Local government intervention in tourism-driven rural gentrification: Types and interpretative framework

Abstract

Exploring the role that the local government plays in tourism-driven rural gentrification has the potential to make a contribution to rethinking the influence of power mobility on local development. Using 115 in-depth interviews and non-participant observation, this study examines the local government's changes in interventions in Pingnan county, Fujian province in China. It was found that the Pingnan County Government adopted deregulated, performative, and contractual interventions as strategies in three different spatio-temporal scenarios of tourism-driven rural gentrification; the underlying logic of tourism-driven rural gentrification is the vertical and horizontal mobility of power, which is directed by the internal mechanism of “political utility-power flexibility-risk control.” This study is expected to extend the applicability of rural gentrification theory to government-dominated contexts and provide practical insights for policymakers to intervene in an adaptive and periodic manner in local socio-economic affairs, including rural tourism development.