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Research on the Spatial Differentiation and Driving Forces of Eco-Efficiency of Regional Tourism in China

Author

Listed:
  • Rui Wang

    (Tourism College, Northwest Normal University, Anning District, Lanzhou 730070, China)

  • Bing Xia

    (Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China)

  • Suocheng Dong

    (Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China)

  • Yu Li

    (Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China)

  • Zehong Li

    (Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China)

  • Duoxun Ba

    (Tourism College, Northwest Normal University, Anning District, Lanzhou 730070, China)

  • Wenbiao Zhang

    (Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China)

Abstract

Tourism eco-efficiency is an important indicator that has often been applied to measure the quality of green tourism development. This paper takes the 31 provinces of China as examples to analyze regional tourism eco-efficiency. By constructing multiple input and output indicator systems for regional tourism, we estimated the eco-efficiency of 31 provinces in 1997–2016 using an undesirable output model of a slack-based model (undesirable-SBM) for data envelopment analysis (DEA). Then, we analyzed the spatial–temporal evolutionary trends and patterns of the eco-efficiency over 20 years by using the Hot Spot Model and Spatial Center of Gravity Model. Finally, we explored the driving forces internal and external to the tourism eco-economic system using the Panel Tobit Regression Model and Geodetector Model, respectively. The results show that: In the last 20 years, the tourism eco-efficiency of provinces in China declined, though tourism has experienced rapid but extensive development. The western regions of China, which have better eco-environmental conditions, and the southeastern coastal regions, which have higher levels of economic development, have higher tourism eco-efficiency. Regions with lower tourism eco-efficiency show diffusion trends, while regions with higher tourism eco-efficiency are characterized by a lack of obvious space spillover effects. Technology is the core driving force of regional tourism eco-efficiency, while traffic conditions and social civilization levels are key external influence factors leading to improvement of tourism eco-efficiency. The research results reveal the great significance of laws for sustainable green tourism development with different economic levels in the different regions. Our work could provide a reference for similar countries and regions in the world with the rapid growth of tourism or obvious spatial differentiation in socioeconomic development.

Suggested Citation

  • Rui Wang & Bing Xia & Suocheng Dong & Yu Li & Zehong Li & Duoxun Ba & Wenbiao Zhang, 2020. "Research on the Spatial Differentiation and Driving Forces of Eco-Efficiency of Regional Tourism in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-23, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2020:i:1:p:280-:d:470635
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Meijuan Hu & Zaijun Li & Bing Hou, 2023. "The Influencing Effect of Tourism Economy on Green Development Efficiency in the Yangtze River Delta," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-18, January.
    3. Chaogao An & Polat Muhtar & Zhenquan Xiao, 2022. "Spatiotemporal Evolution of Tourism Eco-Efficiency in Major Tourist Cities in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-20, October.
    4. Qingfang Liu & Jinping Song & Teqi Dai & Jianhui Xu & Jianmei Li & Enru Wang, 2022. "Spatial Network Structure of China’s Provincial-Scale Tourism Eco-Efficiency: A Social Network Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-16, February.

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