Thirty years of forest tourism in China

The status quo of forest parks, including National Forest Parks (NFPs), and the problems they are facing in China are reviewed. A large amount of Chinese-language literature is not easily accessible to the international scientific community. Forest tourism started in 1982 with the establishment of Zhangjiajie NFP, the first designated NFP in China. Recently, both the number of forest tourists and the amount of revenue from the entry fee to the forest parks have increased by approximately 20 % each year. The sharp increase of forest tourism generates impressive revenues and improves the regional economy near the forest parks. The large number of forest visitors has placed much pressure on natural resources. Tourism facilities built inside the protected area pollute the water, and biological integrity has been deteriorating. Under the conditions of a lack of appropriate legislation and management by several organizations, forest tourism is in a dilemma about to how to develop in a way that is sustainable and which promotes the local economy.