HOW CHINA’S TOURISM ASSISTING THE POOR POLICIES STRENGTHEN TOURISM-POVERTY LINK

Abstract

Poverty eradication has been listed as SDG1 in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. China has fulfilled SDG1 ten years ahead of the schedule in 2020. Tourism has played a significant role in poverty alleviation in China owing to the formulation and implementation of Tourism-assisting Poverty Policies (TAPPs), which is a typical example of pro-poor tourism (PPT) initiative in developing countries. However, the international academic circles have little knowledge of how TAPPs have made tourism a major poverty alleviation means that can be perceived by identifying the match of TAPP targets and TAPP instruments since 1980’s. This study is based on the Rothwell ‘s policy tool taxonomy that proposes a theoretical framework of TAPP targets-TAPP instruments and analyzes the evolution and distribution characteristics of policy tools in 64 Chinese national TAPP texts from 1984 to 2020. It’s found that the TAPP tool mix mainly consists of environmental policies, supply-side policies besides the less proportion of demand-side policies. Legal and regulatory, financial, public service and project development are the policy tools most frequently employed to achieve TAPP targets over time. The TAPP evolution follows the path from boosting regional economic development to promoting endogenous poverty alleviation capabilities in rural areas, which is consistent with the phased goals of Chinese tourism development strategies and poverty alleviation programs. This study aims to fill in the lack of the international academic community’s understanding of Chinese TAPPs’ role in pushing tourism to play a major role in poverty alleviation and generate fresh insight into the dynamics of policy instrument and mix. It provides reference for China’s efforts to consolidate the poverty alleviation achievements through tourism and sustain TAPPs’ positive role in China’s rural revitalization.