Poverty alleviation via tourism cooperatives in China : the story of Yuhu

Purpose This study aims to understand whether poverty alleviation can be realized in tourism via tourism cooperatives. As a fast growing industry in the world, tourism has accelerated economic development in many participating places. A large number of tourism cooperatives have emerged to capture conspicuous economic benefits from tourism in many rural areas of China. The role of tourism cooperatives has not yet been explored from the poverty alleviation perspective. Design/methodology/approach Two field trips to Yuhu Village, Lijiang, China, which included in-depth interviews, were conducted during August and December 2011, aiming at understanding the roles of tourism cooperatives in poverty alleviation. In-depth interviews with villagers (45) and mangers of tourism cooperative (5) were conducted. A systematic coding procedure including open, axial and selective coding was conducted with the software assistance of ATLAS.TI6.2. Findings Evidence from Yuhu suggested that resources and power changes, both of which are further dividSchool of Hotel and Tourism Managemen