Pathway of influence of rural tourism policy change from the perspective of configuration: Qualitative comparative analysis based on huangshan case study

Abstract

Under the institutional background of China, the development of rural tourism is closely related to the change of policies. In this study, the dynamic mechanism of rural tourism policy change was explored by using the clear set qualitative comparative analysis method of multivariable interactions. This method emphasizes that through the continuous dialogue of empirical data and relevant theories, the possible causality of the research target can be mapped out from small and medium sample data. This method was used due to the following considerations: First, the main feature of the clear set qualitative comparative analysis method is its treatment of dichotomous variables, especially phenomena "occurring" and "not occurring", thus it is suitable for examining whether there is a change in policy in this study. Second, the core of the qualitative comparative analysis method of clear set is not to consider each condition variable as an independent variable, but to consider it in combination with other variables in different ways. The results of rural tourism policy change in Huangshan depend on different influencing factors at the same time and the use of clear set qualitative comparative analysis method can discover multiple pathways with equivalent results. Third, the relationship between the single factors causing Huangshan rural tourism policy change is not symmetrical and the clear set qualitative comparative analysis method is useful for such analysis. Fourth, the use of qualitative comparative analysis method of clear set can find out multiple pathways with equivalent results. This method can compare different cases in the same area, explore the combination of antecedent conditions in accordance with the theoretical logic, and establish the causal relationship between various combinations of conditions and the interpreted results. Based on the above, this research explored the configuration of the impact of rural tourism policy change, which is composed of organization/leadership change, rural planning policy change, local cultural policy change, host resident participation, and tourism market public opinion. The results show that: 1) Among the individual factors, the change of organization/leadership has a greater influence on the tourism policies at the level of tourism bureau and the participation of host residents has a greater influence on the policies at the city level, but all individual factors are not sufficient for the change of rural tourism policies. 2) Among the 32 alternative path combinations, there are four specific combination pathways with sufficient conditions that affect the changes of rural tourism policies at the municipal level, and there are three specific combination pathways with sufficient conditions that affect the changes of rural tourism policies at the tourism bureau level. 3) For the change of tourism policies at the municipal level, the change of rural planning policy, public opinion of tourism market, and the participation of host residents have similar degrees of influence, and the influence of leadership change of the tourism department is relatively small. 4) For the change of policies at the level of tourism bureau, the change of organization and leadership, the change of rural planning policy, and the change of cultural policy have similar degrees of influence, and host resident participation and public opinion of tourism market have less influence in this pathway.