China's continuing economic reforms since 1978 have substantially altered its economic structure, expanding the service sector, including the tourist industry. The reforms have resulted in spectacular economic growth and a boom in tourism development. But China's economic growth has been very uneven regionally and has been cause for political concern. The ability of tourism to counteract this uneven development and promote regionally decentralised development is therefore of special interest as is the sustainability of regional tourism, which often depends on nature conservation and the presence of minority cultures. This book addresses all those issues. Although focussed on China, it deals with issues such as those involving the sustainability of tourism, and convergence and divergence in regional tourism development and economic growth relevant to other geographical areas.
