Landscape management and planning as a spatial organization method connecting CES supply-demand assessment and sustainable tourism development

Evaluating the balance between the supply and demand of Cultural Ecosystem Service (CES) in space is the key to linking ecosystem services to human well-being. However, due to its invisibility, it is difficult to quantify and is often ignored in ecosystem service evaluation. Based on social media photos, by integrating multisource data and using a clustering algorithm and the MaxEnt model, this paper maps and evaluates the supply-demand balance of three CES of aesthetic, historical and cultural, and leisure services in Suzhou, China. The result shows a widespread imbalance between supply and demand in Suzhou, among which the cultural heritage CES imbalance area as high as 48.1% accounts for the largest proportion, and the aesthetic imbalance area accounts for 38.4%, while the recreation imbalance area accounts for 37%. Building upon the assessment of supply and demand balance at the urban scale, we further identified the supply-demand imbalance at the scenic area scale by integrating local tourism development policies in Suzhou and selecting a typical scenic area, Xishan Island. Based on the urban and scenic area supply-demand assessment results, this paper proposes a multiscale CES supply-demand allocation strategy. This comprehensive approach not only furnishes valuable guidance for local decision-making and management within the realm of sustainable tourism but also holds potential for wider applicability to diverse urban areas worldwide that share analogous contextual backgrounds.

Management implications

CES supply and demand assessment can help identify the CES supply-demand imbalance areas of tourist destinations. Landscape management and planning is a spatial organization method to balance CES supply-demand mismatches in tourist destinations. Optimizing landscape structure at multiple scales will be of instructional significance for the protection and development of tourist destinations. A ‘CES assessment and mapping – landscape management and planning – tourism protection and development’ system is beneficial to achieve the sustainable development of tourism.