Publication Details
Abstract
The fragility of desert ecosystems in arid regions dictates that desert tourism development must follow a sustainable path. This paper takes the Mutetar Desert Scenic Area in Jinghe County, Xinjiang, as an example. Based on field research and interview data, and employing thematic analysis, it systematically examines the constituent elements, operational logic, and performance tensions of a multi-stakeholder collaborative governance mechanism for desert tourism scenic areas. The study finds that the Mutetar Desert Scenic Area has initially formed a multi-stakeholder participation pattern of government guidance-enterprise operation-community participation-military-civilian collaboration. Collaborative governance operates through three core mechanisms: business cooperation, infrastructure support, and brand marketing. Tourist numbers and operating revenue have achieved rapid growth, but simultaneously, it faces sustainability challenges such as carrying capacity constraints, lagging refined management, and ecological pressure, demonstrating the dialectical characteristic of contradictions in development and dynamic adjustment in governance. This paper proposes an analytical framework of multi-stakeholder participation and multi-dimensional mechanism collaboration, providing a new theoretical perspective for understanding the sustainable development of desert tourism scenic areas in arid regions of China and offering valuable reference for the governance practices of similar scenic areas.