The Tourism Life Cycle Model Of Rural Development: A Case Study of Two Ethnic Villages in Southwest China

Rural poverty is still a persistent and severe problem in the Global South. As the largest developing country in the world, China is committed to ending rural poverty by 2020. As a country strives to become the world's new superpower, it faces a harsh reality of widening urban-rural disparities in education, living standards, health care, and community services. Therefore, China presents an intriguing case of how to achieve sustainable rural development while empowering the local community to promote social justice and maintain cultural identity. Based on our fieldwork done in two ethnic villages of Chongqing Municipality in Southwest China, we explore the social, cultural, economic, and ecological impacts of rural tourism on the local communities.