Introduction: Waterfront tourist towns are different from ordinary small towns and have their own distinct characteristics. The waterfront tourism characteristic town takes the high-quality waterfront tourism resources of rivers, lakes and seas as the core; Relying on local history and culture, characteristic buildings and characteristic businesses; Featuring waterfront leisure products such as landscapes, water sports, yacht sailing, recreational fishing, waterfront RV camping, and seaplanes; With the waterfront leisure industry as the industrial support to dominate the development of the town, it has a certain tourism attraction and can attract a certain number of tourists of a certain scale to carry out tourism and vacation activities.
Waterfront tourism towns should have the following three conditions: First, they must have high-quality waterfront tourism resources, and at the same time, this tourism resource can meet the needs of tourists' waterfront leisure tourism activities; The second is to have a variety of ground tourism resort facilities and transportation conditions that are compatible with the nature of waterfront tourism resources, and tourist holidaymakers can use these facilities to successfully reach tourist resorts from different areas and use these facilities to stay there; Third, the region has a certain tourism demand flow. It can be seen that the waterfront tourism town is a characteristic tourist town that integrates waterfront tourism resources, waterfront leisure products, tourism resort facilities, tourism transportation and market demand.
In the world, especially in Europe, there are many famous waterfront tourist towns that deserve our study and learning, and although their successful experiences are somewhat unrepeatable, they can give us some inspiration and reference. Through the analysis of the case of the world-famous waterfront tourist town, the author summarizes the characteristics and development process of different towns, looks at the development prospects and problems existing at the current stage of China's waterfront tourist towns from an international perspective, and promotes the healthy development of the mainland waterfront tourist towns.
1. Overview of Giethoorn Village
The Netherlands is an agricultural powerhouse, not only in their agricultural exports, but also in the Rural Tourism of the Netherlands, giethoorn is a representative town of Dutch waterfront rural tourism. Located in the overijssel province of The North-Eastern Netherlands, Giethoorn is located in the Weerribben-Wieden National Park, about 120 km from Amsterdam. Although it is only a small village, it is known for its crisscrossing canal waterways, idyllic and historic thatched cottages.
The name "Giethoorn" comes from the fact that a group of coal miners settled there at the time, and their excavation work led to the formation of waterways and lakes of different sizes. In the process of daily excavation, in addition to coal, they also dug out many "sheep horns" in the ground, which were identified as a group of wild goats living around 1170. Therefore, they called it Giethoorn, a name that has been preserved to this day.
Giethoorn now has fewer than 3,000 inhabitants, most of whom live on private islands, and their main means of transportation are punts, boats, kayaks or whispering boats (named for their silent driving). Giethoorn is known as the "Venice of the Netherlands", and the traffic here is inseparable from the boat. The small rivers here are interspersed, basically every household can be connected by the river, which is quite a bit of a water people's feeling, and it is the "Jiangnan Water Town" in Europe.
Now Giethoorn is mainly based on tourism, so many houses have been converted into homestays, and there are many special hotels, but whether it is the appearance or the inside, it is the same warmth and refinement, such as a complete work of art. The 176 bridges crisscross the canal and are all wooden structures, and they are the only way to reach most of the houses. In addition to canals and wooden bridges, Giethoorn has many secluded paths for cycling and walking. Visitors can rent a bike to explore the surroundings of the Dutch countryside, endless fields, chickens and dogs.
The roof of the house here is made of reeds, which is more durable than any building material, has been used for more than 40 years, and is warm in winter and cool in summer, rainproof and sun-resistant. It is said that in the past, reeds were a substitute for bricks and tiles that poor people could not afford, and now the price is dozens of times that of bricks and tiles. The land price here has long been rising, so most of the residents are doctors, lawyers and other high-income occupations, which seems to be a contrast with the previous hardships.
Giethoorn has a good ecological environment and still maintains a beautiful natural scenery today, with no cars, no roads, only a network of rivers and 176 small wooden bridges connecting families. The whole countryside is a park, a park-like waterfront pastoral community, which now has no less than 500,000 visitors a year, becoming a classic case of waterfront rural tourism in the Netherlands.
Second, the analysis of the comprehensive development case of Giethoorn Village
1. Land planning of Giethoorn Village integrates agricultural production, natural landscape protection, tourism and leisure and other aspects
Due to the proper planning concept and method, Giethoorn Village has become a classic case of rural area planning in the Netherlands, and has promoted its successful transformation into a famous tourist attraction in the Netherlands, and the value of natural landscape protection and tourism and leisure industry has been further revealed.
In 1969, the stakeholders of Giethoorn began to prepare for the relevant matters, and in 1974, the local land development committee was formally established and a land development plan was formulated. With the consent of 61% of farmers and agricultural landowners, the plan was formally implemented in 1979.
The plan covers about 5,000 hectares of land, of which 2,600 hectares are concentrated for agricultural production and 2,400 hectares are used for nature conservation. Of the nature reserves, 900 hectares are farmers' land and 250 hectares are open water. Several specific waterways are available for tourism and leisure, while others are closed for tourism to protect the local ecology.
The plan begins with upgrading local infrastructure, widening and increasing roads, and optimizing accessibility; Build new pumping stations to reduce groundwater levels in agricultural areas and improve land productivity; Adjust the layout of farms to bring farmers closer to their own land and facilitate farmers' operations; If farmers' land is designated as an ecological reserve, the government subsidizes compensation for agricultural production restrictions; Tourist and leisure areas are confined to several waterways and two important lakes and neighboring villages, which will not affect their agricultural development. Land development separates land for agriculture, ecological protection, tourism and leisure, and realizes regional zoning and industrial specialization.
Drawing on the Dutch rural planning, the establishment of the rural planner system, the full implementation of urban and rural co-ordination, the guidance on the implementation of rural planning and project construction, and the suggestions and suggestions for improving rural planning work are of great significance to rural planning.
2. Provide a broad agricultural space, taking into account the development of ecology, recreation and residence, while continuing the historical context
The rural landscape is both practical and aesthetic, which is the unity of residents' production, life and regional ecology, and the relevant planning and design consider the combination of functionality and culture, and strive to reduce the impact of new development on the original landscape.
Rural planning pays special attention to natural processes, in order to maintain the biodiversity of the area, a certain nature reserve or a large forest area will be demarcated to improve the ecological environment of rural areas. The overall ecological network includes both the core natural conservation areas and other forms of land use such as outdoor recreation, forests, and freshwater reservoirs.
The Dutch land planning system has gradually penetrated from the traditional spatial planning focusing on the urban-regional field to the rural planning field, reflecting the positive concept of integrating urban and rural areas.
In the nearly 100-year rural planning process of the Netherlands, the relevant laws and regulations promulgated have played a positive role in promoting rural planning in various periods, and have been revised in a timely manner according to the actual effects, from a single focus on agricultural development, to agricultural priority, until attention to ecology, landscape, culture and other aspects. Agricultural production is no longer the main purpose of rural planning, and the various land use methods of non-agricultural development have been valued, from a planning method based on land consolidation to a planning method based on comprehensive land development.
3. Pay attention to consultation and cooperation to achieve diversified and co-governance in rural areas
The Netherlands attaches importance to consultation and cooperation to achieve rural pluralism and co-governance. Residents fully participate in the co-construction of the rural environment and the sharing of benefits. Understanding and exploring the nearly 100 years of Dutch rural development and land consolidation process, we find that the beauty of Giethoorn is not completely natural and spontaneous formation, but a great achievement driven by an effective mechanism, under the long-term government leadership, legal constraints, and residents' co-governance efforts over the years.
Due to the particularity of the geographical environment of Giethoorn Village, a rural tourism industry with distinctive characteristics has gradually formed. In addition to boating leisure, experiencing traditional agriculture, and various water sports, there are also many commercial facilities gathered inside and outside Giethoorn, such as a number of hotels and homestays and restaurants. Although Giethoorn now receives a large number of tourists every year, the commercial atmosphere is strong, and tourism has become the main source of income for the local area, you will find that this small village is not only a tourist attraction made of canals and high bridges, but also a very livable place. You will find that the local residents really have a life here, its living atmosphere, the ecological environment, have been protected, and the living space of the indigenous people has been protected to the greatest extent from the day of the development of tourism.
The most worthy of our reference in Giethoorn is to find its own position in the rural tourism market, while maintaining the authenticity of the natural resources of the area, maintaining the balanced development of business and ecological environment, and ultimately enabling everyone to benefit in the medium and long term.
Author (Jin Chao): Chairman of China Waterfront Leisure Industry Alliance