Effects of Tourism on Handicrafts Industry Development During the Process of Recovering from the Earthquake in Beichuan, China

Abstract

This paper studies the effects of tourism development on innovation and diversification of ethnic handicrafts in a newly development natural disaster tourism site-Beichuan Qiang Tourism Area in Sichuan, China. Beichuan was one of the worst-affected regions during the Great Sichuan Earthquake of May 12, 2008. Fieldworks including site visit, participation and observation, semi-structure interview with the local elites and tourists' questionnaire survey are methods used by this paper. The results indicate that tourism development has leaded to a diversity of the embroidery handicrafts and is reshaping the embroidery industries now. It is argued that local Qiang embroidery enterprises should decrease the cost and tailor the products to increase the sales. The higher quality and authenticity of embroiders' product should be emphasized so that tourists can see the reason for the higher price of the local handmade products.