Grassland tourism is a new form of grassland utilization based on grassland ecological environments. Tourism is a double-edged sword that can solve poverty in pastoral areas, but it also causes ecosystem degradation. The impact of tourism on alpine grassland was analyzed by the community and soil properties. Results showed that the most immediate influences of grassland tourism are frequent trampling and crushing. Tramping significantly decreases species diversity. Tourism reduced litter biomass, soil nutrient supply and soil enzyme activities, thus adversely affecting the whole plant-soil system. Therefore, this problem should attract decision makers’ attention to balance the relationship between tourism management and economic benefits. Our results suggest that the premise of trade-off between economic benefits and environmental protection is controlling the number of tourists during the peak tourism season, which should be factored for achieving a win-win outcome to dispose of ecosystem degradation and poverty in pastoral areas.