A Comparative Analysis of the Mechanism of Policy Change in China's Travel Agency and Hotel Sectors

This article investigates significant policy changes in China's travel agency and hotel sectors from 1978 to 2007 through an exploration of (1) the Potential Focusing Events (PFEs) that induced such policy changes and (2) the respective degrees of incrementality in the changes. The content of relevant policies and documents in the two sectors is analyzed using a four-dimensional framework. It is found that although both the travel agency and the hotel sectors underwent significant policy changes in the time period examined, the former achieved a higher level of marketization in its administration. It is also found that PFEs from both external and internal sources were the triggering factors of policy changes, in which a remarkable extent of incrementality was observed. This study builds on previous research into the peculiarities of policy subsystems in the contemporary Chinese context and also offers theoretical and practical insights into the unique mechanisms of tourism policymaking in China.