pisco_log
banner

The Prosperity Paradox: Confronting Income Disparities in Hainan's Tourism Boom

Lu Liu

Abstract


In December 2025, the island-wide customs closure of the Hainan Free Trade Port triggered an extraordinary tourism boom, attracting over 100 million visitors in 2025 and pushing tourism's share of provincial GDP to 33.4%. Yet beneath this aggregate prosperity lies a
critical problem: the very policies driving rapid growth have simultaneously widened income gaps across regions, social groups, and resident
communities.

Keywords


Tourism boom; Income disparity; Spatial inequality; Regional development

Full Text:

PDF

Included Database


References


[1] Li Q, Yang X, Zhang H. Entrepreneurial effects of the Hainan free trade port: a synthetic control study[J]. Journal of Chinese Economic

and Foreign Trade Studies, 2026, 19 (2):183-203. DOI:10.1108/JCEFTS-05-2025-0065.

[2] Wang X. A Collaborative Framework for Digital Internal Control and ESG Governance in Hainan Free Trade Port[J]. Proceedings of

Business and Economic Studies, 2026, 9 (4):152-159. DOI:10.26689/PBES.V9I4.14956.

[3] Xue J. Research on Talent Training for Undergraduate Financial Majors and Industrial-Economic Synergistic Development Mechanism

in Hainan Free Trade Port[J]. Modern Economics & Management Forum, 2026, 7 (2): DOI:10.32629/MEMF.V7I2.5182.

[4] Takahashi K. Tourism boom on island regions in Japan during the 70s and 80s: Research Letter[J]. Journal of Global Tourism Research,

2024, 9 (2):145-148. DOI:10.37020/JGTR.9.2_145.

[5] Mikulić J, Vitezić V, Srhoj S, et al. Tourism boom, housing doom: Excessive tourism and international emigration[J]. Annals of Tourism

Research, 2024, 109 103853-103853. DOI:10.1016/J.ANNALS.2024.103853.

[6] Arve H, Outi P, Binh N. Feeding a tourism boom: changing food practices and systems of provision in Hoi An, Vietnam[J]. Food, Culture & Society, 2024, 27 (1):94-112. DOI:10.1080/15528014.2023.2263986.

[7] Zabih-Allah T, Reza M R, Michael C H, et al. On the post-pandemic travel boom: How capacity building and smart tourism technologies in rural areas can help - evidence from Iran[J]. Technological Forecasting & Social Change, 2023, 193 122633-122633.

DOI:10.1016/J.TECHFORE.2023.122633.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.70711/frim.v4i7.9852

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.