IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i14p7594-d590031.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Important Factors Affecting Rural Tourists’ Aesthetic Experience: A Case Study of Zoumatang Village in Ningbo

Author

Listed:
  • Weiwei Zhou

    (Department of Environmental Design, College of Science and Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315300, China
    Ph.D. Program in Design, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan 32023, Taiwan)

  • Li-Yu Chen

    (Department of Interior Design, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan 32023, Taiwan)

  • Rung-Jiun Chou

    (Department of Landscape Architecture, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan 32023, Taiwan)

Abstract

China’s countryside is rich in cultural heritage. It is an important engine for rural development and revitalization. How to improve the tourists’ satisfaction with their aesthetic experience, raise the revisit rate and loyalty, and provide new methods and ideas for re-understanding the tourism experience is a topic worth discussing. This study chose Zoumatang Village in Ningbo, China, as the research target, and explored the important factors affecting tourists’ satisfaction with the aesthetic experience of their visit. Through a literature review and eight experts applying the Delphi method, this paper develops a framework of important criteria for the Zoumatang Village aesthetic experience. It then ranks their importance and causal relationships using the DEMATEL-based ANP method. It also combines 16 important factors for tourist satisfaction to explore improvement measures. The research results show that pleasure is the most critical factor of the aesthetic experience offered by Zoumatang Village with interactivity, variety, associability, sociability, and stewardship as factors that need to be improved given that naturalness lies at the heart of tourists’ aesthetic experience. The evaluation model of this study can provide a reference for improving the aesthetic experience of Zoumatang Village in particular, and the research methods and ideas for rural tourism development planning and integrated marketing in general. The findings can be used when investigating aesthetic experience, questionnaire making, and evaluation optimization related to tourism.

Suggested Citation

  • Weiwei Zhou & Li-Yu Chen & Rung-Jiun Chou, 2021. "Important Factors Affecting Rural Tourists’ Aesthetic Experience: A Case Study of Zoumatang Village in Ningbo," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-24, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:14:p:7594-:d:590031
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/14/7594/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/14/7594/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Keshuai Xu & Jin Zhang & Fengjun Tian, 2017. "Community Leadership in Rural Tourism Development: A Tale of Two Ancient Chinese Villages," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-22, December.
    2. Yu, Xiaojuan & Xu, Honggang, 2016. "Ancient poetry in contemporary Chinese tourism," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 393-403.
    3. Xiang Li & Chaowu Xie & Alastair M. Morrison & Thi Hong Hai Nguyen, 2021. "Experiences, Motivations, Perceptions, and Attitudes Regarding Ethnic Minority Village Tourism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-18, February.
    4. Alexis Mooser & Giorgio Anfuso & Lluís Gómez-Pujol & Angela Rizzo & Allan T. Williams & Pietro P. C. Aucelli, 2021. "Coastal Scenic Beauty and Sensitivity at the Balearic Islands, Spain: Implication of Natural and Human Factors," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-36, April.
    5. María Ángeles Plaza-Mejía & Nuria Porras-Bueno & David Flores-Ruiz, 2020. "The Jungle of Support: What Do We Really Mean When We Say “Residents’ Support”?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-27, September.
    6. Fatemeh Hosseini & Hassan Sajadzadeh & Farshid Aram & Amir Mosavi, 2021. "The Impact of Local Green Spaces of Historically and Culturally Valuable Residential Areas on Place Attachment," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-17, April.
    7. Yi-Chung Hu & Yu-Jing Chiu & Chung-Sheng Hsu & Yu-Ying Chang, 2015. "Identifying Key Factors for Introducing GPS-Based Fleet Management Systems to the Logistics Industry," Mathematical Problems in Engineering, Hindawi, vol. 2015, pages 1-14, September.
    8. Rocco Scolozzi & Uta Schirpke & Carlo Detassis & Sabah Abdullah & Alessandro Gretter, 2015. "Mapping Alpine Landscape Values and Related Threats as Perceived by Tourists," Landscape Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(4), pages 451-465, May.
    9. Kirillova, Ksenia & Fu, Xiaoxiao & Lehto, Xinran & Cai, Liping, 2014. "What makes a destination beautiful? Dimensions of tourist aesthetic judgment," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 282-293.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nasiri, Hakimeh & Kirillova, Ksenia & Wassler, Philipp, 2024. "Beyond beauty: Ugly and borderline tourism aesthetic experiences," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    2. Kirillova, Ksenia, 2023. "A review of aesthetics research in tourism:," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    3. Xiaoyang Zhu & Shang-Chia Chiou, 2022. "A Study on the Sustainable Development of Historic District Landscapes Based on Place Attachment among Tourists: A Case Study of Taiping Old Street, Taiwan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-25, September.
    4. Ketut Eko Ari Saputro & Hasim & Lina Karlinasari & Irfan Syauqi Beik, 2023. "Evaluation of Sustainable Rural Tourism Development with an Integrated Approach Using MDS and ANP Methods: Case Study in Ciamis, West Java, Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-18, January.
    5. Esperanza Ayuga-Téllez & Juan José Ramírez-Montoro & Maria Ángeles Grande-Ortiz & Diego Muñoz-Violero, 2021. "Differences in Visual Preference in Rural Landscapes on the Plain of La Mancha in Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-15, December.
    6. Sanaz Davardoust & Faris Karahan, 2021. "Evaluation of Sustainable Rural Tourism. The Case of Uzundere District, Erzurum, Turkey," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-14, September.
    7. Yuqing Geng & Hongwei Zhu & Renjun Zhu, 2022. "Coupling Coordination between Cultural Heritage Protection and Tourism Development: The Case of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-22, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kirillova, Ksenia, 2023. "A review of aesthetics research in tourism:," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    2. Habibi, Tahereh & Ponedelnik, Alena A. & Yashalova, Natalia N. & Ruban, Dmitry A., 2018. "Urban geoheritage complexity: Evidence of a unique natural resource from Shiraz city in Iran," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 85-94.
    3. Loc, Ho Huu & Park, Edward & Thu, Tran Ngoc & Diep, Nguyen Thi Hong & Can, Nguyen Trong, 2021. "An enhanced analytical framework of participatory GIS for ecosystem services assessment applied to a Ramsar wetland site in the Vietnam Mekong Delta," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    4. Setiawan Priatmoko & Moaaz Kabil & Yitno Purwoko & Lóránt Dénes Dávid, 2021. "Rethinking Sustainable Community-Based Tourism: A Villager’s Point of View and Case Study in Pampang Village, Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-15, March.
    5. Ni Sheng & U Wa Tang, 2015. "Spatial Techniques to Visualize Acoustic Comfort along Cultural and Heritage Routes for a World Heritage City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(8), pages 1-17, July.
    6. Hung Wan Kot & Ming-Hsiang Chen & Ching-Hui (Joan) Su & Yu-Xia Lin, 2024. "Tang poetry and tourism: Cultural effects after 1000 years," Tourism Economics, , vol. 30(1), pages 152-173, February.
    7. Ana Cláudia Amaro & Luisa M. Martinez & Filipe R. Ramos & Karla Menezes & Silvio Menezes, 2023. "An overstimulated consumer in a highly visual world: the moderating effect of the highly sensitive person trait on the attitude towards the ad," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 1429-1458, September.
    8. Dmitry A. Ruban, 2018. "Karst as Important Resource for Geopark-Based Tourism: Current State and Biases," Resources, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-8, December.
    9. Hsu-Lin Chen & Yi-Chung Hu & Ming-Yen Lee, 2021. "Evaluating Appointment of Division Managers Using Fuzzy Multiple Attribute Decision Making," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(19), pages 1-24, September.
    10. Jinyu Fan & Bohong Zheng & Boyang Zhang & Zongsheng Huang & Junyou Liu, 2023. "Research on the Revitalization Path of Ethnic Villages Based on the Inheritance of Spatial Cultural Genes—Taking Tujia Village of Feng Xiang Xi in Guizhou Province as a Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-14, January.
    11. Min Shao & Derong Lin, 2021. "A Study on How the Five Senses Are Affected When Tourists Experience Towns with Forest Characteristics: An Empirical Analysis Based on the Data of Fujian, Guangdong and Sichuan in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-16, July.
    12. Carine Pachoud & Riccardo Da Re & Maurizio Ramanzin & Stefano Bovolenta & Damiano Gianelle & Enrico Sturaro, 2020. "Tourists and Local Stakeholders’ Perception of Ecosystem Services Provided by Summer Farms in the Eastern Italian Alps," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-16, February.
    13. Olga P. Kormazina & Dmitry A. Ruban & Natalia N. Yashalova, 2022. "Hotel Naming in Russian Cities: An Imprint of Foreign Cultures and Languages between Europe and Asia," Societies, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-13, March.
    14. Noureddine Er-Ramy & Driss Nachite & Giorgio Anfuso & Soria Azaaouaj, 2023. "The Sector Analysis as a Coastal Management Tool for Sustainable Tourism Development on the Mediterranean Coast of Morocco," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-19, August.
    15. Zhou, Long & Li, Yixin & Cheng, Jialin & Qin, Yu & Shen, Guoqiang & Li, Bin & Yang, Huajie & Li, Sihong, 2023. "Understanding the aesthetic perceptions and image impressions experienced by tourists walking along tourism trails through continuous cityscapes in Macau," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    16. Lee, Kai-Sean, 2022. "Culinary aesthetics: World-traveling with culinary arts," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    17. Mubarik, Muhammad Shujaat & Kazmi, Syed Hasnain Alam & Zaman, Syed Imran, 2021. "Application of gray DEMATEL-ANP in green-strategic sourcing," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    18. Daxin Dong & Xiaowei Xu & Yat Fung Wong, 2019. "Estimating the Impact of Air Pollution on Inbound Tourism in China: An Analysis Based on Regression Discontinuity Design," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-18, March.
    19. Ahmad Aizuddin Md Rami & Zeinab Zaremohzzabieh & Faiq Aziz & Ismi Arif Ismail & Haslinda Abdullah, 2022. "Moderating Role of Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivations in the Relationship between Community Leadership and Social Capital in Rural Malaysia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-16, December.
    20. Yugang He & Xiaodan Gao & Renhong Wu & Yinhui Wang & Baek-Ryul Choi, 2021. "How Does Sustainable Rural Tourism Cause Rural Community Development?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-20, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:14:p:7594-:d:590031. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.