Text : Pam Wight, Photos : Anne Kern
China is a vast country, with 22 percent of the world’s population. Not only is its middle class very interested in travel, but so are international travellers. It is predicted to be the number one world destination by 2010, and its visitation rate is expected to exceed global growth until at least 2022. China has an abundance of natural resources, many of which are either partly or wholly used as tourist attractions, with the main natural tourist attractions being its famous mountains, lakes, rivers, caves and nature reserves. However, great value is placed on “beauty” rather than biodiversity, on cultural displays rather than cultural integrity, and there is a lack of valuation of healthy ecosystems and communities. Since the overall system of governance and control in China is top-down, this presents difficulties for CBE, as does the sheer volume of travellers in China, and busloads would be a typical visitor group. This is as true for destinations like nature reserves as it is for the more famous tour sites. Top-down controls also make it difficult for grass-roots initiatives to succeed, since communities tend to be involved in tourism planning at best in a relatively superficial way.
Ecotourism is often identified in China as an important strategy for economic growth and conservation, but there is confusion about what ecotourism is, and what might attract ecotourists. Often plans are exogenous and the emphasise inappropriately large hotels and infrastructure adjacent to natural sites, resulting in even greater numbers of visitors, environmental damage, and benefits to an elite, yet fairly limited benefits at the community level. There is evidence that tourism is actually having a negative socio-environmental impact, e.g., in the Wolong Panda Reserve, Hailougou Glacier Park, or Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve. Indeed, Jiuzhaigou is a World Heritage Park and is GG21 certified, yet it has such obvious problems as sales of turtleshell jewellery and whole turtles in the official park shop, the number of pandas are declining, and while communities inside the park are have some benefits, local benefits at the gateway community just outside the park are noticeably absent.
There are 56 ethnic minorities officially recognised in China, of which the Han are the largest, comprising over 93% of the population. Most ethnic minorities inhabit the outlying areas of China, many living in remote forest and mountain territories of SW China, and still exhibiting a very strong conservation ethic embedded in their beliefs. But while ecotourism seems promising for these distinctive peoples, they are usually accorded low status and decision-making power by the Han majority, yet their existence is widely featured at tourism sites, where they tend to provide song and dance shows. Indeed, there is evidence that folk villages, originally established by the indigenous minorities as ethnic interpretive centres, have now migrated to the areas of tourism demand and provide manufactured routines, cause relocation for employment, and have tourist-local interactions influenced by tour planners and village managers.
Ecotourism in China has the potential to support community development, indigenous identity and rights, and nature conservation, but there are dangers of environmental damage, inappropriate tourist infrastructure, and of further commodification or colonialisation of ethnic minorities. Among the most prominent exceptions is the growing interest in alternative accommodation which tend to be small-scale and community based. These can be seen in B&B developments near Dalian, farmhouses around Beijing, or homestays at small villages in Sichuan. Often, however, these developments need to be facilitated by environmental NGOs, universities, or others. CBE has potential in China, but at present it is largely unrealized.