A fair distribution and transfer mechanism of forest tourism benefits in China

This study establishes a theoretical model of forest tourism benefit allocation. Empirical testing was carried out based on China's inter-provincial panel data from 2000 to 2016, following the principle of fair allocation, and using an iterative algorithm to distribute forest tourism benefits among different economic entities and regions fairly. The empirical results show that urban residents get more than 40% of these benefits, while rural residents get less than half of that of urban residents. After the tax reform, the distribution ratios of the government and enterprises decreased due to an increase in the distribution ratio of urban residents. The transfer of forest tourism benefits among regions is highly unstable, and the central and western regions obtain more benefits than the eastern regions. Therefore, when constructing forest tourism infrastructure, the central and local governments should consider the transfer ratio of these benefits, which will help optimize the structure and use of capital investments, and continue to strengthen the backward-feeding of the economy from the eastern regions to the central and western regions.