Synergizing Conservation and Tourism Utilization in Agricultural Heritage Sites: A Comparative Analysis of Economic Resilience in Wujiang and Longsheng, China

Mingxin Lin, Mengyao Wang, Yong Lu, Guodong Zhou (), Wanting Shen (), Junhao Yin and Jia You
Additional contact information
Mingxin Lin: College of Humanities & Social Development, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Mengyao Wang: College of Humanities & Social Development, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Yong Lu: College of Humanities & Social Development, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Guodong Zhou: College of Humanities & Social Development, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Wanting Shen: College of Humanities & Social Development, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Junhao Yin: College of Humanities & Social Development, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Jia You: College of Humanities & Social Development, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-25

Abstract: Synergizing agricultural heritage conservation with tourism utilization is pivotal for sustainable regional development. Using a difference-in-differences (DID) method and entropy weight method (EWM), this study comparatively analyzed the economic resilience of two UNESCO agricultural heritage sites in China: the Wujiang Silk Culture System and the Longji Terraces in Longsheng, from 2019 to 2023. The results revealed that heritage certification significantly promotes tourism growth, increasing revenue in Wujiang by 12.5% and visitor numbers in Longsheng by 18.3%. However, the resilience mechanisms varied distinctly between the sites: Wujiang displayed a market-driven resilience pattern characterized by effective cultural tourism integration, whereas Longsheng remained vulnerable due to resource dependency and infrastructural constraints. Further, Wujiang’s robust policy framework involving heritage conservation, tourism development, and ecological compensation fostered sustained resilience, albeit facing long-term challenges such as potential cultural commodification. This research contributes theoretically by quantifying the resilience disparities via spatial econometric analyses, identifying market-institution drivers, and proposing a “Four-Dimensional Optimization Matrix”, integrating value activation, infrastructure enhancement, industrial symbiosis, and adaptive governance. Practically, it provides tailored policy insights for improving resilience, avoiding over-commercialization, and promoting sustainable tourism practices applicable globally, particularly in developing economies managing heritage sites.

Keywords: agricultural heritage site; tourism economy; economic resilience; sustainable development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/4/796/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/4/796/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:4:p:796-:d:1629721

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().