Liuqiu transitioned to a tourism-based economy in the early 21st century, particularly following its inclusion in the Dapeng Bay National Scenic Area in 2004. It now receives hundreds of thousands of tourists a year, although this brings new challenges. In early 2015, more than of garbage piled up on the island when the county government forgot to budget funds to transport it to Taiwan Island for incineration. The island was left without disposal services from January to May, when it was finally able to draw on a national subsidy to correct the problem. Similarly, refuse from tourists and fishermen killed over 90% of the island's coral before conservation efforts began to reverse the trend.