Impact of pro-poor ethnic tourism on achieving sustainable development goals

Abstract

This study explores whether and how Chinese government-led pro-poor ethnic tourism advances the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in ethnic villages with poverty elimination as the top agenda, drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in typical pro-poor ethnic tourism destinations in Guizhou Province, China. While the government focused more on economic, social, and cultural sustainability, the impacts perceived by stakeholders were related to 12 of the 17 SDGs. SDG1 (no poverty) and SDG17 (partnership for goals) were identified as core goals. The negligible impact of pro-poor ethnic tourism on the environment implies that the Chinese government should pay more attention to environmental sustainability in rural revitalization through ethnic tourism. The novelty of this study lies in the summarized conceptual model of the impact of government-led pro-poor ethnic tourism on the sustainable development of ethnic areas. These findings provide critical insights into how pro-poor ethnic tourism can be optimized to meet SDGs through government intervention.