Selling farmers on agri-tourism

It has been more difficult to motivate local farmers. The county's plan for tourism is based on its farming culture, presenting the age-old way of life as the major attraction, said Chen Beipao, director of the county's tourism administration.

He noted the example of a vast pineapple plantation owned by Longmen village. The government raised 5 million yuan ($815,000) to renovate shabby houses and build tourism facilities such as pavilions, grocery stores and restaurants.

Accompanied by a guide from the administration, a China Daily reporter paid a visit to the village in early July, but found few tourists and restaurants that were closed.

But the reporter was still impressed by the huge plantation, the centuries-old camphor trees in the village and ancient stone farming tools inside homes. But there were no informative signs explaining the attractions.

Cai Feiying, a 32-year-old grocery store owner, said peak tourism season is from late June to August.

"To be honest, I made more money by growing pineapples than by running this grocery store," said Cai, who gave up farming before the birth of her baby.

"Most of my customers are still local residents rather than tourists, but I believe that more tourists will come if we have better facilities."

Yet many villagers are still unaware of the charm of the natural environment and the culture - which they are so familiar with - for tourists from other places.

"Why do I need to tell the history of the trees and stone tools to visitors? Isn't it the job of a tour guide?" some locals asked.

Although it has been a tough task to rouse local enthusiasm, the Xuwen government is still willing to spend the time.

"We don't want to exclude farmers from the tourism industry like some other tourist destinations have," said Chen Beipao of the tourism administration.

"The idea for Xuwen's tourism is that every village keeps its characteristics, every house is a tourist attraction and every resident is a tour guide.

"Awareness and enthusiasm can be strengthened after locals are able to earn more from tourism than farming," Chen said.

Huang Xiaohui, a researcher at the Zhanjiang Tourism Administration, believes that tourism development is able to offer a better living environment for local residents and help them better preserve their culture.

"In Xuwen, while renovating the ancient departure port for the seaborne Silk Road as a touring destination, a huge sum was spent on reinforcing dams, which will improve local disaster-resisting capacity.

"In addition, they also built toilets for each household in the scenic areas, leading to substantial improvement of sanitation conditions for both local and tourists," said Huang.

She said she is confident that people will eventually realize the benefits and participate in tourism development.

xujingxi@chinadaily.com.cn