Abstract
The development of ice-and-snow tourism (IST) has great potential for poverty alleviation and is of great significance for promoting the sustainable development of alpine areas. However, little attention has been given to evaluating the suitability and potential of ice-and-snow tourism in poverty-stricken areas. Taking 832 poverty-stricken counties in China as samples, this study proposed an integrity suitability index (ISI) based on natural and socioeconomic factors to evaluate the suitability and potential of developing ice-and-snow tourism in poverty-stricken counties. The results showed that there are significant differences between the spatial distributions of the suitability of glacier- and ski-related tourism. The former is mainly distributed in the Qinghai‒Tibet Plateau, while the latter is distributed in low-altitude mountainous areas. Additionally, 36.0% of the total number of poverty-stricken counties have the potential to match medium-to high-level ISIs of ice-and-snow tourism, of which 2.5%, 32.9% and 0.2% are suitable for glacier excursions, ski sports and both, respectively. Furthermore, climate change and environmental protection are the main constraints on the development of ice-and-snow tourism and corresponding development strategies are proposed. This study can provide references for scientific planning and policy making regarding the sustainable development in poverty-stricken areas.
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