Evolutionary Patterns and Influencing Factors of Livelihood Resilience in Tourism-Dependent Communities Affected by an Epidemic: An Empirical Study in the Wulingyuan Scenic Area, China

Jilin Wu, Qingqing Cao, Wenwen Ouyang, Bangyu Chen, Yi Su, Wenhai Xie and Shuiliang Liu ()
Additional contact information
Jilin Wu: School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Jishou University, Zhangjiajie 427000, China
Qingqing Cao: School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Jishou University, Zhangjiajie 427000, China
Wenwen Ouyang: School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Jishou University, Zhangjiajie 427000, China
Bangyu Chen: School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Jishou University, Zhangjiajie 427000, China
Yi Su: School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Jishou University, Zhangjiajie 427000, China
Wenhai Xie: School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Jishou University, Zhangjiajie 427000, China
Shuiliang Liu: Tourism College, Jishou University, Zhangjiajie 427000, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 7, 1-22

Abstract: Livelihood resilience research is a critical area in contemporary sustainable livelihood studies, offering valuable insights into residents’ livelihood transformation and strategies under sudden shocks or disruptions. This research analyzes 365 households from five towns reliant on tourism in the Wulingyuan Scenic range, situated in the central section of the Wuling Mountain range. The findings reveal that residents’ livelihood resilience decreased by 6.38% from the normal tourism stage (before 2020) to the epidemic disruption stage (2020–2022), followed by a 4.54% increase during the tourism recovery stage (after 2022). Despite fluctuations caused by exogenous shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic, residents’ livelihood resilience remained at a moderate level overall. Spatially, livelihood resilience exhibited a northwest–southeast dispersion trend, with a noticeable shift toward the southeast. Key drivers of resilience included increased material capital, enhanced organizational management capabilities, residents’ clear understanding of livelihood challenges, and positive attitudes. Conversely, constraints included the pandemic’s impacts, limited community participation, reduced tourist numbers, inefficient ecotourism management, insufficient financial capital, weak learning capacities, and monolithic livelihood strategies. The study highlights that those changes in the tourism development environment, coupled with interactive pathways of buffering, adaptation, and transformation capabilities, jointly influence livelihood resilience. Synergistic efforts in these areas can significantly enhance residents’ livelihood resilience.

Keywords: livelihood resilience; evolutionary characteristics; influencing factors; grounded theory; tourism-dependent communities; Wulingyuan Scenic Area (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/7/2937/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/7/2937/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:7:p:2937-:d:1620969

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().