Authorities should be cautious about using tourism as a way to promote economic development in impoverished regions as the approach could risk villagers being marginalized, warned an editorial in news portal The Paper.
The approach is part of targeted measures to alleviate extreme poverty, and it is also a main goal of the China National Tourism Administration during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020).
Villages are keen to engage in tourism - many poverty-stricken villages are in scenic areas, but they are not good for agriculture. Compared with other measures to alleviate poverty, there is a lower threshold to take advantage of tourism to develop rural economies and make profits. Political factors are another reason why local government is keen on tourism. Authorities have established a central environmental protection supervision group.
However, the editorial noted the drawbacks of relying on tourism to alleviate poverty. If every village had the same development model, it will be hard to be competitive. Local residents may become marginalized as developers are often outsiders and do not have enough interest to make the most of local specialties and customs to develop tourism.
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