Strategies for the Transformation and Development of Tourism in Resource-Depleted Cities-Taking Zaozhuang as a Case Study

DOI: https://doi.org/10.62517/jtm.202613404

Author(s)

Xiyang Xu

Affiliation(s)

Zaozhuang Vocational College, Xuecheng District, Zaozhuang, Shandong, China

Abstract

Resource-depleted cities generally face the transitional dilemma of a monolithic industrial structure and sluggish economic development; fostering successor industries has become key to the sustainable development of these cities.Taking Zaozhuang City as the subject of this study, this paper systematically analyses the current status of its tourism sector’s transformation and development. Although Zaozhuang possesses abundant cultural and tourism resources and has the inherent potential for a tourism-led transition, it faces five core challenges: an imbalanced product structure, low levels of industrial integration, an incomplete supporting infrastructure system, insufficient brand influence, and imperfect institutional mechanisms. Based on this, the paper constructs a ‘One Belt, Three Zones, Three Parks’ tourism development framework and proposes five optimisation strategies from both internal and external perspectives.The study concludes that multidimensional upgrading of the cultural and tourism industry can effectively drive Zaozhuang’s industrial transformation, providing practical reference for the transformation of similar small and medium-sized resource-depleted cities across the country.

Keywords

Zaozhuang; Tourism Transformation; Resource-Depleted Cities; Successor Industries

References

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