Empowering agricultural landscapes: A game-based simulation for establishing tourism attractions property rights in farmland

This study focuses on Longji Terrace, a renowned agricultural heritage tourism destination in Longsheng County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in China, and explores the cooperative dynamics among the government, tourism enterprises and local villagers around the issue of empowering rural landscapes. Based on the simulation of field investigation and network retrieval data, this paper examines how the initial intentions of the three players, along with resource costs and tourism compensation, shape cooperative strategies across different scenarios. The findings indicate that (1) an enhanced government's willingness to cooperate facilitates the evolution of tourism enterprises and villagers toward collaboration. (2) Equally essential is the establishment of reasonable resource development fee to expedite the adoption of cooperative strategies. (3) Tourism compensation significantly influences the strategic decisions of villagers, who demonstrate sensitivity to compensation provided by tourism companies. And (4), by empowering agricultural landscapes, the cycle of labor outflow and farmland abandonment can be disrupted, resulting in a mutually beneficial outcome for all three parties involved. To promote rural revitalization and protect agricultural landscapes, the government should establish a clear ownership framework for tourist attractions, set reasonable pricing structures for resource development and utilization fees, and prioritize the rights and interests of villagers to enhance their willingness to cooperate and participate in rural tourism development.