Wang, J.; Zhen, C.; Zhang, W., and Wen, F., 2020. Development strategy for the integration of marine culture and the tourism economy, with the Ultima Thule scenic spot in Sanya as an example. In: Gong, D.; Zhang, M., and Liu, R. (eds.), Advances in Coastal Research: Engineering, Industry, Economy, and Sustainable Development. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 106, pp. 29–33. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

China has a long coastline, with a rich and colorful marine culture. However, the development vitality of marine scenic spots has long been limited by a traditional “ticket economy” business model. In the era of all-for-one tourism, it is urgent that the quality and competitiveness of scenic spots be improved through integration of the marine culture and the tourism economy. Under the background of national tourist development, promotion of the integration of culture and tourism is vigorously necessary to transform and upgrade the ticket economy. Based on the theory of value co-creation, this article used the Ultima Thule scenic spot in Sanya, China, as an example. Four suggestions are put forward: a strategy for digging deeply into Ultima Thule's cultural resources and increasing the integration of its culture and tourism, optimizing the types of cultural and travel business experiences and deepening the integration of culture and tourism, innovating the marketing methods for cultural travel and expanding the breadth of integration of culture and tourism, and building a joint construction and sharing mechanism to enhance the intensity of cultural and tourism integration. These strategies are of reference value for promoting the integration of the marine culture and tourist economy and breaking through the predicament of development for similar marine cultural scenic spots in China.