Frame Analysis on Golden Week Policy Reform in China

This tourism policy study focuses on the holiday system reform process in China. Employing Goffman’s frame analysis as the research method, the study investigates China’s unique Golden Week holiday system and the ongoing debate over its reform based on online news stories from 2005 to 2009. Six frames are identified in the debate: Welfare and Rights, Economic Effects, Tourism Development, Distribution of Power, Policy-Making, and Cultural Evolution. Among these frames, economic stability and ensuring human interests are the two most significant concerns in China’s holiday policy reform debate. The subtle relationships among different interest groups and the overall control of the Central Government indicate that the political environment in China is experiencing changes toward accepting more public opinion.

► Undertakes an empirical study of tourism policy making process in China.
► Introduces frame analysis as an approach in tourism policy research.
► Discovers the frames and concerns for the making and implementation of China’s tourism policy.
► Discusses arbitrary control versus public participation within China’s political condition.