Sustainability 2011, 3(1), 306-321; doi:10.3390/su3010306
Article

From Farm to Rural Hostel: New Opportunities and Challenges Associated with Tourism Expansion in Daxi, a Village in Anji County, Zhejiang, China

Lucas Gutierrez Rodriguez 1 email, Manuel Ruiz Perez 1,* email, Xiaosheng Yang 2 email and Geriletu 2 email
1 Department of Ecology, Autonomous University of Madrid, Calle Darwin 2, 28049-Madrid, Spain 2 Research Institute of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Da Qiao Road, Fuyang, 311400-Zhejiang, China
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 25 October 2010; in revised form: 13 December 2010 / Accepted: 19 January 2011 / Published: 24 January 2011
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Tourism: Issues, Debates and Challenges)
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Abstract: China has become one of the leading international tourism destinations, ranking third at a world level. A fast expanding domestic tourism offers new development opportunities to rural areas. Our results from Daxi Village of Anji County, a popular tourist destination in East China, show that farmers are seizing this opportunity that currently represents 27% of total household income. The better educated young generation is benefitting most, being particularly relevant for women that can develop off-farm activities around the family hostels (nongjiale) and tourist shops. Visitor’s general satisfaction is high, although there is some concern for environmental quality and overcrowding due to the very high number of tourists that come to the village. Our model suggests that tourism will keep growing at least for another decade, which will strain the area, posing potentially severe environmental problems and challenging the long term sustainability of the tourism development model.
Keywords: tourism; nongjiale; rural development; off-farm income; China

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MDPI and ACS Style

Gutierrez Rodriguez, L.; Ruiz Perez, M.; Yang, X.; Geriletu From Farm to Rural Hostel: New Opportunities and Challenges Associated with Tourism Expansion in Daxi, a Village in Anji County, Zhejiang, China. Sustainability 2011, 3, 306-321.

AMA Style

Gutierrez Rodriguez L, Ruiz Perez M, Yang X, Geriletu. From Farm to Rural Hostel: New Opportunities and Challenges Associated with Tourism Expansion in Daxi, a Village in Anji County, Zhejiang, China. Sustainability. 2011; 3(1):306-321.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gutierrez Rodriguez, Lucas; Ruiz Perez, Manuel; Yang, Xiaosheng; Geriletu. 2011. "From Farm to Rural Hostel: New Opportunities and Challenges Associated with Tourism Expansion in Daxi, a Village in Anji County, Zhejiang, China." Sustainability 3, no. 1: 306-321.

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