Host tourism aspirations as a point of departure for the sustainable livelihoods approach

Abstract

The sustainable livelihoods (SL) approach offers a holistic framework and a practical toolkit to analyze tourism's impacts and interactions within a community. This study argues that the usefulness of the SL approach in tourism can be enhanced by ensuring that the approach is built on a genuine people-centered starting point. The exploration of the local community's representations of, and aspirations for, their roles in tourism as a future livelihood choice meets this need. To verify the value of this approach empirically, this study examined the case of Lhasa, Tibet, and local youth as the research respondents. The findings suggest that the young hosts in Lhasa urban area were heterogeneous in their responses to tourism as a future livelihood choice. They fell into four subgroups: in-betweeners, ambivalent supporters, alternative supporters, and lovers. Further, this study examined the profiles of these four subgroups and explored their responses. The study enhances the SL approach by taking tourism as an example and clearly defining the departure point for its adoption within the context of broader livelihoods portfolios. Additionally, it suggests some potential directions for tailored management strategies to meet youth and community perspectives.

旅游意愿如何做为可持续性生计手段的一个出发点

可持续性生计（SL）手段提供了一个全面的框架和一个实际的工具箱来分析一个社区里的旅游影响的作用。该研究争论SL手段在旅游的作用可以通过确保手段是建立在一个真正的以人为本的出发点上来得到加强的。当地社区对在旅游中职责的代表性和意愿作为将来生计选择符合该要求。为了实证证明该手段的价值，该研究检验了西藏拉萨的案例，和当地年轻人作为研究的回复者。结论指出拉萨城市地区的年轻人对于旅游作为将来生计选择的反馈是非常不同的。他们形成四大类型：中间者，矛盾的支持者，替代支持者，和热爱者。另外，该研究检验了这四大类型的内容并且探讨了他们的反馈。研究通过将旅游作为一个例子并且清楚地定义该手段在更广的生活范围内使用的出发点来加强SL手段。另外，文章建议一些为满足年轻人和社区观点而设计的管理战略的潜在方向。

Keywords:

• tourism
• sustainable livelihoods
• subgroups
• forward-looking
• Tibetan “Post 80s” youth

关键词:

• 旅游
• 可持续性生计
• 分组
• 前瞻性
• 西藏``80后"年轻人

Acknowledgements

Considerable thanks are due to the Tibetan youth who took part in this research and shared their experiences. The authors also thank the reviewers for their critical and penetrating comments which helped enhance the quality of this work. Appreciation is also extended to Dr Yanbo Cheng, who assisted in the editing of the maps.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mao-Ying Wu

Mao-Ying Wu, PhD, is lecturer in Zhejiang University, China. She is interested in the well-being of tourism communities, tourist behavior, and research methodologies.

Philip L. Pearce

Philip L. Pearce, PhD, is the Foundation Professor of Tourism, School of Business, James Cook University, Australia. He has broad, fundamental interests in the behavior and experience of tourists, and in the interactions between tourists and hosts.