The nexus between digital economy and tourism eco-efficiency under the environmental regulation: evidence from 277 cities in China

Juan Wang, Rongjie Wei and Huan Zhang

Marine Economics and Management, 2025, vol. 8, issue 1, 20-42

Abstract: PurposeThis study is of great significance in revealing the interactive and coordinated relationship between tourism development and the ecological environment, improving the level of environmental governance in the process of tourism economic development and realising the dual-carbon goal and sustainable development of the tourism industry.Design/methodology/approachThis paper performs slack-based measure (SBM)-data envelopment analysis (DEA) analysis, benchmark regression and threshold effect measurement on a sample of 277 cities in China from 2011 to 2019, to estimate the impact of the digital economy on tourism eco-efficiency and to identify the moderating role of environmental regulation.FindingsChina’s tourism eco-efficiency shows a spatio-temporal characteristic of steady growth amid fluctuations. The digital economy has a positive facilitating effect on tourism eco-efficiency, which is non-linear with a single threshold effect (0.631), and when the level of the digital economy exceeds the threshold value, its facilitating effect increases from 0.696 to 0.927. Environmental regulation does not play the role of “the icing on the cake” during the digital economy’s impact on tourism eco-efficiency.Originality/valueThis study for the first time includes the digital economy, eco-efficiency and environmental regulation in the research perspective, and analysed the mechanism of action between the three, expanding the depth of research on the digital economy and environmental regulation in the field of tourism. Meanwhile, based on the development needs of policy specialisation and industrial refinement, this study has strong practical significance when conducted at the city level.

Keywords: Digital economy; Tourism eco-efficiency; Environmental regulation; Threshold effect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:maempp:maem-10-2024-0023

DOI: 10.1108/MAEM-10-2024-0023

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