Research On The Development Strategy Of Rural Tourism Along The Taihu Lake In Suzhou Based On Sustainable Livelihoods

As a special form of tourism, rural tourism has played an important role in promotingthe economic development of its regions. In particular, it often increases the income oflocal residents. However, we saw little or no impacts to residents from it during thedevelopment of domestic rural tourism. The ecology of Tai Lake near Suzhou is higlysensitive. Its development is tightly restricted. Rural tourism not only provides animportant boost for local economy, but also positively impact the income of local residents.In this study, we take on the rural tourism along Suzhou Taihu Lake region as a researchsubject. Under the theory of sustainable livelihoods, we proposed appropriate strategies tobetter promote the development of rural tourism and improve the sustainable livelihoodscapacity of rural residents.This paper starts by giving a general review of rural tourism, sustainable livelihoods,and other relevant theoretical knowledge, analyzing the impacts of rural tourism and itsrelationship with sustainable livelihoods among the residents. Secondly, we conductedfieldwork research in the region along Suzhou Taihu Lake to analyze its current status ofrural tourism development. Next we assessed the sustainable livelihoods throughquestionnaires and interviews from the local residents. And based on the results, weanalyze the current problems of the region along the Taihu Lake. In addition, in order toimprove sustainable livelihoods of local residents and increase the capital of local residentslivelihoods, we devised a development strategy for the rural tourism development alongthe Suzhou Taihu, with respect to the tourism capital, natural capital, human capital, socialcapital, physical capital and financial capital of rural residents. Finally, by comparing withthe development strategies, we proposed planning strategies from the perspectives of bothrural tourism development planning and spatial planning.