1. Introduction

In recent years, Haikou has emerged as a prominent player in the field of hosting overseas star concerts, attracting much attention. Once an insignificant player in the performance market, Haikou has now become a favored venue for stars from both home and abroad. Concerts are held here one after another, and numerous stars from both home and abroad turn their attention to Haikou. Behind this phenomenon lie many issues and factors worth exploring. From the perspective of cultural tourism integration and free trade, examining concerts from this angle highlights the increasingly significant impact on the city's brand image, tourism economic development, and cultural dissemination of Haikou. This also provides the value for in-depth research [1]. In the context of cultural tourism integration, concerts have transcended the simple realm of entertainment and have become a key carrier for showcasing and disseminating urban culture. Haikou boasts unique tropical coastal scenery, rich Li ethnic culture, and the policy advantages of a free trade port. How to leverage this platform to deeply integrate local culture, create a differentiated brand image, and avoid falling into the predicament of homogenized competition is a problem that Haikou urgently needs to solve.

Nowadays, people's pursuit of cultural life is increasingly high, and concerts, as a popular form of cultural consumption, have seen a continuous increase in market demand. After the pandemic era, people's enthusiasm for attending live performances of overseas star concerts has been even higher. The construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port has brought a unique development opportunity to Haikou. The policy benefits of the free trade port, more convenient customs clearance, and preferential taxes have significantly reduced the costs for overseas stars to hold concerts in Haikou, giving Haikou a clear advantage in hosting such performances. This has created favorable conditions for Haikou's rise in the field of overseas star concerts.

The integration of culture and tourism is a major trend in industrial development. The combination of cultural activities and tourism can unleash tremendous energy [2]. Concerts themselves have strong appeal and can bring in a large number of visitors, which can stimulate tourism consumption. Haikou has keenly grasped this trend and integrated overseas and domestic star concerts with local tourism resources, forming a unique "concert and tourism" model. This not only enriches the tourism content of Haikou but also injects new vitality into the local cultural tourism industry. At a time when various places are building distinctive cultural tourism brands, Haikou has carved out its own space by holding overseas star concerts [3]. Based on previous studies, there have been many achievements regarding the role of cultural tourism integration in urban development, as well as the promotion of industries by free trade ports. However, there have been few studies specifically focusing on how Haikou achieves cultural tourism integration through overseas star concerts and develops through free trade policies. In the wave of building the Hainan Free Trade Port, Haikou is striving to build itself into an "international performing arts capital", exploring a differentiated development path for cultural tourism integration, empowering economic high-quality development, and contributing to the construction of Hainan as an international tourism consumption center [4]. Most studies have focused on the impact of large-scale comprehensive events on cities. There has been insufficient in-depth research on events such as star concerts from both home and abroad. Particularly, there is a lack of analysis from the dual perspectives of cultural tourism integration and free trade. There are still many gaps in areas such as how concerts affect the city brand image, tourism economy, and cultural dissemination of Haikou. Therefore, this study takes the phenomenon of overseas and domestic star concerts in Haikou as the theme, exploring from the perspectives of cultural tourism integration and free trade the factors that attract many overseas stars to hold concerts in Haikou and the impact of these concerts on the city brand of Haikou, as well as the specific impacts on tourism economic development and social dissemination.

A thorough analysis of the reasons why overseas celebrities choose Haikou, the multi-dimensional impact of their concerts on the city, and the paths of cultural integration, not only concerns whether Haikou can achieve the transformation and upgrading of its cultural and tourism industries through the concerts, but also provides valuable practical experience and reference examples for other cities to formulate their city brand-building strategies in the context of cultural tourism integration and free trade [5]. The research will adopt the literature review method to sort out relevant theories and research results, laying a theoretical foundation. This research hope to clarify the key factors that attract overseas celebrities to hold concerts in Haikou, and determine the specific impacts of concerts on Haikou's city brand, tourism economy and cultural dissemination. Then, in combination with the construction of the Free Trade Port, The practical and feasible suggestions for Haikou to better utilize will be proposed overseas celebrity concerts to promote cultural and tourism development and enhance the city brand. The reflection this phenomenon brings about is as follows: The popularity of overseas star concerts in Haikou reflects that the young group has several difficulties in consumption, and they encounter obstacles such as geographical and information aspects when pursuing cultural experiences; This cultural consumption boom has had corresponding impacts on the daily behaviors and values of the young group, and has provided specific inspirations for the adjustment of social and cultural structures and consumption structures. Firstly, it reveals the key factors that attract overseas celebrities to Haikou and clarifies the linkage mechanism between policy benefits and market demand. Secondly, it assesses the specific role of concerts in the development of urban culture and tourism, and extracts the interaction rules of "performing arts and city". Thirdly, it proposes feasible paths for cultural integration, providing practical references for Haikou and similar cities to achieve brand differentiation and differentiation in the context of free trade, and promoting the upgrade of the cultural and tourism industry from "traffic-driven" to "value accumulation".

2. Concert market prosperity and cultural integration weaknesses

The concert market in Haikou performed exceptionally well. Overseas star concerts were successfully held there, attracting a large number of audiences. This led to a significant increase in the occupancy rates of nearby hotels and the consumption of catering services, effectively boosting the total tourism revenue and injecting impetus into the economy. In terms of cultural integration, some concerts incorporated local elements such as Li ethnic group dances and marine culture, but these were mostly decorative rather than part of a comprehensive integration. If the Li ethnic pattern is merely used as a background on the stage without interpreting its cultural connotations, it is difficult for the audience to form a deep impression. International renowned tourist cities often deeply integrate concerts with local culture to create unique brand memory points. For example, in Los Angeles, USA, the label that comes to people's minds is Hollywood. However, Haikou overly relies on the star effect, resulting in insufficient local cultural dissemination and an unclear city brand image. There is a huge potential for cultural integration.

2.1. Urban development

As the core area of Hainan Free Trade Port, Haikou is the southernmost national historical and cultural city in China, featuring tropical coastal scenery and diverse cultures. The free trade port policies provide convenience for hosting international performing arts events. In terms of brand development strategies, taking advantage of policy benefits to reduce concert costs, promoting the "concert and tourism" model, and integrating resources such as local specialties; through various performing arts activities, shaping an "open and dynamic" image, and attempting to incorporate local culture. At present, Haikou has enhanced its popularity and tourism appeal through concerts. The "concert and tourism" model has achieved initial success. However, there are issues such as superficial cultural integration, reliance on the star effect for brand building, lack of unique tags, and risks of homogeneity. It is necessary to deepen cultural integration and precisely position the brand.

3. Haikou overseas stars concert: analysis of cultural integration challenges and sustainable development obstacles

3.1. Commercialization of light culture

The establishment of overseas star concerts in Haikou achieved commercial value through policy advantages and market potential. However, the tendency to overly focus on box office revenue and short-term gains led to the marginalization of the city's cultural essence. Judging from the problem's manifestation, some concerts deliberately simplify the local cultural elements in order to cut costs and raise ticket prices. For instance, in a concert by a global superstar, only 10 minutes were allocated for a Li ethnic dance as an opening act, and this did not create a thematic connection with the popular music on the main stage. As a result, the local culture was reduced to merely "ornamental symbols". This phenomenon is not an isolated case. Many concerts devote a large amount of resources to commercial elements such as stage effects and star packaging, while making negligible efforts in exploring and showcasing local culture. This issue arises from two factors. On the one hand, the organizers view the concert merely as a form of entertainment product, focusing more on the box office revenue brought by the star's popularity and lacking sufficient awareness of the social responsibility of cultural dissemination. Driven by commercial interests, the organizers often opt for the most eye-catching and revenue-generating operation models, neglecting the function of concerts as a carrier of cultural dissemination. On the other hand, when urban managers introduce projects, they overly emphasize the stimulating effect of concerts on tourism consumption, while neglecting the long-term planning for the construction of cultural brands. This has led to the reinforcement of the "emphasizing commerce while neglecting culture" orientation. City administrators hoped to attract a large number of tourists through the concert, thereby stimulating the growth of local tourism economy. However, they failed to fully consider how to take advantage of the concert to deeply disseminate the city's culture and shape a unique city cultural brand. Its negative impacts are directly manifested at two levels. For tourists, the brief and fragmented display of local culture is difficult to lead to a deep understanding, and it may even trigger a resistance mentality towards "consumption of cultural symbols". Tourists traveled thousands of miles to come to Haikou, hoping to enjoy the concert while also experiencing the unique local culture. However, the overly commercialized performance let them down greatly, leaving a negative impression of the city's culture. Just as cultural scholar Fei Xiaotong pointed out in "Globalization and Cultural Consciousness": "The vitality of culture lies not in its display, but in being understood and recognized. Excessive commercialization will only turn culture into rootless floating weeds [6]. "For cities, if they continue to rely on the "star IP and commercial operation" model for a long time, they will gradually lose their cultural identity and fall into the homogenized predicament of "all cities looking the same". If short-term commercial activities are disconnected from long-term cultural development, it will continuously undermine the uniqueness of a city's culture, ultimately causing the city to lose its core appeal in the global cultural tourism competition. Haikou boasts a rich and unique local culture, including the Li ethnic culture and marine culture, these cultures are the soul and foundation of the city. However, if they are constantly overshadowed by commercial elements, it will be difficult for the city to establish a distinct cultural image on the international stage [7].

3.2. Cultural integration faults

In the Haikou concert, there were issues such as a lack of diversity in form, insufficient depth, and a lack of continuity in the integration of local culture and international elements, which significantly reduced the effectiveness of cultural dissemination. From the perspective of integration, most concerts merely achieve a "shallow-level blending" through visual symbols. For instance, in a certain concert, the Li Jin pattern was repeatedly displayed as the LED background, but no explanations in the form of commentary, short videos, or celebrity interactions were provided to interpret the "ocean worship" connotation within the "textile craftsmanship". As a result, visitors could only experience the aesthetic appeal of the pattern directly, but were unable to understand the underlying cultural logic. This "form-oriented, interpretation-light" approach highlights the "symbolic shellification phenomenon of cultural performances" - when cultural elements are divorced from their historical context and spiritual core, they lose their communicative value. In tourist venues such as folk villages, similar phenomena also exist. For instance, a study by the Center for Immigration and Ethnic Groups Research at Sun Yat-sen University shows that the ethnic cultures in folk villages have been completely symbolized and commodified. Visual elements dominate the tourist experience, and tourists merely engage in superficial participation of cultural fragments, unable to understand the profound spiritual connotations of the culture. The research on "Effective Communication Mechanism of Cultural Symbols in Cultural Tourism Activities" published in the international authoritative journal "Tourism Management" further points out that the deep integration of cultural elements requires the combination of scene narration and visitor participation. Pure visual display can only achieve "cognitive exposure", but cannot achieve "cultural identification". This is precisely the core bottleneck that the Haikou concert failed to overcome in its cultural dissemination [8]. From the perspective of integration depth, cultural exhibitions mostly remain at the "phenomenal presentation" level, failing to touch upon the spiritual core of urban culture. For instance, the marine culture of Hainan Province embodies core values such as "the spirit of exploring the sea" and "ecological reverence". However, a certain concert merely mentioned "The sea in Hainan is very beautiful" in the opening remarks, without connecting it with modern values through song adaptations or story-telling, resulting in the cultural dissemination remaining at a "tourist-level understanding". In the research on the changes of ethnic culture in tourism development, for instance, the field investigation of the Zhuixing Dong Village in Li Ping County, Guizhou Province shows that ethnic culture undergoes "shell-like" changes in tourism development. The outer individual characteristics weaken, the middle-level content becomes empty, and the inner ethnic identity and values undergo transformation. The Haikou concert also encountered similar difficulties in cultural integration. It failed to deeply explore the essence of local culture, making it difficult to evoke emotional resonance and cultural identification among the tourists. From the perspective of continuity, the linkage between concerts and urban cultural events is seriously lacking. After the concert of an overseas band ended, the tourism and culture department of Haikou had planned to launch a "Li ethnic pottery workshop" as an extension activity. However, due to the lack of prior communication and coordination with the concert team, the publicity and promotion were disconnected, and the number of participants was very few. This lack of a long-lasting dissemination mechanism has led to the rapid fading of the cultural influence of the concert as soon as the performance is over. Many immersive cultural and tourism projects in scenic areas also have similar problems. For instance, some intangible cultural heritage displays are overly commercialized. To cater to tourists, the performance duration is shortened, and traditional operas are transformed into decorative elements for the landscape. The inheritance of intangible cultural heritage has degenerated from "dynamic inheritance" to "dynamic display", and the interactive experiences are mostly superficial, lacking depth and sustainability. They cannot truly make the culture "live" in the hearts of tourists.

3.3. Lack of cross-departmental collaboration

This seriously hindered the in-depth advancement of the cultural and tourism integration of the Haikou concert. In actual operation, the departments of culture, tourism and publicity operated independently, resulting in insufficient resource integration and difficulty in forming a powerful synergy for cultural integration. The cultural department has professional advantages in exploring and protecting local culture, but in the concert project, due to the lack of collaboration with the tourism department, the cultural display often fails to align with the tourism routes and tourist experiences. For instance, the cultural department launched a meticulously planned exhibition on Li ethnic culture, aiming to deeply interpret the history, art and customs of the Li ethnic group. However, due to the lack of coordinated promotion with the concurrent concert, the tourism department did not incorporate it into their tourism product design, resulting in low awareness of the exhibition and few visitors. The cultural department possesses abundant cultural resources and professional talents, but is unable to effectively convert these advantages into practical outcomes of cultural and tourism integration. The tourism department focuses on tasks such as tour route planning and tourist reception. During the concert period, they often only pay attention to the increase in the number of tourists, while neglecting the integration of cultural connotations. They failed to fully utilize the large number of tourists attracted by the concert and ingeniously incorporate local cultural elements into the tour itinerary. As a result, after enjoying the entertainment experience brought by the concert, tourists still lack a deep understanding of the cultural characteristics of Haikou. The tourism department has a relatively keen understanding of market demands, but lacks in-depth cooperation with the cultural department, which makes it difficult to enhance the cultural value of tourism products. The publicity department plays a crucial role in information dissemination, but due to the lack of effective communication with other departments, the publicity content often focuses only on the star lineup and performance time of the concerts, while insufficient attention is paid to the highlights of cultural integration and the cultural characteristics of the city. The publicity channels were also not fully integrated, and the online and offline publicity failed to achieve a synergistic effect. As a result, the cultural value and urban charm inherent in the concert could not be comprehensively and deeply conveyed to potential tourists. Although the publicity department had access to powerful communication resources, due to poor collaboration, they were unable to precisely and comprehensively promote the cultural and tourism integration project. This lack of cross-departmental collaboration prevented the concert and urban cultural resources from achieving organic integration, and greatly limited the depth and breadth of cultural and tourism integration.The opportunity to fully showcase the cultural charm of Haikou and promote the upgrading of the tourism industry through the concert platform was greatly undermined due to the barriers among different departments. Under the current trend of cultural and tourism integration, only by breaking down the barriers and forming a long-term mechanism for collaborative cooperation can each department fully tap the cultural potential of the concert and achieve a deep integration of culture and tourism as well as sustainable development.

4. Recommendations and countermeasures

4.1. Strengthen government guidance and balance commercial interests with culture

At present, the concerts in Haikou overly pursue commercial benefits, resulting in the serious neglect of cultural connotations. According to the viewpoint in "Public Relations Practice Government Public Relations Facilitating Local Cultural Tourism Development: Building Image and Effective Communication", the local government plays a crucial role in the process of cultural and tourism integration [9]. The government can formulate relevant policies, such as setting minimum standards for cultural exhibitions, requiring that the duration of local culture display in concerts should be no less than 15% of the total duration. Moreover, it should offer tax incentives and other rewards to the organizers who actively integrate local culture and achieve good results. In this way, it can motivate the organizers to attach great importance to cultural dissemination while pursuing commercial interests, thus achieving a balanced development of business and culture. This will enable the Haikou concerts to generate economic benefits while also becoming an important platform for spreading local culture.

4.2. Deepen cultural connotations and innovate integration forms

At present, the cultural integration at the Haikou concert is merely superficial and fails to deeply explore the essence of local culture. By referring to successful cases from other places, Haikou can organize cultural experts and musicians to jointly discuss and integrate elements such as unique legends from the Li ethnic group and ancient navigation skills from marine culture into the stage design and program arrangement of the concert. For instance, creating songs based on Li ethnic legends, with stars and local artists jointly performing, while using modern technology to create immersive cultural experience scenarios, allowing the audience to deeply feel the charm of local culture. This ensures that cultural integration is no longer just a formality but truly touches the audience's hearts, thereby enhancing the cultural quality and appeal of the Haikou concert.

4.3. Integration of multimedia resources and strengthened promotion

In terms of promotion, the Haikou concert has issues such as one-sided promotional content and scattered channels. According to the report, the era of all-media has brought new opportunities for brand promotion. Haikou can integrate traditional media and new media resources to build a comprehensive publicity matrix. On traditional media, extensive reports are released to thoroughly describe the cultural integration highlights of the concert. On new media platforms, through short videos and live streaming, pre-event promotion is carried out, showcasing local cultural rehearsal footage, and the experiences and feelings of celebrities regarding local culture [10]. At the same time, the project team can collaborate with travel bloggers and online influencers, inviting them to attend the concert and share their experiences. This helps expand the coverage of the promotion efforts, enabling more potential audiences to understand the unique cultural charm of the concert in Haikou and encouraging them to come and watch the performance, thereby driving tourism and cultural consumption.

5. Conclusion

This study focuses on the development status of Haikou's overseas star concerts, and finds that it has achieved remarkable results in improving the city's popularity and promoting the integration of culture and tourism, but there are also three core problems: First, excessive commercialization leads to the loss of cultural connotation, and the excessive pursuit of short-term benefits by organizers and city managers makes local culture become embellished. The second is the surface of cultural integration, which is single in form and lacks depth and continuity, which fails to make tourists form a profound cultural understanding; the third is the lack of cross-departmental cooperation, and the resources of culture, tourism, publicity and other departments are scattered, which affects the effect of cultural and tourism integration. In response to these problems, the study put forward suggestions such as strengthening government guidance to balance business and culture, digging deep into cultural connotations and innovating integration forms, integrating all-media resources to strengthen publicity and promotion, aiming to promote the deep integration of concerts and urban culture and shape a unique urban brand image. The significance of this research is that it provides reference ideas for Haikou and other similar cities to promote the integration of culture and tourism through large-scale performing arts activities, which is conducive to the effective dissemination and inheritance of culture while improving economic efficiency, and enhancing the cultural soft power and core competitiveness of the city. However, this study only focuses on overseas star concerts in Haikou, and the sample range is limited, which cannot cover the comprehensive situation of concerts of different sizes and types. In the future, people can expand the scope of research, compare and analyze the cultural and tourism integration mode of concerts in different cities, or deeply explore the application of digital technology in concert cultural communication, so as to provide richer theoretical and practical support for the development of urban cultural tourism.