Microsoft Word 2007 ichrie conference Proceedings Final-Final 06-06-07. doc

Key Words
: tourism, cultural thinning, China, stakeholder, alliance
INTRODUCTION 
Tourism has become one of the fastest growing sectors in China’s drive to modernize. Tourism contributes 
5.4% of the country’s GDP and by 2020 this is estimated to rise to 11% and around 58 billion US dollars (People’s 
Daily, 2003). According to China National Tourism Administration [CNTA] (2006), 20 million international tourists 
visited the country in 2005, generating US $29.2 billion in tourism receipts. World Travel Organization predicted 
that some 130 million overseas tourists will visit China by 2020 (People’s Daily Online, 2000). The industry growth 
has been also fueled by domestic tourism, driven by increases in holiday entitlements and disposable income. CNTA 
(2006) registered 1.21 billion domestic tourists traveling in the country in 2005, generating tourism receipts of 528.6 
billion Yuan. By 2010, this figure will reach 850 billion Yuan (ChinaCCM, 2006).
Tourists, international and domestic alike, are attracted by the rich historical and cultural resources in 
China. The growth of Chinese tourism is dramatic and evident. However, as Alvin Toffler noted with the law of 
raspberry jam, the
 
wider a culture is spread, the thinner it gets. The Chinese cultural authenticity is under the risk of 
losing itself to modern commoditization during rapid tourism development. Cultural attractions and festivals are 
being affected and altered by the impingement of the modern industrial world and westernization.
 
Researchers have studied the impacts of tourism development in China on its culture in relation to rapid 
economic development (McKann, 2002; Wang, 2003). Little research, however, was specifically centered on how 
policies in public sector are coordinated with the interests of stakeholders in private sector to combat the thinning 
effects on culture. In the context of cultural thinning due to modernization and industrialization, this study bears two 
objectives:
1) To explore the scope that culture has been impacted by rapid tourism development; and
2) To construct a model of strategic alliance for key tourism stakeholders to mitigate the cultural thinning 
effect and align economic interest with cultural preservation in tourism development.
Specifically, this paper analyzed the impacts of modernity and exogenous global forces on Chinese cultural 
tourism when tourism acted as a significant vehicle for modernization. It revealed the tensions generated between 
the country’s determination to stimulate its economic growth and the attempts to maintain the authenticity of 
traditional Chinese culture, with reference to developments in tourism. The study delineated the elements of the 
strategic alliance in the preservation of cultural authenticity and illustrated the initiatives, coverage of 
responsibilities, and concerns of various stakeholders in the process.