Agro-tourism integration and key livelihood capitals: multi-scale impacts on rural residents’ strategic choices in Western Sichuan ethnic villages

The rapid expansion of rural tourism has generated additional employment opportunities for remote rural areas while intensifying livelihood pressures on local residents. During the integration of traditional agriculture and rural tourism, rural residents need to adapt livelihood strategies based on regional industrial development and household capital endowments to respond to evolving external dynamics. This study collected household survey data from 30 ethnic villages in Western Sichuan, involving 479 households and 1381 labor forces. Utilizing a coupled coordination model, the level of agro-tourism integration within these villages was evaluated. Furthermore, a disordered multi-classification logistic regression model was employed to explore the impact of agro-tourism integration and key livelihood capitals on livelihood strategy choices at both the household and labor force scales. The results revealed that: (1) the agro-tourism coupling coordination degree was highest in Tibetan villages, followed by Qiang villages, and lowest in Yi villages; (2) enhanced agro-tourism integration fostered a risk-differentiated decision-making logic among households; (3) while generating immediate employment, this development however potentially discouraged long-term educational advancement; (4) middle-aged laborers (30-50 years) constituted the core of local agro-tourism entrepreneurship while facing dual pressures from business development and family care duties; (5) agro-tourism integration functioned as a transformative social intervention by providing largely gender-neutral local employment opportunities. Based on these findings, this study elucidates the inter relationships between regional agro-tourism integration, family capital levels, and rural residents’ livelihood decision-making. It provides a scientific basis for policy interventions in agro-tourism integration and promotes sustainable development of industries and livelihoods in rural regions.