Residents’ Perception and Participation Behavior on the Poverty Alleviation Effect of Tourism

IThis paper studies the situation and status of pro-poor tourism in a county in China. In recent years, the Chinese government has paid more attention to the development of poverty alleviation. As an important part of the national poverty alleviation strategy, pro-poor tourism has become an industrial poverty alleviation model generally favored by all sectors of the society. The poverty-stricken population, as the target of pro-poor tourism, has been the focus in the related studies. The paper analyses the current poverty situation and tourism development status in a specific region - the Nanzhao county, Henan province. The empirical results show that the development degree of the scenic area, different demographic characteristics and the relationship between residents and tourism will affect the local residents' perception of the pro-poor tourism effect. Some suggestions are put forward on the development of poverty alleviation as well as the related tourism product development in the county.