IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2020i1p280-d470635.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

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
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/1/280/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/1/280/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Peng, Benhong & Wang, Yuanyuan & Wei, Guo, 2020. "Energy eco-efficiency: Is there any spatial correlation between different regions?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    2. Kiyotaka Masuda, 2019. "Eco-Efficiency Assessment of Intensive Rice Production in Japan: Joint Application of Life Cycle Assessment and Data Envelopment Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-14, September.
    3. Zhang, Lei & Gao, Jing, 2016. "Exploring the effects of international tourism on China's economic growth, energy consumption and environmental pollution: Evidence from a regional panel analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 225-234.
    4. Maria P. Pablo-Romero & Antonio Sánchez-Braza & Javier Sánchez-Rivas, 2017. "Relationships between Hotel and Restaurant Electricity Consumption and Tourism in 11 European Union Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-14, November.
    5. Xiumei Xu & Yu Sun & Sujatha Krishnamoorthy & Karthik Chandran, 2020. "An Empirical Analysis of Green Technology Innovation and Ecological Efficiency Based on a Greenhouse Evolutionary Ventilation Algorithm Fuzzy-Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-12, May.
    6. Grossman, G.M & Krueger, A.B., 1991. "Environmental Impacts of a North American Free Trade Agreement," Papers 158, Princeton, Woodrow Wilson School - Public and International Affairs.
    7. Gössling, Stefan & Peeters, Paul & Ceron, Jean-Paul & Dubois, Ghislain & Patterson, Trista & Richardson, Robert B., 2005. "The eco-efficiency of tourism," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(4), pages 417-434, September.
    8. Yang Li & Lei Zhang, 0. "Ecological efficiency management of tourism scenic spots based on carbon footprint analysis," International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies, Oxford University Press, vol. 15(4), pages 550-554.
    9. Huang, Yuti & Coelho, Vânia R., 2017. "Sustainability performance assessment focusing on coral reef protection by the tourism industry in the Coral Triangle region," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 510-527.
    10. Manfred Lenzen & Ya-Yen Sun & Futu Faturay & Yuan-Peng Ting & Arne Geschke & Arunima Malik, 2018. "The carbon footprint of global tourism," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 8(6), pages 522-528, June.
    11. Wei, Yigang & Li, Yan & Wu, Meiyu & Li, Yingbo, 2019. "The decomposition of total-factor CO2 emission efficiency of 97 contracting countries in Paris Agreement," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 365-378.
    12. Kytzia, Susanne & Walz, Ariane & Wegmann, Mattia, 2011. "How can tourism use land more efficiently? A model-based approach to land-use efficiency for tourist destinations," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 629-640.
    13. Munday, Max & Turner, Karen & Jones, Calvin, 2013. "Accounting for the carbon associated with regional tourism consumption," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 35-44.
    14. Gossling, Stefan & Hansson, Carina Borgstrom & Horstmeier, Oliver & Saggel, Stefan, 2002. "Ecological footprint analysis as a tool to assess tourism sustainability," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2-3), pages 199-211, December.
    15. Shuxin Wang & Yiyuan Hu & Hong He & Genxu Wang, 2017. "Progress and Prospects for Tourism Footprint Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-17, October.
    16. Fayyaz Ahmad & Muhammad Umar Draz & Lijuan Su & Ilhan Ozturk & Abdul Rauf, 2018. "Tourism and Environmental Pollution: Evidence from the One Belt One Road Provinces of Western China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-22, September.
    17. Yiyang Sun & Guolin Hou & Zhenfang Huang & Yi Zhong, 2020. "Spatial-Temporal Differences and Influencing Factors of Tourism Eco-Efficiency in China’s Three Major Urban Agglomerations Based on the Super-EBM Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-21, May.
    18. Peeters, Paul & Dubois, Ghislain, 2010. "Tourism travel under climate change mitigation constraints," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 447-457.
    19. Yongzhong Jiang & Xueli Chen & Vivian Valdmanis & Tomas Baležentis, 2019. "Evaluating Economic and Environmental Performance of the Chinese Industry Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-17, November.
    20. Tsai, Kang-Ting & Lin, Tzu-Ping & Hwang, Ruey-Lung & Huang, Yu-Jing, 2014. "Carbon dioxide emissions generated by energy consumption of hotels and homestay facilities in Taiwan," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 13-21.
    21. Cuccia, Tiziana & Guccio, Calogero & Rizzo, Ilde, 2016. "The effects of UNESCO World Heritage List inscription on tourism destinations performance in Italian regions," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 494-508.
    22. Kai Xu & Lawrence Loh & Qiang Chen, 2020. "Sustainable Innovation Governance: An Analysis of Regional Innovation with a Super Efficiency Slack-Based Measure Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-19, April.
    23. Peng, Hongsong & Zhang, Jinhe & Lu, Lin & Tang, Guorong & Yan, Bingjin & Xiao, Xiao & Han, Ya, 2017. "Eco-efficiency and its determinants at a tourism destination: A case study of Huangshan National Park, China," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 201-211.
    24. Katircioglu, Salih Turan & Feridun, Mete & Kilinc, Ceyhun, 2014. "Estimating tourism-induced energy consumption and CO2 emissions: The case of Cyprus," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 634-640.
    25. Zhang, Jiekuan & Zhang, Yan, 2018. "Carbon tax, tourism CO2 emissions and economic welfare," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 18-30.
    26. Ouyang, Wendi & Yang, Jian-bo, 2020. "The network energy and environment efficiency analysis of 27 OECD countries: A multiplicative network DEA model," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    27. Sun, Ya-Yen, 2016. "Decomposition of tourism greenhouse gas emissions: Revealing the dynamics between tourism economic growth, technological efficiency, and carbon emissions," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 326-336.
    28. Jianqing Zhang & Song Wang & Peilei Yang & Fei Fan & Xueli Wang, 2020. "Analysis of Scale Factors on China’s Sustainable Development Efficiency Based on Three-Stage DEA and a Double Threshold Test," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-26, March.
    29. Xiaoping Qiu & Yiping Fang & Xueting Yang & Fubiao Zhu, 2017. "Tourism Eco-Efficiency Measurement, Characteristics, and Its Influence Factors in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-19, September.
    30. Sun, Ya-Yen & Cadarso, Maria Angeles & Driml, Sally, 2020. "Tourism carbon footprint inventories: A review of the environmentally extended input-output approach," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    31. Chen, Nengcheng & Xu, Lei & Chen, Zeqiang, 2017. "Environmental efficiency analysis of the Yangtze River Economic Zone using super efficiency data envelopment analysis (SEDEA) and tobit models," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 659-671.
    32. Li, Hai-ling & Zhu, Xue-hong & Chen, Jin-yu & Jiang, Fei-tao, 2019. "Environmental regulations, environmental governance efficiency and the green transformation of China's iron and steel enterprises," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 1-1.
    33. Yu, Yantuan & Huang, Jianhuan & Zhang, Ning, 2019. "Modeling the eco-efficiency of Chinese prefecture-level cities with regional heterogeneities: A comparative perspective," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 402(C), pages 1-17.
    34. Chengcai Tang & Ziwei Wan & Pin Ng & Xiangyi Dai & Qiuxiang Sheng & Da Chen, 2019. "Temporal and Spatial Evolution of Carbon Emissions and Their Influencing Factors for Tourist Attractions at Heritage Tourist Destinations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-19, October.
    35. Yuli Bian & Liang Dong & Zhaowen Liu & Lezhu Zhang, 2020. "A Sectoral Eco-Efficiency Analysis on Urban-Industrial Symbiosis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-19, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    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. 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.
    4. Yiyang Sun & Guolin Hou, 2021. "Analysis on the Spatial-Temporal Evolution Characteristics and Spatial Network Structure of Tourism Eco-Efficiency in the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-29, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yue Pan & Gangmin Weng & Conghui Li & Jianpu Li, 2021. "Coupling Coordination and Influencing Factors among Tourism Carbon Emission, Tourism Economic and Tourism Innovation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-17, February.
    2. Wei Zhang & Ying Zhan & Ruiyang Yin & Xunbo Yuan, 2022. "The Tourism Eco-Efficiency Measurement and Its Influencing Factors in the Yellow River Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-14, November.
    3. Chengcai Tang & Ziwei Wan & Pin Ng & Xiangyi Dai & Qiuxiang Sheng & Da Chen, 2019. "Temporal and Spatial Evolution of Carbon Emissions and Their Influencing Factors for Tourist Attractions at Heritage Tourist Destinations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-19, October.
    4. Kai Wang & Chang Gan & Yan Ou & Haolong Liu, 2019. "Low-Carbon Behaviour Performance of Scenic Spots in a World Heritage Site," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-23, July.
    5. Zhenquan Xiao & Polat Muhtar & Wenxiu Huo & Chaogao An & Ling Yang & Fengrong Zhang, 2021. "Spatial and Temporal Differentiation of the Tourism Water Footprint in Mainland China and Its Influencing Factors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-23, September.
    6. Lingling Chen & Lin Yi & Rongrong Cai & Hui Yang, 2022. "Spatiotemporal Characteristics of the Correlation among Tourism, CO 2 Emissions, and Economic Growth in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-31, July.
    7. Tang, Chengcai & Zhong, Linsheng & Ng, Pin, 2017. "Factors that Influence the Tourism Industry's Carbon Emissions: a Tourism Area Life Cycle Model Perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 704-718.
    8. Shuxin Wang & Yiyuan Hu & Hong He & Genxu Wang, 2017. "Progress and Prospects for Tourism Footprint Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-17, October.
    9. Lingling Chen & Brijesh Thapa & Wei Yan, 2018. "The Relationship between Tourism, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Economic Growth in the Yangtze River Delta, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-20, June.
    10. Sun, Ya-Yen & Cadarso, Maria Angeles & Driml, Sally, 2020. "Tourism carbon footprint inventories: A review of the environmentally extended input-output approach," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    11. Daxin Dong & Xiaowei Xu & Yat Fung Wong, 2019. "Estimating the Impact of Air Pollution on Inbound Tourism in China: An Analysis Based on Regression Discontinuity Design," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-18, March.
    12. 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.
    13. Abdul Rauf & Ilhan Ozturk & Fayyaz Ahmad & Khurram Shehzad & Abbas Ali Chandiao & Muhammad Irfan & Saira Abid & Li Jinkai, 2021. "Do Tourism Development, Energy Consumption and Transportation Demolish Sustainable Environments? Evidence from Chinese Provinces," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-23, November.
    14. Shuxiao Li & Zhanhong Cheng & Yun Tong & Biao He, 2022. "The Interaction Mechanism of Tourism Carbon Emission Efficiency and Tourism Economy High-Quality Development in the Yellow River Basin," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-23, September.
    15. Ali, Qamar & Yaseen, Muhammad Rizwan & Anwar, Sofia & Makhdum, Muhammad Sohail Amjad & Khan, Muhammad Tariq Iqbal, 2021. "The impact of tourism, renewable energy, and economic growth on ecological footprint and natural resources: A panel data analysis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    16. Bing Xia & Suocheng Dong & Yu Li & Zehong Li & Dongqi Sun & Wenbiao Zhang & Wenlong Li, 2021. "Evolution Characters and Influencing Factors of Regional Eco-Efficiency in a Developing Country: Evidence from Mongolia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-20, October.
    17. Yiyang Sun & Guolin Hou & Zhenfang Huang & Yi Zhong, 2020. "Spatial-Temporal Differences and Influencing Factors of Tourism Eco-Efficiency in China’s Three Major Urban Agglomerations Based on the Super-EBM Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-21, May.
    18. Ying Zhang & Yunyan Li, 2023. "Regional Differences in Tourism Eco-Efficiency in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region: Based on Data from 13 Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-15, February.
    19. Sun, Ya-Yen & Gossling, Stefan & Zhou, Wanru, 2022. "Does tourism increase or decrease carbon emissions? A systematic review," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    20. 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.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2020:i:1:p:280-:d:470635. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.