Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Tourism Flows and Network Analysis of Traditional Villages in Western Hunan

Abstract

Traditional village tourism is an effective path to rural revitalization and an excellent way to preserve traditional sceneries and cultural heritage. However, research on the subject matter has been limited. To address some of the current research gaps, this study used 2372 online travelogues from popular travel websites to explore the spatio-temporal distribution and network structure of the tourism flow in traditional villages in western Hunan using ArcGIS and social network analysis. The main findings are as follows: (1) In terms of time distribution, the tourism flow in traditional villages in Western Hunan is dominated by short-term tourism and shows significant seasonal differences. (2) The spatial distribution forms a double-core and multipoint spatial pattern with “Fenghuang Ancient City—Zhangjiajie National Forest Park” as core. (3) The network of traditional villages in Western Hunan exhibits a “core-periphery” hierarchical structure, with a network density of 0.275. Aside from the attraction and appeal of the twin cores, Furong Town and Tianmen Mountain constitute the core points of the network structure, and the radiation drive of the core nodes is not pronounced.