Guest editorial: IJTC regional review series: People’s Republic of China and Latin America

The relationship between cities and tourism is complex. It is far more than tourism occurring in an urban environment. As argued by Ashworth & Page (2011), there is an urbanicity which is contrasted with rurality that makes the interactions between tourism and cities meaningful. Cities can be considered as the result of the centralization of population, capital and resources for political or economic efficiency (Tacoli, 1998). Thus, compared with rural areas, cities are always characterized by agglomeration, diversity and multifunctionality, making urban destinations unique in their impact on the tourism industry.

As a complex system, cities are able to meet the diverse motivations and needs of tourists (Edwards et al., 2008). The purposes of tourists visiting a city are much more than vacationing. For instance, dense population increases the possibility of visiting family and friends; commercial prosperity promotes visitors’ motivations of shopping and entertainment; the rich public cultural facilities and resources provide the conditions for study tours; diverse cultures give rise to a variety of festivals and events; high accessibility makes the city a gateway to other places; clustered industries and well-developed infrastructure trigger the development of business and MICE travel.

With the backdrop of knowledge-based economy, cities, serving as the converging platform for a plethora of resources, talent and capital, have become the center of innovation, which is believed as the product of geographically clustered processes (Florida et al., 2017). Innovation has permeated various sectors in cities, including the tourism industry. Nowadays, tourism in cities undergoes a constant evolution, driven by a spectrum of novel technologies, products and business practices and models, which may emanate from within the tourism industry itself or result from the diffusion of innovations originating in other sectors. For example, emerging technologies such as virtual and augmented reality have gradually been applied in city exploration to elevate the tourist experience (tom Dieck & Jung, 2018); contactless technologies such as robot services and mobile payments have been used in tourism and hospitality industries to reduce health risks during the COVID-19 pandemic (Rathjens et al., 2023). The interplay between smart cities and smart tourism also creates a mutually reinforcing relationship where advancements in one sector benefit the other. The technologies such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, geospatial technologies and 5G that smart cities rely on also catalyze the development of smart tourism (Gajdošík & Marciš, 2019; Wang et al., 2020).

The multiple dimensions of tourism in cities and continuous innovation present a paradox in this research field. On one hand, this diversity and dynamism make it challenging for scholars to establish a consensus on a research agenda, leading to fragmented knowledge production that struggles to integrate into a comprehensive research framework. On the other hand, the diversity and dynamism also infuse this research field with enduring vitality, continually introducing new research topics, methods and perspectives of exploration. One significant manifestation of this diversity and dynamism arises from the regional characteristics of cities. As the process of globalization deepens, the development of cities worldwide maintains a delicate balance between globalization and localization (Alfasi & Fenster, 2009). This dynamic interplay also extends to the tourism industries in cities, necessitating a consideration of regional and contextual factors in research. In light of this, this special issue of the International Journal of Tourism Cities, taking a regional perspective, seeks to provide insights into the trends and challenges of tourism cities in the context of contemporary China.

It is essential to provide a brief overview of the development of tourism in China, so that readers can better understand the specific context of this special issue. In China, the government plays a crucial role in the development of tourism. From the perspective of tourism politics, tourism can be seen as a tool for the government to implement its ideology and achieve its national socioeconomic development goals (Huang, 2010). Therefore, understanding the development of tourism in China cannot be separated from a discussion of the government’s political goals at different times.

In Mao’s era, tourism was primarily regarded as a diplomatic tool by the government to promote the achievements of Socialist China and expand China’s international influence (Zhang et al., 1999). Meanwhile, owing to the planned economy, individual mobility was restricted and tourism was seen as a manifestation of decadent capitalist lifestyles (Zhang et al., 2000). As a result, domestic tourism during this period was largely stagnant, with inbound tourism being the main focus of tourism development.

After the reform and opening up in 1978, there was a shift in the national ideology from class struggle to economic development, which also influenced the government’s approach to tourism development. In the early stage of the reform, China needed foreign exchange to support its economic development, and tourism became an important means to achieve this. The development of tourism in China thus began to shift from political to economic-oriented (Huang, 2010). However, the government still held a conservative stance on domestic tourism development during this period. This situation began to change in the 1990s, when domestic tourism became a new drive for stimulating the national economy, particularly in response to the Asian financial crisis in 1997 (Tang, 2017). In the following decade, the tourism industry gradually developed into a pillar sector in China.

After the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China’s tourism industry underwent another shift in development. This shift corresponded to the social context of China transitioning from a focus on purely economic growth to the comprehensive improvement of people’s quality of life (Zhu et al., 2021). Therefore, tourism was no longer viewed solely as a tool for economic growth but was also endowed with the role of promoting social-cultural development.

Against this background, we can better understand the current development of tourism cities in China. The past two decades of the 21st century have witnessed rapid urbanization in China. In 2011, the urban population in China surpassed the rural population for the first time (51.27%), and by 2020, the urbanization rate had reached 63.89% (NBSC, 2021). This signifies a significant departure from the “rural China” described by Fei (1992) in his seminal book From the Soil, as cities have become a central component of modern Chinese lifestyles. The development of tourism cities in China has responded to this reality.

On one hand, the relationship between tourism and culture has been redefined. Benefiting from China’s rich history, historical and cultural heritage was considered a core resource in urban tourism development in China, which was also supported by some early government policies, such as the initiation of the “National Historical and Cultural Cities” project in 1982. Similar to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, while this project had an important branding effect on Chinese tourism cities, it primarily focused on the protection of national historical and cultural heritage. Consequently, conflicts often arose between tourism development and heritage preservation in these cities (Shepherd & Yu, 2012). However, in the 2010s, the role of tourism in cultural education and promotion was re-valued by the government, positioning tourism as a crucial medium for “telling China’s story.” A pivotal event in this regard was the restructuring of the previous Chinese National Tourism Administration into the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2018. The integration of culture and tourism has become a major theme in China’s tourism development in recent years.

On the other hand, the connection between tourism and cities has become more comprehensive. As early as 1998, the Chinese Government initiated the selection of “Excellent Tourism Cities in China.” Yet, starting in 2015, the government also launched a series of projects called “Tourism and Leisure Cities/Districts,” aiming to propose new industry standards and guidelines for the development of urban tourism and leisure. In 2017, the first batch of Tourism and Leisure Demonstration Cities in China, including Hangzhou, Chengdu, Dalian, Xiamen, Wuhan, Yinchuan, Ningbo, Suzhou, Wuxi and Zhuhai, was designated. In 2022, 54 national-level Tourism and Leisure Districts were selected. In a sense, the change from “excellent tourism cities” to “tourism and leisure cities/districts” signifies that urban lifestyle itself has become the core of tourism cities in China. It also indicates a shift from tourist-oriented to all-encompassing tourism city planning.

Research on tourism cities in China began in the 1990s. Aligned with the research agenda in international urban tourism research, it encompasses a range of research sub-themes, such as marketing and branding, urban planning and regeneration, visitor management, tourism impacts and more. Meanwhile, it has also emerged some region-specific research topics, including high-speed rail tourism driven by infrastructure development, overtourism resulting from population issues, red tourism emerging owing to historical heritage and increased attention to mega-events such as the Olympics, World Expos and Asian Games. It can be said that research on tourism cities in China is both diverse and dynamic. Interestingly, while the seven articles featured in this special issue cover diverse topics, they also shed light on two predominant trends and challenges in contemporary tourism cities in China: pandemic impact on tourism development and urban tourism within the context of cultural and tourism integration.

The COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as the most profound and consequential disruptor of the tourism industry in recent years. The imposition of pandemic control measures resulted in restrictions on mobility, coupled with a reduction in tourists’ willingness to travel because of heightened concerns about health risks (Zheng et al., 2021). Consequently, the global tourism sector has experienced a substantial decline. China, as the initial epicenter of COVID-19, was at the forefront in facing the challenges brought about by the pandemic. Therefore, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism industry has emerged as the primary issue for tourism researchers.

The paper titled “Changes in the size of domestic tourists in mainland China under the impact of COVID-19” by Lina Zhong and Yingchao Dong explores the pandemic impact on urban tourists in mainland China from a macroscopic perspective. By analyzing data from 2018 to 2021 for 337 cities in mainland China, the study reveals increasing disparities in tourist numbers across seven geographic divisions of China. For example, it finds that the inland southwest region emerged as a new domestic tourism hotspot during the pandemic period. These insights are valuable for devising region-specific tourism revitalization strategies and promoting domestic tourism circulation within China.

Crisis response and post-crisis recovery are also important topics of interest for researchers. The paper, entitled “Tourism and COVID-19 in China: recovery and resilience strategies of main Chinese tourism cities” by Luqi Yang, Xiaoni Li and Ana Beatriz Hernández-Lara, investigates the top-down prevention measures and tourism recovery strategies implemented by four tourism cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Wuhan. Using data from information posted by destination management organizations (DMOs) on social media platforms, the study identifies a series of prevention measures, such as mobility restrictions, public place disinfection, sanitation and distancing and recovery strategies, such as financial support and promotion of international image. It also highlights the value of digital technologies in crisis management and dark tourism as a robust strategy for tourism recovery in the post-pandemic era.

The hotel industry, as another severely impacted sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, has undergone a transformation and upgrade in response to the challenges of the pandemic. Enhancing hygiene conditions has become a focal point, with many hotels adopting contactless services and technologies to ensure the safety of their guests (Rahimizhian & Irani, 2020). The paper titled “How does a hotel’s hygiene protocol quality trigger guests’ revisit intention during the pandemic? Evidence from Chinese guests” by Md. Tariqul Islam, Uma Pandey, Satyajit Sinha and Siti Rahayu Hussin examines how the quality of a hotel’s hygiene protocol influences customers’ intentions to revisit. Based on the Stimulus–Organism–Response model, this study argues that hotel hygiene quality can positively influence tourists’ revisit intentions through three attributes: brand image, perceived guest satisfaction and guest trust.

The “integration of culture and tourism” has become a tourism policy in contemporary China. It signifies that the government is no longer solely emphasizing the economic significance of the tourism industry; rather, its social and cultural implications are being reevaluated. Therefore, the integration of culture and tourism serves not only as a means of cultural industrialization and heritage revitalization but also as a way for China to reconstruct its international image and bolster its global influence.

While the integration of culture and tourism has become an assumed trend today, it may be necessary to critically assess a presupposition of this trend: to what extent does the integration of culture and tourism contribute to the development of the tourism economy? From a macro perspective, the article of Changyao Song, Qi Zhang, Xinjian Li and Anni Zhang on “Co-agglomeration of the culture and tourism industries in Chinese cities” addresses this issue and offers valuable insights into the interaction between culture and tourism. The study finds that culture-tourism co-agglomeration positively impacts the urban tourism economy, with variations based on geographical location, city ranking and the level of culture-tourism integration, while also generating positive spatial spillover effects on surrounding cities.

When endeavoring to transform cultural heritages into tourism resources, a particular challenge arises: how to cope with dissonant heritage (Tunbridge & Ashworth, 1996). Tourism development can assist destinations in reinterpreting these painful histories and their remnants into contemporary cultural and economic assets, fostering new urban branding and generating alternative narratives about localities and even nations. In their study titled “Heritage and tourism development in China’s former international concessions. Tianjin as a place study,” Maria Gravari-Barbas, Sandra Guinand, Yue Lu and Xinyu Li examine the actors, strategies and outcomes involved in the revitalization of dissonant heritage in Chinese cities, as well as its connection to broader urban tourism policies. It reveals that tourism can help erase the negative connotations of these post-colonial remnants, and instead reframing them through narratives of modernity within the context of market-driven consumption.

The integration of cultural and tourism, in turn, also serves to promote the conservation of cultural heritage. The global growth of film-induced tourism at heritage sites presents both opportunities and challenges, as it enhances site popularity but also raises concerns about resource fragility (Zhang et al., 2023). The paper entitled “Tourists’ perceived destination image and heritage conservation intention: a comparative study of heritage and film-induced images” by Su Zhang and Yin-Hsi Lo examines the factors influencing tourists’ film-induced heritage conservation behavior at Kaiping Diaolou, a UNESCO World Heritage site often used as a film location in Guangdong Province, China. It finds that both film- and heritage-induced images positively impact tourists’ conservation intentions, which have implications for sustainable heritage tourism development.

In summary, the articles included in this special issue offer a diverse range of topics, methodologies and perspectives related to tourism cities in China. These featured studies have the potential to provide valuable insights to practitioners and academics concerning tourism development in contemporary China.

Formed by 21 countries and 21 islands in the Caribbean, Latin America is a region of contrasts and paradoxes. It is the most biologically endowed area of the world, hosting 40% of the world biodiversity, a third of the planet’s freshwater reserves, 57% of its primary forests and 26% of mangroves, among other biologically important resources (Watson et al., 2023). The Amazonian rainforest, expanding through seven countries, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Perú, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana and Suriname, is considered the lungs of the world. Culturally, it is home to hundreds of Indigenous groups, Afro-descendant populations, archaeological sites, European colonial architecture, gastronomic and wine regions and musical, event and entertainment cities. However, the region suffers from severe economic disparities, socio-political turmoil, corruption and environmental degradation that puts in peril the very same resources upon which its unique character hinges and weakens the sustainable development of its tourism.

While domestic tourism dominates in the region, Latin American destinations have garnered significant appeal in the international tourism market because of their abundant natural and cultural resources. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the region experienced a remarkable 60% growth in international tourist arrivals between 2010 and 2019 (Statista Research Department, 2023a, 2023b). Mexico emerged as the foremost country in terms of tourist arrivals and expenditures, hosting 38 million international tourists in 2022, followed by the Dominican Republic (7 million), Colombia (4.5 million) and Argentina (3.9 million) (UNWTO, 2023). Urban destinations hold considerable sway, with eight Latin American cities, namely Mexico City, Cancun and Playa del Carmen (Mexico), São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Punta Cana (Dominican Republic) and Cusco (Peru), holding positions in the Top 100 City Destinations in the world list (Euromonitor International, 2022). The tourism sector plays a pivotal role in the national economies of many Latin American countries, particularly those within the Caribbean, where it accounted for 13.7% of the overall regional GDP and contributed to 15.5% of the total employment in 2019 (World Travel & Tourism Council, 2023). On islands such as Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, international tourism assumes a particularly dominant role, representing over 70% of annual export earnings (The World Bank, 2023).

However, the region grapples with several challenges that threaten the sustainable development of tourism, especially in urban destinations. One of the most pressing issues is safety and security. Statistics reveal that 16 of the top 20 countries with the highest murder rates per 1,00,000 inhabitants, as well as 16 of the top 20 most dangerous cities globally, are located in Latin America (Statista Research Department, 2023a, 2023b). Countries such as El Salvador, Honduras and Belize in Central America are among the most dangerous in the world, and six of the world's top-ranking cities for violence are situated in Mexico. While the root causes of this violence are multifaceted, incidents related to drug trafficking and organized crime feature prominently in the region’s homicide statistics. Furthermore, factors such as poverty, violence and political instability have spurred significant migration flows from Central and South American nations towards the USA, placing additional strain on Mexican cities, especially those along the border, where migrants often await resolution of their migration status. Latin American destinations also contend with infrastructure deficiencies, particularly in the realms of air and ground transportation, which hamper their competitiveness on the global stage (World Economic Forum, 2022). Moreover, the region’s heavy reliance on the USA and Canadian tourist markets renders it vulnerable to travel advisories, health crises and currency exchange rate fluctuations in these two nations. Additional concerns affecting urban tourism encompass issues such as traffic congestion, environmental pollution and the undesirable phenomenon of sexual tourism (Camargo et al., 2020).

Nevertheless, despite these challenges and the setbacks inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a promising outlook for the sustainable growth of tourism in Latin America. The region’s innate natural and cultural attributes, competitive pricing and lenient visa requirements continue to appeal to diverse segments of tourists, including the community of digital nomads. Attention has increasingly turned toward the preservation of environmental resources, exemplified by Brazil’s commitment, under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to achieve zero deforestation by 2030, thereby reversing the environmental degradation of the Amazon initiated by previous administrations and setting an influential precedent for other Latin American nations to emulate (Presidencia da Republica da Brasil, 2023). Enhanced connectivity, facilitated by the opening of new routes to countries such as Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay and Peru, is fostering improved accessibility to Latin American destinations (Mordor Intelligence, 2023). Furthermore, cities across the region are actively developing gastronomic, cultural and entertainment experiences throughout the year, strategically targeting non-traditional market segments.

The objective of this special issue is to further enrich the knowledge base pertaining to city tourism in Latin America. While research in this domain has grown steadily, encompassing topics ranging from heritage tourism in historic city centers (Scarpaci, 2005) to medical tourism (Martínez Almanza et al., 2019), local cuisine and gastronomic tourism (Castillo-Villar, 2020), academic tourism (Camargo & Quintanilla, 2018), urban tourism demand (Carvache-Franco et al., 2023), displacement and gentrification in tourist cities (Piñeros, 2017) and even slum and poverty tours (Hernandez‐Garcia, 2013), there remains a pressing need for further research to comprehend contemporary issues and trends within this region. Additionally, exploring the contribution of urban tourism to the sustainable development of Latin American cities remains an imperative area of inquiry. This special issue builds upon prior works by Monterrubio et al. (2020) and Camargo et al. (2022) to advance our understanding of tourism in urban settings.

Mexico, the most visited country in Latin America, takes center stage in this special issue. Three articles delve into topics concerning the destination images of urban Mexican destinations. Moliner-Tena et al. (2023) assess the impact of cognitive destination image and tourist motivations on tourist active engagement in Acapulco, one of the most popular destinations on the Pacific coast of Mexico. Sánchez-Aguirre & Alvarado-Sizzo (2023) investigate Generation Z imaginaries of intangible cultural heritage and urban tourism in the cities of the Bajío region in Central Mexico. Their findings reveal that the social makeup of cultural cities, particularly those in historic centers, holds greater value for young Mexicans than their physical aspects. Additionally, they tend to assimilate external cultural elements as their own heritage. The article by Olmos-Martínez et al. (2023) presents a novel machine-learning-based method for collecting and analyzing news articles about how a destination, in this case, Cancun, is portrayed in the media of key domestic and international tourist-emitting markets.

In another study within Mexico, Bringas-Rábago & Toudert (2023) examine the impact of perceived event quality on expenditure and visitor loyalty during three editions of a musical festival in the Mexico/US border city of Tijuana. The authors discovered that while overall festival expenditure influences spending on services, it does not stimulate spending on shopping for souvenirs, handicrafts, or artworks. Similarly, an increase in perceived program quality does not directly correlate with increased overall expenditure or satisfaction, but it does significantly affect event loyalty. The insights from these studies can guide DMO managers in enhancing their destinations’ images both internally, through resource management strategies and experience design, and externally, through marketing campaigns, to foster positive behaviors and place attachment. They also provide important guidance for the developers of recurring local cultural festivals to increase repeat visitation among out-of-town visitors, who tend to spend more money on shopping during their attendance.

Three articles in this special issue explore tourism development in Brazil, the largest country in Latin America. Aquino & Andereck (2022) analyzed the perceptions of three stakeholder groups (voluntourists, community residents and NGO staff) regarding the impacts of volunteer tourism on urban favela communities in Rio de Janeiro. Their research revealed divergent views on the impacts of volunteer tourism, along with logistic and ethical challenges faced by local NGOs working with voluntourists. It underscores the need for ethical parameters when promoting volunteer and favela tourism to maximize positive impacts while respecting the well-being and dignity of marginalized communities. The second article explores the roots of public insecurity in the Ponta Negra neighborhood of Natal, the capital of the state of Rio Grande do Norte in northeast Brazil, from the perspective of urban planning and development. Coutinho & Nóbrega (2023) analyzed historical urban development processes and policies, illustrating how urban planning can unintentionally contribute to touristification, environmental degradation and public insecurity through exclusion and segregation. In the third article, De Souza Brogni et al. (2023) explored the relationship between urban religious visitor motivations and satisfaction in the Catholic setting of Vale das Graças, in the state of Santa Catarina. Their findings indicate that religious and cultural motivations were predominant and significantly related to visitors' satisfaction and emotional connection to the religious site. Visitors seeking mental relaxation showed a higher interest in the preservation of the site. This study provides insights to foster return visits through emotional and experiential connections, particularly among nearby residents who may enjoy experiences within their own communities.

The issue also examines tourism in Colombian cities. Muñiz-Martínez (2023) analyzes the governance processes involved in the development of Cali’s city brand as the “Salsa music capital of the world,” paying particular attention to the roles of local citizens, DMOs and tourists in co-constructing destination branding. Additionally, Aïdi & Fabry (2022) explore the potential of Medellin, a thriving destination in Latin America, for Smart Tourism certification. Their research suggests that Smart Tourism certifications can contribute to evaluating the city’s configuration and assets to make it more attractive to international markets, though they must adapt to the particularities of Latin American cities.

Political developments in the region present challenges for tourism in Latin America. For instance, the economic policies implemented by Argentina’s new libertarian president have led to a rise in inflation rates to 227% in 2024, resulting in protests and socioeconomic disruptions and citizens’ reduced purchasing power to travel. On a positive note, urban destinations traditionally unknown are gaining visibility in international tourism media. El Salvador, Quito and Montevideo, for example, were featured as three of the New York Times “52 Places to Travel in 2024” (New York Times, 2024). With this outlook, I extend an invitation to Latin American researchers to continue expanding the literature on urban destinations in this vibrant region.