Study on the Geographical Spatial Characteristics of Forest Health Resorts in Fujian Province, China

• Published in: Sustainability Vol. 16; no. 9; p. 3547
• Main Authors: Ye, Haodong, Wen, Jun, Xu, Xingpeng, Li, Jiayu, Lv, Zhaopeng, Su, Yueping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.05.2024
• Subjects: Analysis; China; Cities; Economic conditions; Economic growth; Economic indicators; Elder care; Forest management; Forests; Geographic information systems; Geography; Health resorts; Medical tourism; Natural resources; Rankings; Tourism development; Travel industry; China; Fujian China; Germany
• ISSN: 2071-1050; 2071-1050
• DOI: 10.3390/su16093547

Forest health tourism is an increasingly popular new form of tourism. Fujian Province, with its abundant forest resources, ranks among the top provinces in China in terms of forest coverage and holds significant development potential. The study focuses on 80 provincial-level forest health resorts in Fujian Province, China. Software such as the ArcGIS geographic information system is used to analyze the resorts’ nearest neighbor index, geographic concentration index, kernel density, etc., thus indicating their spatial distribution characteristics. Overlay analysis, correlation analysis, and fitting analysis are employed to explore the spatial distribution specificity and its influencing factors. The research results indicate that forest health resorts in the area exhibit an aggregated distribution with a higher overall concentration. They are influenced by factors such as the distribution of river systems, the accessibility of transportation, distance to central cities, and socio-economic conditions. The geographic concentration index (G) is 50.28 and the unevenness index (S) is 0.640, both indicating that the forest health resorts in Fujian Province demonstrate a distribution pattern of “overall dispersion with multiple core aggregations”. Based on the research findings, the article puts forward some policy insights. Taking into account the local geographical characteristics, it advocates for the rational development of forest health resort industry models suitable for the region. It suggests incorporating innovative ideas into the forest health resort industry in order to broaden development channels. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of close collaboration between the government and the market for mutual development.