism complex, which is actually the product of a high degree of integration between agriculture and tourism 8 .

Model of agritourism integration

The model of agritourism integration development is also becoming increasingly widespread. Early foreign scholars mostly studied the model from the perspective of farmers, such as the traditional “company + farmers,” “farmers + farmers,” and other modes 9 . However, with the deepening of research and the change of demand, scholars are beginning to focus on experiential tourism models from the perspective of tourists, such as “demonstration agritourism,” “non-working farm agritourism,” and so on 10 . Nowadays, from China’s empirical research, the development of postmodern tourism has made tourism and leisure an important means of acquiring knowledge, expanding horizons, and developing skills, and led to a number of novel modes of nurturing value: science and education tourism landscape mode 11 , the youth agricultural science and technology science park mode 12 , and the agricultural exposition-type mode 13 , among others.

Measurement of agritourism integration

For the healthy development of agritourism integration, relying only on exploring the connotation and mode of its development is not sufficient; it is also necessary to adopt scientific quantitative analysis methods to explore its development level. The closely related literature on the level of agritourism integration development is categorized into three main types: (1) Literature centered around multivariate linear regressions to assess the relationship between agritourism integration and the variables of interest 14 . (2) Literature focused on measuring the level of agritourism integration development around coupled and coordinated evaluation models 15 , 16 , 17 . (3) Literature that utilizes data envelopment analysis (DEA) to measure the level of regional agritourism integration efficiency 18 .

Effect of agritourism integration

In terms of the effect of agritourism integration at home and abroad, some scholars have verified that it has a promoting effect on economic growth 19 , 20 . Agritourism integration can contribute to economic growth and farmers’ incomes 21 , 22 , 23 . Conversely, agri-tourism integration can promote industrial transformation and upgrading, and the process is actually that of interactive development of agriculture and tourism to produce new industries 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 . However, some scholars argue that the development process of agri-tourism integration has brought economic effects and caused impacts on the ecological environment in a specific region 28 . Undeniably, scholars at home and abroad have reached a consensus on the effects produced by agri-tourism integration.

In summary, existing studies have explored the connotation, mode, measurement, and impact effect of agri-tourism integration to a certain extent, which has important reference value for this study. Additionally, combined with the comparative analysis of existing studies, we argue that the following aspects warrant attention in the process of further promoting the research on the topic of agri-tourism integration. Regarding research perspective, the geographical space chosen in previous studies is relatively diverse, mostly from the national level, provincial level, or developed regions, but fewer studies focus on ethnic areas of Northwest China. Regarding research methodology, there is a lack of dynamic analysis using panel data and measurement indicators applicable to ethnic regions. In view of this, we take Xinjiang, an ethnic region in China, as a typical case study, to analyze the role mechanism and level of coupled and coordinated development of agriculture and tourism industries. We reveal the spatial differentiation characteristics and influencing factors of agriculture-tourism integration, and present the path to promote such integration in Xinjiang.

Formation logic of the integrated development of agriculture and tourism

Agritourism integration is the cross-pollination of agriculture and tourism, leading to the gradual formation of new models 29 . Its essence is the mutual extension and integration between the two; agriculture provides high-quality tourism resources for the tourism industry, tourism provides a new direction for the development of agriculture. The mutual penetration of the two can achieve the optimal allocation of resources, and ultimately the sharing of factor resources. This study elaborates the formation mechanism of agriculture-tourism integration from two aspects of theoretical and practical logic; the specific framework is illustrated in Fig.  1 .

Schematic diagram of the formation logic of agri-tourism integration.

Theoretical logic

The integration of the two industries needs to rely on agricultural production and ecological landscapes and promote the economical use of resources and energy through rational planning and utilization of unused land resources. Gradual spillover of developed knowledge and management systems from the tourism sector to the agricultural sector, which can continue to improve agro-ecological efficiency through a process of resource optimization and technological integration 30 . The integration of agriculture and tourism is the process of industrial chain extension and innovation. Industrial integration requires a certain degree of correlation between industries, and it is necessary to accelerate the optimization and upgrading of the structure of the agricultural industry, promote the extension of the agricultural industry chain, and innovate the mode of agricultural production and management. For the tourism industry, under the influence of economic, technological, cultural, and conceptual factors, new tourism products are bound to emerge, and the structure of the industry chain model will also change 31 . Through the integration and development of the two, the industrial system of agriculture and the value-added of agricultural products can be improved. Tourism can also produce new products in line with the market orientation, so that the tourism industry chain can be extended and innovated. The integration of agriculture and tourism is a comprehensive integration process of mutual crossing and penetration, so it must be integrated from multiple dimensions, namely resource, technology, function, and market integration.

Practice logic

In practice, the core goal of agri-tourism integration is the integration and sharing of various factor resources between the two, including integration based on factor resource sharing, on human capital, and on government promotion. First, integration based on element resource sharing. Xinjiang is located in the Eurasian hinterland, with unique agricultural cultivation resources and excellent tourism resources. In the context of industrial integration, resource elements of Xinjiang’s two major industries should be fully integrated, that is, multi-participation, multi-mode and multi-line promotion, so that all tourism stakeholders can and should obtain benefits through tourism, so that everyone can share the economic dividends brought by tourism. Second, integration based on human capital. The level of tourism human capital can affect the quality of tourism services, the dissemination of tourism image, and so on. The integration of tourism human capital is the foundation for the integration of agriculture and tourism, which can improve the efficiency of tourism economy 32 . Third, government-driven consolidation. The rapid development of tourism is closely linked to national strategies and policies, mainly in terms of active mobilization of relevant resources and activation of potential tourism markets. China’s tourism industry has always been centered on the “government-driven market-first development model” 33 , which is mainly manifested at two levels: (1) through policy documents and industrial planning to guide the benign development of the agricultural and tourism industries. (2) To improve the rural infrastructure and continuously upgrade the level of public services, leading to the expansion of the rural tourism market.

Study design

Study object.

Xinjiang is located in the hinterland of the Eurasian continent and is the core area of the Silk Road Economic Belt. As of the end of 2018, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries account for 29.82% of Xinjiang’s GDP while tourism industry accounts for 21.15%. Agriculture is still the main industry on which Xinjiang farmers rely for survival, and tourism is a strategic pillar industry for economic development. However, there is still an obvious gap in the development of tourism among various prefectures. Data from 2018 reveal six prefectures in Xinjiang with domestic tourism income exceeding 10 billion yuan: Urumchi (65.25 billion, which ranked the highest), Ili (64.31 billion), Changji (50.795 billion), Altay (22.233 billion), and Bayingol (11.753 billion). Kizilsu had the lowest, with 872 million yuan. For inbound tourism income, Ili ranked top with 1.9977 million people, followed by Urumqi (331,200), Altay (235,200), Turpan (127,700), and other prefectures with fewer than 100,000. The lack of integration of agriculture and tourism is also a key constraint to development in arid areas, as well as the widening of the gap in tourism development, in addition to the impact of geographic location, transportation conditions, the basis for development, and other factors.

Establishment of index system

The index of agricultural diversification, cultivated area, and total power of agricultural machinery 17 , 22 has been adopted to evaluate the level of regional agricultural development. The regional development level of tourism is evaluated from the aspects including number of inbound tourists, scenic spots at 4A-level and above, travel agencies, and so on 22 , 34 . According to existing research, the variability of regional development makes some of the measurement indicators incompatible, and the indicators used for micro-level studies in particular are subject to uncertainty. Considering the lack of relevant statistics for the indicators of individual tourism industries in the 14 prefectures of Xinjiang, we established an evaluation index system for the integration of agriculture and tourism (Table 2 ) according to the overall logic of the industry and the availability and comparability of data, aiming to measure the level and effectiveness of the integration of agri-tourism.

Study method

Determination of the weight of indexes.

The entropy method determines the weight of indexes by analyzing the correlation degree and information among indexes, avoiding the deviation caused by subjective influence to some extent.

First, the data is normalized to obtain the normalized matrix B ij , and then calculate the entropy S i with the following method:

where C i is the proportion of the i th index in the evaluation samples, n is the number of evaluation samples, and S i is the entropy value. Finally, the index weight W i is calculated based on the following formula:

Establishment of the synthesizing evaluation function of agriculture

where i is the number of agricultural projects ( i  = 1, 2, …, n ), W i is the index weight, and M ij is the standardized value of the i th indicator of agriculture in year j . The larger the result, the better the condition of agriculture.

Establishment of the synthesizing evaluation function of tourism

where i is the number of agricultural projects ( i  = 1, 2, …, n ), W i is the index weight, N ij is the normalized value of the i th indicator of tourism in year j . The larger the result obtained, the better the condition of the tourism, otherwise it is not.

Coupling model. The degree of coupling between systems is reflected with the help of the coupling degree function, which is calculated as follows:

where C is the coupling degree, lying between [0, 1]. According to existing studies 18 , the coupling degree value is divided into four intervals, (Coupling degree standard: low level (0 < C ≤ 0.3), antagonistic (0.3 < C ≤ 0.5), breaking-in (0.5 < C ≤ 0.8), high-level stage (0.8 < C ≤ 1).) with each representing the corresponding coupling state.

Finally, the coupled coordination degree model is constructed, which is defined as in (6):

The two systems are intersecting, infiltrating, and acting equally with each other; hence, \(\alpha\)  =  \(\beta\)  = 0.5. According to the related studies 18 , 34 , the coordination degree is divided into three major categories and 10 levels. (Coupling coordination standard: Recession caused by disorder: Extreme [0,0.09], severe [0.10, 0.19], moderate [0.20, 0.29], mild [0.30, 0.39]. Over-development: on the verge of disorder [0.40, 0.49], barely coordination [0.50, 0.59]. Coordinated development: primary [0.60, 0.69], intermediate [0.70, 0.79], good [0.80, 0.89], excellent [0.90, 1]).

Data sources

Based on panel data from 14 prefectures and cities in Xinjiang, we adopt 2009–2018 as the time frame to measure the integration level of agriculture and tourism . Data are mainly derived from Xinjiang Statistical Yearbook , Statistical Bulletins of Municipalities, and reports on the relevant government websites of Municipalities.

Results and analysis

Comprehensive development level of agriculture and tourism.

The combined development levels of agriculture and tourism in Xinjiang from 2009 to 2018 have generally exhibited an upward trend (See Fig.  2 ). The comprehensive development level of agriculture is higher than that of tourism. This is because Xinjiang is an important plantation base and livestock base in China, and the development of agricultural technology has further enhanced its comprehensive agricultural development. Although the tourism industry has generally displayed an upward trend, the overall trend has been slow, and has been greatly affected in individual years. This is because Xinjiang is limited by factors such as geographic location, infrastructure, and demographic characteristics, which restricts the enhancement of the comprehensive development level of tourism industry to a certain extent.

Xinjiang agriculture and tourism composite evaluation index.

Regarding time, (1) from 2009 to 2012, the comprehensive development levels of both agriculture and tourism have risen slowly and maintained a positive momentum. (2) From 2013 to 2014, the comprehensive development levels of agriculture slowed while those of tourism displayed a downward trend. This is mainly owing to the obvious short-board effect of the tourism industry, the peak season is too short and the off-season is long, and the comprehensive benefits of tourism are easily affected, leading to a clear downward trend. (3) from 2015 to 2018, the comprehensive tourism development level exhibited a rapid recovery in growth. To further cultivate tourism as a strategic pillar industry, the Xinjiang government has introduced various measures to improve the tourism industry and product systems. A regional tourism segment has been built, which has led to a climax in the development of Xinjiang’s tourism industry after a brief downturn. However, it is evident from the combined level of agricultural and tourism development in 2018 that the growth of tourism has not fully driven the development of agriculture, that is, the role of tourism in driving agricultural development has not been fully realized.

Spatial differentiation characteristics between coupling and coupling coordination degree

Spatial differentiation of coupling degree.

The 14 prefectures and cities in Xinjiang showed spatial characteristics of asynchronicity, regional differences, and regional polarization regarding the coupling degree of agri-tourism integration from 2009 to 2018 (Fig.  3 ). Overall, the degree of coupling displays a trend of continuous optimization, and the northern regions are better than the southern regions. Specifically, the Northern Xinjiang region is in the “antagonistic” stage, in which the space in this stage of the Northern Xinjiang region as a whole is gradually expanding. In particular, Tacheng and Changji have made full use of their unique folk culture, special agricultural resources, and unique tourism resources to significantly improve the level of integration of the agricultural and tourism industries. In the Southern Xinjiang region, with the exception of Hotan, the rest of the region has reached the “antagonistic” stage. Aksu and Kezhou have vigorously promoted the optimization and adjustment of their agricultural and tourism structures, making use of their rich and distinctive rural resources and developing their planting and tourism industries according to local conditions. The Hotan region as a whole is still at the “low level of coupling” stage. The possible reasons for this are its weak infrastructure and lack of human resources, which constrain the development of agri-tourism integration.

Variation of coupling degree between agriculture and tourism in Xinjiang (2009–2018).

Spatial differentiation characteristics of coupling coordination degree

From 2009 to 2018, the coupling coordination degree of agricultural-tourism integration was relatively low, but the overall trend was mainly a steady increase (Fig.  4 ). Overall, the degree of coupling coordination changes from “failure to decline” to “coordinated development,” and is higher in the northern regions than the southern regions. The Northern Xinjiang region is mostly at the “mildly dysfunctional” or “moderately dysfunctional” stage. Ili Prefecture has the most obvious upward trend, crossing a total of three levels and moving into the initial coordination type, ranking first in the whole territory. The main reason is that Ili Prefecture has a good agricultural foundation and a unique location advantage, and the integration of agriculture and tourism development has been effective. By contrast, the level of coupling coordination between the cities of Karamay and Hami is low and in a state of “serious dissonance.” The possible reasons for this are that regarding agriculture, Karamay is constrained by geomorphological, climatic and soil conditions, and regarding tourism, Karamay is a typical resource-based city, with insufficient natural and human resources, making it difficult to develop a combination of advantages. Hami is similarly limited in agriculture and tourism resources, and the state of agri-tourism integration is poorer and lower. The level of coupling coordination in Southern Xinjiang is mostly at the “moderate dissonance” or “serious dissonance” stage. On the whole, the degree of coordination of agriculture and tourism integration in Kashgar is relatively high, which is “mildly disordered.” The possible reason is that Kashgar region has continued to optimize the industrial layout and strengthen its own agricultural-tourism resource advantages in recent years, making the whole agricultural industry chain empowered rural tourism. The Kezhou and Hotan regions are in a stage of “serious dislocation.” Specifically, these have typical continental arid climates, with extreme drought and low rainfall, low vegetation cover, fragile ecological environments, and relatively lagging agricultural development, so that their coupling degree of harmonization is in a relatively poor state.

Variation of coupling coordination degree between agriculture and tourism in Xinjiang (2009–2018).

Comparative analysis of mean value of coupling coordination degree

For the average evaluation values and coupling coordination degree of the two systems, the lagging tourism industry is the main factor restricting the level of coupling and coordination development in various states (See Table 3 ). Except Urumqi, all other prefectures exhibit such lag, indicating that the contribution of tourism to agriculture is obviously less than that to tourism. The reason is that although the abundant tourism, historical and cultural, and ecological and environmental resources in Xinjiang contribute to the development of tourism so as to help poor people overcome poverty, the important economic status and role of tourism industry have been neglected, and the exploitation of natural resources is at a low level. Urumqi displays a lag in agricultural development. As the capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, as well as the radiation and distribution center of tourism industry in Xinjiang, the development of tourism in Urumqi is rapid with abundant tourism resources around the city. In contrast to the weaker development of the agricultural industry, the arable land area of Urumqi is only 73,766.91 hectares as of 2018, which fundamentally and seriously limits the upward mobility of agriculture, resulting in the phenomenon of lagging agricultural development type. From the above results, the level of development of agri-tourism integration has not been synchronized across the states.

Factors influencing the coupled and coordinated development of agriculture and tourism in Xinjiang

Model construction.

To further explore which factors affect the degree of coupled coordination of agritourism integration in Xinjiang, we draw on existing research results and construct an econometric model. Considering the dynamic nature of coupling coordination, that is, the prior period coupling coordination affects that of the current period, a dynamic panel model is selected for empirical analysis:

where i denotes each region ( i  = 1, 2, 3,…, 14) and t represents time ( t  = 2009, 2010, 2011,…, 2018). α is the coefficient matrix, \({\beta }_{i}\) denotes the fixed effect coefficient. The \({Y}_{it}\) explanatory variable represents the degree of coupled coordination between agriculture and tourism in Xinjiang, and and the explanatory variables \({se}_{it}\) , \({ca}_{it}\) , \({gov}_{it}\) , \({con}_{it}\) , \({in}_{it}\) , and \({ma}_{it}\) represent service capacity, human capital, government support, residents’ consumption level, industrial base, and market supply, respectively.

The inclusion of one-period lagged terms of the explanatory variables in the above model produces biased and inconsistent fixed or random effects estimates for ordinary panels when conducting regressions. Therefore, we choose the generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation model to consider the combined effect of current and past on the coupling coordination degree, and avoid the problem of endogeneity as well as weak instrumental variables.

Description of variables

Given the availability of data and previous results, the one-period lagged Xinjiang agriculture-tourism coupling coordination (L.coor) is chosen as the explanatory variable, while the explanatory variables are set as service capacity (se), human capital (ca), government support (gov), residents’ consumption level (con), industrial base (in) and market supply (ma).

Service capacity (se). Experience and participation are important factors in determining the success of integrated agri-tourism development. With the rapid development of technology, a convenient and smooth transportation and logistics environment are crucial to the satisfaction of tourists’ sense of experience. Service capacity, represented by transportation, warehousing, and postal services has a non-negligible impact on the degree of coordination of agri-tourism integration. We draw on previous research 35 to measure the service capacity of a region regarding transport, storage, and postal services.

Human capital (ca). Higher human capital can drive labor productivity and directly contribute to sustained economic growth. To push the integration of rural industries, the key lies in talents, and the cultivation of talents is the foundation for the integration and revitalization of rural industries 36 . Thus, we add human capital, an important factor affecting coupling coordination, as an explanatory variable. We adopt the number of students enrolled in ordinary higher education institutions (HEIs) as the proxy variable for human capital, mainly because such students are an important component of the labor market, and their number reflects the level of education in the region.

Government support (gov). A good policy environment for the coordinated development of agri-tourism integration has a non-negligible safeguarding role. By giving policy preferences and incentives for agri-tourism integration projects and improving infrastructure at the grassroots level, the government’s financial support can be brought into play. Thus, we add policy support as an explanatory variable and integrate related studies 37 to select general public budget expenditure as a proxy variable for policy support.

Residents’ consumption level (con). Residents’ consumption level is a key factor affecting the development of agri-tourism integration. In general, as residents’ discretionary income rises, so does the demand for service-oriented levels of travel and other services. Simultaneously, the main service objects of agricultural-tourism integration are the residents who live in the hustle and bustle of the city for a long time, Therefore, as a representative of residents’ consumption level, the changes in urban residents’ income will inevitably have a considerable impact on the integration of agriculture and tourism. We refer to Yang et al. who adopt urban residents’ disposable income as a representative indicator to characterize residents’ consumption level 38 .

Industrial base (in). Industrial base capability determines the overall quality, comprehensive strength, and core competitiveness of industries in a country and region 39 . We use the value-added of the tertiary sector to measure the industrial base, or whether the development of the tertiary sector can influence the degree of agri-tourism integration and coordination.

Market supply (ma). Market supply refers to the total quantity of a good or service available to consumers within a given market at a given time. In the tourism economy, the supply situation of the market affects the operation and development of the entire tourism market 40 . Therefore, we select the amount of fixed asset investment as a proxy variable for market supply. All variables are summarized in Table 4 .

Regression results

We use an econometric model to test the coupling coordination degree of agriculture and tourism and the interrelationships of service capacity, human capital, government support, residents’ consumption level, industrial base, and market supply in various cities and towns in Xinjiang from 2009 to 2018, and use the econometric software Stata14 to carry out the regression (see Table 5 ).

To obtain robust test results, we gradually add six explanatory variables ((se), (ca), (gov), (con), (in), (ma)) to gradually test the influence of each factor on the degree of coupling coordination, and conduct the overall effect test.

From Table 5 , the impact coefficient of service capacity on the degree of coupling coordination is significantly negative, indicating that the lagging development of Xinjiang’s transportation, storage, and postal industries constrains the improvement of coupling coordination. The possible reason for this is that although the transportation, storage and postal industry in Xinjiang is growing rapidly, the growth in output value lags behind the tertiary industry, which does not have a significant effect on the promotion of the tourism industry, and also weakens the impact on agritourism integration, displaying a negative correlation.

The coefficient of the effect of human capital on the degree of coupling coordination is significantly positive, which indicates that human capital has a strong positive contribution to the improvement of such degree. HE influences the economy through mediating variables such as science, technology, talent, and skills, and also contributes to agritourism integration in other ways such as consumption contribution and support for entrepreneurship. In other words, with the increase in the number of students enrolled in colleges and universities, the level of agricultural-tourism coupling coordination will continue to rise.

The effect of government support on coupling coordination is negative and insignificant. For Xinjiang, which is located in the western region, with limited financial resources, the government prefers to spend funds on areas with quick results and high returns. It is a relatively slow and continuous process for rural areas to rely on agricultural resources to develop tourism and to adjust and optimize the rural industrial structure; thus, despite the improvement of the fiscal expenditure inhibiting the development of agricultural-tourism integration, a negative impact remains.

Residents' consumption level is tested for significance at the 10% level, and this statistic indicates that urban residents' disposable income has a positive effect on the coupling and coordination of agriculture and tourism in Xinjiang.In fact, only when the disposable income of individuals increases, can it lead to consumption and the pursuit of higher-level demand. Alternatively, boosting disposable income to achieve high levels of demand will undoubtedly lead to the embedding of agriculture in tourism initiatives, which will in turn promote a high level of agritourism integration.

The influence coefficient of industrial base on the coupling coordination degree is significantly negative, indicating that the value-added of tertiary industry does not contribute significantly to the coupling coordination degree. Although the growth rate of the tertiary industry has been increasing, the development gap between regions and states is large, which restricts the development of the overall tertiary industry, thus inhibiting the influence of the industrial base on the coupled and coordinated development of agricultural and tourism integration. In other words, whether it is necessary to coordinate the ratio of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries in each state should be considered when formulating regional economic strategies.

Market supply is negatively correlated with coupling coordination degree. This is because the current fixed asset investment in Xinjiang is still in capital-intensive industries, infrastructure construction and other fields that have obvious driving effects on GDP. Moreover, the development of the service industry will not significantly enhance its efficiency, but will have a squeezing effect, which also leads to a negative performance of the effect of market supply on the degree of coupling coordination.

Conclusion and policy implications

Conclusions.

We apply the coupling coordination model to measure and analyze the development level of agriculture-tourism integration in various cities and towns in Xinjiang from 2009 to 2018, and empirically investigate the main factors affecting the degree of coupling coordination between agriculture and tourism using GMM estimation. The level of agricultural and tourism development in all cities and towns in Xinjiang exhibited an upward trend, but the coupling degree and the coupling coordination degree of agricultural-tourism integration in all cities and towns displayed significant spatial differentiation characteristics. Meanwhile, among the influencing factors of the coordinated development of agricultural and tourism integration, human capital, level of residents’ consumption, and degree of coupling coordination are positively correlated, while service capacity, government support, industrial foundation, and market supply are negatively correlated with the degree of coupling coordination.

Policy implications

The spatial differentiation pattern in the development process of Xinjiang’s agritourism integration hinders the coordinated development of its overall agritourism integration. Therefore, we propose the following enhancement paths (see Fig.  5 ).

Schematic diagram of the enhancement path for the integrated development of agriculture and tourism in Xinjiang.

Balance the coordination of agriculture and tourism industries. Attaching importance to the coordinated relationship between agriculture and tourism, not only to achieve “tourism + ,” but also to ensure “agriculture + ,” combining agricultural and rural development with the establishment, promotion, and operation of the tourism industry, and realizing a high level of development in the integration of agriculture and tourism.

Coordinate the spatial planning of agri-tourism integration. Cooperation between regions should be strengthened to enhance regional linkages, especially in the northern border region, which, on the basis of ensuring its own development, has taken the initiative to share its experience with the southern border region and to channel specialized talents, and drive the coordinated development of agri-tourism integration across the region.

Differentiation to create a regional brand of integrated development of agriculture and tourism. The Northern Xinjiang region should focus on leveraging the advantages of tourism resource endowment, filling the gaps in agricultural foundation, and promoting agriculture through tourism. For the southern border regions, agricultural scale and specialization can be formed, special planting bases can be established, and farmers can be encouraged to participate in the operation, so as to promote the income of farmers and herdsmen, thereby driving the development of the tourism.

Strengthen the government’s support for the integrated development of agriculture and tourism. Governments should take effective measures in accordance with local conditions, increase the construction of rural infrastructure projects in the southern border areas, improve transportation, warehousing, and other infrastructures, and enhance the service capacity in the integrated development of agri-tourism in these areas. Additionally, the government should also guide the Southern Xinjiang region to develop its own characteristic advantages, such as integrating products with unique local characteristics such as ethnic culture, folk customs, and special agricultural products, so as to make regional agri-tourism products more diversified and characteristic.

Data availability

The datasets used and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Yaping Peng & Weizhong Liu

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Y.P. wrote the main manuscript text, prepared all figures and tables, and provided data. C.X. provided the methodology and reviewed and edited the manuscript. Y.P. and W.L. reviewed and revised the paper.All authors reviewed and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Peng, Y., Liu, W. & Xiong, C. Spatio-temporal divergence and influencing factors of agritourism integration development in Xinjiang, China. Sci Rep 13 , 19361 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-46806-5

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-46806-5

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