Creative tourism and creative spaces in China

This study investigates creative tourism and creative spaces in China through travel blog analysis. In particular, we explore creative tourism-related experiences within China’s 14 UNESCO-designated creative cities. To do so, 456 identified creative spaces were individually searched in four popular Chinese travel experience sharing platforms. In total, 552 travel blogs were collected for analysis using Nvivo qualitative software. Our findings not only reveal the practical connections between eight types of creative resources and creative tourist experiences and activities but also the nuances between three key elements of such tourism experiences: participation, knowledge acquisition, and the experiencing of local life. Our paper concludes with practical recommendations for tourism providers and policymakers wishing to leverage their destination’s creative resources for creative tourism development.