Study On The Impact Of Livelihood Capital On Sustainable Livelihood Capacity Of Farming Households In Rural Tourism Operations

The rural revitalization strategy clearly puts forward the need to effectively play the main role of farmers in rural revitalization.As the main body of agricultural production and rural construction,farmers must give full play to their main role,improve their self-development capacity and make their livelihoods sustainable.On the one hand,through participation in rural tourism,farmers can improve their livelihood capital,enrich their means of livelihood,improve their development capacity and enhance their livelihood stability,so that their livelihoods can eventually be sustainable.On the other hand,due to the shallow level of participation in rural tourism,the low quality of the farmers themselves,the limited participation in rural tourism and the increased pressure of external competition,the livelihood capital of farmers is not only not improved,but also decreases due to external factors,resulting in the deterioration of farmers’ livelihood outcomes,unsustainable livelihoods,the return to poverty and the deterioration of the rural environment,which defeats the original purpose of rural revitalisation.This shows that in order to achieve sustainable livelihoods for farmers in rural tourism,it is necessary to properly guide farmers to participate in rural tourism,enhance the stability of farmers’ livelihoods and farmers’ development capacity,so as to promote sustainable livelihoods for farmers.Arshan Village was selected as the third batch of national rural tourism key villages and China’s beautiful leisure villages in 2020.With the booming development of tourism,the per capita income of Alshan Village has achieved a steady increase of more than 10% for four consecutive years,of which tourism income accounts for 34% of the per capita,and rural tourism has become an important engine for the development of people-rich industries in Alshan Village.In view of this,this study selects Alshan village in Xinjiang as a case study,and analyses the factors influencing the sustainable livelihoods of rural tourism households based on sustainable livelihoods theory,so as to consolidate the main position of farmers and promote sustainable development of their livelihoods.The study shows that the rapid development of tourism in Alshan village has resulted in a variety of livelihood types for local farming households,with the labour-cum-tourism type,the farming-cum-tourism type and the tourism-led type being the dominant livelihood types.The livelihood risk scores of different livelihood types are in the following order: farming and tourism > working and tourism > tourism-led;the sustainable livelihood capacity scores of different livelihood types are in the following order: working and tourism > tourism-led > farming and tourism.The factors influencing the sustainable livelihood capacity of different livelihood types were analysed through multiple linear regressions,and a mediating effect model was constructed to analyse whether livelihood capital could influence sustainable livelihood capacity through the mediating variable livelihood risk.Among the factors influencing the sustainable livelihood capacity of both working and travelling households,natural capital,physical capital,human capital and financial capital have a significant positive impact on the sustainable livelihood capacity of farming households,among which human capital and financial capital can influence the sustainable livelihood capacity of both working and travelling households through the mediating variable livelihood risk.Among the factors influencing the sustainable livelihood capacity of farming and tourism households,natural capital,physical capital,human capital and social capital have a significant positive impact on the sustainable livelihood capacity of farming and tourism households,with natural capital and physical capital influencing the sustainable livelihood capacity of farming and tourism households through the mediating variable of livelihood risk.Among the factors influencing the sustainable livelihood capacity of tourism-led households,natural capital,physical capital,human capital and social capital have a significant positive impact on the sustainable livelihood capacity of farming households,and natural capital,physical capital and social capital can influence the sustainable livelihood capacity of tourism-led farming households through the mediating variable of livelihood risk.Based on the findings of the study and field research,countermeasures for improvement are proposed in terms of enhancing livelihood capital,reducing livelihood risks and optimising farmers’ livelihood strategies.