Comprehensive impacts of high-speed rail and air transport on tourism development in China

The comprehensive impacts of different transportation systems on tourism development (TD) are becoming more and more profound. High-speed rail (HSR) and air transport (AT), two closely related, convenient, and fast-traffic options, have increasingly become the preferred choice for travelers. Based on a panel data set of 287 cities in China from 2011 to 2019, the impacts of HSR and AT operations on TD and the heterogeneity of these impacts are explored by using multi-period difference-in-differences (DID) and dose–response (DR) models. The results reveal that AT operation and the simultaneous operations of HSR and AT (HSR-AT operations) have a positive and significant impact on TD. However, the significance of the positive impact of HSR operation on TD is not stable. Furthermore, HSR operation and AT operation have different impacts on the TD of the cities in various regions and the cities with various tourism resource endowments. The findings by the DR model indicate that there are differences in terms of the level of HSR and AT operations in small-medium cities compared to large cities. Meanwhile, HSR and AT operations have different impacts on various classes of cities, and the impacts of HSR and AT operation levels on the TD is positive. The obtained results imply that when seizing the development opportunities of HSR and AT to promote TD, administrators should implement different strategies according to local conditions and the current status of TD.