Relationships among rural tourism participation, livelihood capital structure, and household income outcomes: a cross-sectional survey of tourism-participating households in the Yunqiu Mountain Area, Yellow River Basin
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Purpose Against the backdrop of China’s rural revitalization strategy and the national strategy for ecological conservation and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin, rural tourism has become an important avenue for expanding livelihood opportunities in some resource-transformation mountain areas. Existing studies have largely examined the relationship between tourism development and household income or livelihood transformation, while paying relatively little attention to the statistical associations among tourism participation, livelihood capital structure, and income outcomes within households already participating in tourism, particularly in resource-transformation mountain areas of the Yellow River Basin. Methods Drawing on the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework, this study extends the conventional five-capital framework by incorporating psychological capital and develops a six-dimensional analytical framework comprising natural, physical/material, financial, human, social, and psychological capital. Using 374 valid household questionnaires from tourism-participating households in Yunqiu Mountain in the Yellow River Basin, we employ an ordered logit model, regression analyses, and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to examine the statistical associations among tourism participation, livelihood capital, and household income outcomes. Results Tourism participation is significantly and positively associated with household income outcomes. It is also positively associated with all six dimensions of livelihood capital, with comparatively larger standardized associations for psychological and financial capital. All six livelihood capital dimensions are positively associated with household income outcomes; the coefficients for psychological and financial capital are numerically larger, although their difference is not statistically significant. Supplementary PLS-SEM analysis indicates that all six livelihood capital dimensions form statistically significant indirect association pathways linking tourism participation and household income outcomes. Conclusion The study extends the conventional livelihood capital framework by incorporating household psychological agency and provides micro-level empirical evidence on how tourism participation, livelihood capital, and income outcomes are statistically related in resource-transformation mountain communities in the Yellow River Basin.
Authors: Xiaotao Liang, Yaowen Xue, Liming Xiao, Meiling Du
Institution: Shanxi Normal University
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,353
OpenAlex ID: W7223651233