ABSTRACT
As noted in previous chapters, the rapid growth of tourism in China has been not only characterized by benefits, but increasingly by unexpected negative economic, socio-cultural and ecological impacts. In recent years, much attention has been given to these issues, and the topics of a community approach and the sustainable development of tourist destinations have increasingly become pre-eminent in that country. Earlier studies of these issues in China included (a) the introduction of international research on both community-based tourism and the sustainable development of tourist destinations (e.g. He 2002; Zhang and Wang 2003); (b) the importance of community in destination development (e.g. Jiang 2003; Yang 2001); (c) sustainable development of both the tourism industry and the community (Hu and Zhang 2002); (d) planning and developmental modes of community tourism (Wang 2004) and (e) an analysis of the contents of community-based tourism development such as: management and operation, decision-making, distribution of income, protection of the environment, related education and training etc. (Wang 2004; Liu 2000). Empirical studies have indicated that community-based tourism development in China has generally contributed to the social and economic development of a locality, but there remain great differences in the degree of residents’ involvement and the distribution of benefits while difficulties remain in implementing the community approach (Sun and Bao 2005; Sun 2005; Fan, Wall and Mitchell 2008; Gu and Ryan 2008). Consequently, the objectives of the research reported in this chapter are to examine: To what degree are residents of a tourism destination involved in tourism planning, to what extent are their culture and traditions respected, whose interests are considered in tourism development and what is it that residents perceive as the core of the local tourism development? Additional issues involve answering the question: To what extent is ‘community-based tourism’ actually community owned, operated and managed sustainably? Finally, how closely is local residents’ involvement in tourism correlated with the development of the community?
