Abstract: At the new starting point of the 14th five year plan，rural revitalization is another major strategic project after the national
poverty alleviation. Rural revitalization is the consolidation and deepening of poverty alleviation. How to shiftthe focus of rural tourism from prompting poverty alleviation to boosting rural revitalization is an urgent problem both theoretically and practically to be discussed at present. We need to develop rural tourism economy，promote high-quality and efficient local agriculture，rural livability and industry，and farmers' prosperity through scientific guidance. By analyzing and expounding the internal structural contradiction between local farmers' income and rural economic development under the background of the rural tourism -oriented poverty alleviation，this paper discusses the benign role of rural tourism in promoting the employment of poor farmers，and summarizes five innovative mechanisms for the sustainable development of rural poverty alleviation through tourism，so as to provide effective countermeasures for promoting the employment of poor farmers and the development of rural tourism.

Key words: rural poverty alleviation through tourism, rural revitalization, innovation, sustainable development