Developed based on three World Heritage sites, namely Wudang Mountain, Shennongjia, and Tangya Tusi City, as well as multiple 5A‑level scenic spots, the "Shenwu Gorge" International Ecological‑Cultural Tourism Route serves as a core carrier for Hubei Province to build world‑class cultural and tourism brands. Based on field investigations, tourist reviews and industrial statistical data from 2023 to 2025, this paper systematically analyzes the development status of the route from four dimensions: brand influence, passenger‑flow characteristics, competitive landscape and consumption preferences. The study reveals that the route boasts scarce world‑class heritage resource advantages, yet it is confronted with several challenges, including low international recognition of the fully‑integrated regional brand, poor inter‑regional transportation connectivity, inadequate foreign‑related service supporting facilities, and a homogeneous experiential product system. At present, its international tourist sources are mainly from nearby markets such as Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia, while the proportion of high‑end long‑haul tourists from Europe and America remains low. Meanwhile, the route faces fierce competition from high‑quality cultural‑tourism routes both at home and abroad. Targeting the existing bottlenecks in development, this paper puts forward optimization strategies from five perspectives: integrated brand communication, transportation and service upgrading, differentiated product development, targeted marketing via overseas new‑media platforms, and improvement of infrastructure quality. It provides theoretical support and practical references for constructing the route into an international ecological‑cultural tourism destination.

Zhipeng Li. Current Market Development Status, Competition Pattern and Optimization Path of the "Shenwu Gorge" International Ecological‑Cultural Tourism Route. Academic Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences (2026), Vol. 9, Issue 7: 58-66. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJHSS.2026.090708.

[1] Li Y. Research on the Integrated Brand Communication Path of Multi-World-Heritage Linked Cultural-Tourism Routes [J]. Tourism Overview, 2024(12): 78-83.

[2] Zhang Y. Construction of an Integrated Transportation Supporting System for International Mountain Ecotourism Destinations: A Case Study of the Swiss Alps [J]. World Regional Studies, 2023, 32(05): 167-176.

[3] Wang Q. Consumption Preferences of Inbound Tourists in the Post-Pandemic Era and Overseas New-Media Marketing Strategies [J]. Tourism Science, 2024, 38(02): 56-72.

[4] Liu J. Development of World Heritage Tourism Resources in Western Hubei and Its Internationalization Enhancement Path [J]. Hubei Social Sciences, 2025(01): 102-109.

[5] Chen C. Quantitative Research on Dimensions of Tourist Word-of-Mouth Perception of Scenic Spots Based on Network Text Analysis [J]. Resource Development & Market, 2023, 39(08): 997-1004.