The Differences in Ecotourism between China and the West

Abstract

What type of ecotourism in China should be advocated so as to keep its own distinctive locality, while accepting the Western concept of ecotourism? Many scholars have their own opinions and answers to this question. The article attempts an answer by analysing the differences in ecotourism between China and the West. There are some similarities, but more differences, in the ecological values between China and the West in history: Westerners tended to claim man and nature are separate, whereas ancient Chinese traditionally conceived of them within a unity. Influenced by ecological values, Western ecotourism paradigms emphasise the natural attributes, whereas Chinese consider the unity of nature and human. Thus, both mass ecotourists separated from mass tourists and elite ecotourists comprise the initial group of Chinese ecotourists. Although the ecological value of ‘the unity of man and Heaven’ born in ancient China was seldom put into social practice, today's mass ecotourism, which is similar to Western sustainable tourism, still holds the idea as an indigenous form of ecotourism.

Keywords:

• ecotourism
• difference
• China
• the West
• indigenous

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Ms. Wei Lei, Ms. Han Yalin and Ms. Yang Jianmei for their help with the translation and to Mr. Liu Xinzheng for his proof reading. Special thanks to Prof. Xu Honggang in Center for Tourism Planning & Research, Sun Yat-sen University, for her checking and approving on the article seriously.

Notes

According to the official statistics, tourists from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan are categorised as inbound tourists. Since they only account for about 5% in all samples, they are combined into a group with Western eco-ethics.