Image credit: Huihui Liu.

Published open access in Sustainable Development in September 2026.

Citation: Liu, H., Wan, Z., Yu, Y., Melchior, M., Beumer, C., Martens, P., & Rao, M. (2026). How Do Governance Arrangements Shape Community Empowerment in Rural Ecotourism? Evidence From Wuyuan, China. Sustainable Development, e71673. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.71673

This study examines how governance arrangements shape community empowerment in rural ecotourism in China. Drawing on the six dimensions of the community empowerment framework (CEF), the study analyses qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with 30 villagers across four ecotourism-oriented cases in Wuyuan. The findings show that ecotourism in Wuyuan created livelihood opportunities, improved village environments, and enhanced cultural recognition, but these outcomes were associated with different patterns of community empowerment across the cases. Villagers’ participation in decision-making and tourism operation, together with access to tourism-related benefit-sharing, emerged as key governance arrangements linked to these differences. The study advances a governance-mediated understanding of community empowerment by showing how governance arrangements shape different empowerment dimensions. These arrangements connect participation, operational responsibilities and benefit-sharing, providing a process-oriented interpretation of how tourism-related gains are translated into empowerment outcomes. This study contributes to discussions of sustainable tourism, community development and rural revitalization.