Concept and system construction of ecological credit for national park visitors

Since ecotourism is the core way to transform the ecological value of national parks and share it with citizens, it is necessary to establish an efficient, reasonable and orderly national park visitor system to promote the high-quality development of national park ecotourism. Furthermore, the construction of ecological credit system for national park visitors is the basis for the establishment of the ecotourism visitor system. By analyzing the current social development background in China, sorting out relevant concepts and reviewing existing research, the concept of ecological credit for national park visitors is proposed and its necessity and feasibility are discussed. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) The establishment of an ecological credit system for national park visitors is in line with the requirement of ecological civilization, the demand for traditional culture, the pursuit of ecotourism visitors, and the request for national park concession system. As a significant component of the construction of China′s social credit system construction in the ecological field, it meets the requirements of Chinese-style modernization for citizens. Thus, it is of obvious necessity. (2) The construction of ecological credit system for national park visitors faces the theoretical and practical foundations of four aspects: "ecological credit access", "ecological credit monitoring", "respect for the rights of visitors", and "privacy protection of visitors". Ecological credit should be used as a prerequisite for visitor access to national parks, focusing mainly on visitors′ ecological behavior in the park. The acquisition of credit data should be based on a voluntary approach by visitors. Therefore, it is feasible. (3) The ecological credit for national park visitors can be measured from the three dimensions of ecological quality, ecological norms, and ecological behavior. Thereby, it is operable. (4) Ecological credit evaluation, grading, and access assessment are the three key links in the construction and implementation of the ecological credit system for national park visitors, which is a long-term systematic project. In the future, continuous efforts should be made to improve the policies and regulations, apply big data technology widely, and cultivate social-cultural ecology.