From Farm to Rural Hostel: New Opportunities and Challenges Associated with Tourism Expansion in Daxi, a Village in Anji County, Zhejiang, China

Abstract

China has become one of the leading international tourism destinations, ranking third at a world level. A fast expanding domestic tourism offers new development opportunities to rural areas. Our results from Daxi Village of Anji County, a popular tourist destination in East China, show that farmers are seizing this opportunity that currently represents 27% of total household income. The better educated young generation is benefitting most, being particularly relevant for women that can develop off-farm activities around the family hostels (nongjiale) and tourist shops. Visitor's general satisfaction is high, although there is some concern for environmental quality and overcrowding due to the very high number of tourists that come to the village. Our model suggests that tourism will keep growing at least for another decade, which will strain the area, posing potentially severe environmental problems and challenging the long term sustainability of the tourism development model.

Maintaining the contract responsibility system of forest land distribution in China: Evidence from a novel financial compensation scheme in Daxi Village of Anji County, Zhejiang

“…That is, older households that tend to be more dependent on forests for their income and tend to be paying compensation might paradoxically find themselves in a situation of relative disadvantage with regards the more dynamic, younger families who have entered more proactively into the tertiary, particularly tourist, sector (Gutierrez Rodriguez et al, 2011). This may lead to changing perceptions about the effectiveness and fairness of the scheme and to possible conflicts between groups in spite of the fact that compensation payments currently represent on average only 1.5% of total household income.…”

“…This has reduced the effectiveness of its original income redistribution role since it only applies to forest resources (whose income has a lower Gini = 0.35). In fact, while the IFCS has tried to adjust an original equal per capita land distribution principle, overall economic development has resulted in a significant increase in total income disparities mainly due to non-forest activities (Gutierrez Rodriguez et al, 2011).…”

Building ties: social capital network analysis of a forest community in a biosphere reserve in Chiapas, Mexico

“…However, the area is off the main tourist routes, and ecotourism does not provide a stable source of income, as opposed to other places where it is displacing traditional activities (García-Frapolli et al 2008, Gutierrez Rodriguez et al 2011. Hence, ecotourism in Sierra Morena is an inferior opportunity carried out by people from the low income tercile.…”

The link between smallholder bamboo shoot management, income, and livelihoods: a case study in southern China

“…The link between smallholder bamboo shoot management, income, and livelihoods 71 growing role of bamboo -for both shoot and culm production -in rural employment (Ruiz-Pérez et al 1996;Lei 2001;Chen 2003;Zhu & Yang 2004;Gutierrez Rodriguez et al 2011, income equalization (Gutierrez Rodriguez et al 2009), and household income (Lei 2001;Zhu & Yang 2004;Gutierrez Rodriguez et al 2009;Ruiz-Pérez et al 2009;Hogarth & Belcher 2013). But given the increasing value of bamboos to China's forestry sector and its potential role in reducing poverty, some authors argue that much more quantitative research is needed, especially in the emerging bamboo regions in the southwest (Hogarth & Belcher 2013).…”