Sustainability of rural tourism in poverty reduction: Evidence from panel data of 15 underdeveloped counties in Anhui Province, China

Based on the characteristics of underdeveloped areas, this paper selects the panel data of 15 underdeveloped counties in Anhui Province from 2013 to 2019 and uses the panel threshold model to empirically analyze the sustainability of rural tourism development. The results show that: (1) Rural tourism development has a non-linear positive impact on poverty alleviation in underdeveloped areas and has a double threshold effect. (2) When the poverty rate is used to express the poverty level, it can be found that the development of rural tourism at a high level can significantly promote poverty alleviation. (3) When the number of poor people is used to express the poverty level, it can be found that the poverty reduction effect shows a marginal decreasing trend with the phased improvement of the development level of rural tourism. (4) The degree of government intervention, industrial structure, economic development, and fixed asset investment play a more significant role in poverty alleviation. Therefore, we believe that we need to actively promote rural tourism in underdeveloped areas, establish a mechanism for the distribution and sharing of rural tourism benefits, and form a long-term mechanism for rural tourism poverty reduction.