TOURISM DEVELOPMENT WITH AN ENDOGENOUS APPROACH: A CASE STUDY OF XIDI, CHINA
Abstract (150 Words)
With a critique of over-dependency on and vulnerability to externally controlled development, the endogenous approach has been increasingly accepted as a more effective way to animate sustainable socio-economic development in rural areas. Although tourism has been frequently taken as an alternative development strategy for rural economies, little academic effort has been made on examining the mechanism of how the endogenous approach can be operationalized in a tourism framework. Using qualitative methods, this study examined the experience of tourism development in one of China’s most famous rural cultural tourism destinations (Xidi). Based on the case analysis, a new communal endogenous approach for tourismdevelopment, which is prevailing in rural China, is summarized and its influences on community participation in tourism are discussed.
TOURISM DEVELOPMENT WITH AN ENDOGENOUS APPROACH: A CASE STUDY OF XIDI, CHINA
With a critique of over-dependency on and vulnerability to externally controlled development, the endogenous approach has been increasingly accepted as a more effective way to animate sustainable socio-economic development in rural areas. Although tourism has been frequently taken as an alternative development strategy for rural economies, little academic effort has been made on examining the mechanism of how the endogenous approach can be operationalized in a tourism framework. Using qualitative methods, this study examined the experience of tourism development in one of China’s most famous rural cultural tourism destinations (Xidi). Based on the case analysis, a new communal endogenous approach for tourismdevelopment, which is prevailing in rural China, is summarized and its influences on community participation in tourism are discussed.
