Biodiv Sci ›› 2008, Vol. 16 ›› Issue (1): 68-74.  DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1003.2008.07089

• Original article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

The economic impact of tourism on local residents in Wolong Nature Reserve

Yang Liu1,2, Yihe Lü2,*()   

  1. 1 Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361003
    2 State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085
  • Received:2007-03-20 Accepted:2007-09-05 Online:2008-01-27 Published:2008-01-27
  • Contact: Yihe Lü

Abstract:

Theoretically, tourism can generate economic benefits for local residents, while whether the benefits can come true in reality is a crucial issue. To obtain the actual direct economic impact that tourism have on local residents, a questionnaire survey was conducted in Wolong Nature Reserve (WNR). Total income generated by tourism, employment opportunities for local participants, and income distributions were included in the questionnaire. The results showed that there’s a considerable gap between actual effects and theoretical expectations from tourism in WNR: the total income generated by tourism was small; the employment opportunities were limited; and the income was unevenly distributed among local participants as well as among local people and outsiders. Measures, including developing new tourism items, establishing educational projects, providing special funds, and implementing a relocation policy, were proposed to improve the effectiveness of tourism as integrated tool for development and conservation.

Key words: ecotourism, nature reserve, economic impact, questionnaire survey