Toll low from China quake but villagers fear high cost to tourism

Flowers sway in the wind at the foot of a tree in the Tibetan village of Gaoshinao in Jiuzhaigou county, south of the epicentre of Tuesday's earthquake, Sichuan province, China, August 11, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

JIUZHAIGOU, China (Reuters) - Businesses near the epicentre of an earthquake that struck an ethnically Tibetan mountainous region in southwest China fear the disaster will cripple tourism, their main source of income.

Damage to the Jiuzhai Valley Scenic Area of Sichuan province may cause some of the hotels, restaurants, shops and stalls that serve the UNESCO-listed site to lose months - if not years - of income, leaving many jobless, workers told Reuters.