With the highest annual number of tourists in Taiwan, the development
of tourism in Hengchun is by far the most successful one on this
island. In the past, however, when Taiwan focused on the development of
its industries, Hengchun was merely an insignificant agricultural
community located on the hinterland of national economy, but since the
establishment of Hengchun National Park in 1982, tourism has flourished
in Hengchun, and it soon emerged as the most popular scenic spot in
Taiwan. From then on, Hengchun has become the target of every major
interest group. Starting from the viewpoint of spatial political
economy, this research attempts to analyze the transformation of
Hengchun in spatial structures from an obscure agricultural community
to one major destination of tourists. It will also examine the factors
effecting such an alteration and the interrelations between these
factors.
The period before 1982(the year Kenting National Park was set up) is
called the stage of formation of the tourism space, during which the
major aim was to "reproduce natural resources," which meant that while
those areas ideal for cultivation were turning a profit by generating
agricultural products, those unsuitable for such uses would have to
"sell" their natural scenery so as to maintain a living for the
farmers. The stage of transformation of tourism space began in 1982.
Instead of merely "selling" natural scenery as a tourist niche, this
stage the niche in mainly came from the spatial plans brought up by
technical bureaucrats, and many interest groups depended upon the
appreciation of land interest for profits, so the "reproduction of land
resources" became their foremost task.
Although public sectors had the power to dominate the development of
tourism space during the stage of formation, corporations replaced them
as the major force in the stage of transformation. By means of
mobilization by echelon, these corporations intervened into both the
internal and the external development of the national park. In the
stage of formation, local factions monopolized the tourist resources
mainly by means of controlling public properties, and they maintained
their own power through amorphous model; in the stage of
transformation, they sought to cooperate with the corporations through
political and commercial relations so that together they might achieve
the reproduction of land interests. As for the pattern of organization,
the octopus model took the place of the amorphous model and started to
operate. Local residents were the owner of the spaces during the stage
of formation, while in the stage of transformation they resisted the
invasion of external forces by organizing autonomous groups.
Social conflicts took place frequently in this area during the stage
of the transformation of tourism space. These conflicts were mainly the
result of the disparity in the logic of spatial action among various
groups. These conflicts could roughly be divided into three major
categories: the structural conflicts among public sectors, the
conflicts of economic interests among different groups, and the
ideological conflicts of spatial utilization.
In brief, the evolution of the tourism space of Hengchun is the
consequence of the interactions of four factors: the state, local
factions, corporations, and local residents. From 1958 to 1968, the
center of the development of tourism space was on Shi-chong Steam; and
from 1969 to 1978 it was transferred to the streets of Hengchun; from
1979 to 1998 it was transferred again to Kenting with the realization
of the plans of national scenic areas and national parks. After the
construction of the Museum of marine life in the future, the center of
development is about to be transferred to Houwan in coordination with
the investments of local factions and corporations.