IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i10p4549-d1657119.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Agro-Tourism Integration and County-Level Sustainability: Mechanisms and Regional Heterogeneity in China

Author

Listed:
  • Qi Wang

    (School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China)

  • Xianhui Dang

    (School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China)

  • Ting Song

    (School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China)

  • Guangpeng Xiao

    (School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China)

  • Yongqin Lu

    (School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China)

Abstract

The agro-tourism integration model combines agricultural production, rural life, and tourism experiences, bringing new opportunities for the sustainable development of counties. The objective of this study is to explore the impact of the agro-tourism integration on the sustainable development of counties, reveal the underlying mechanisms and regional heterogeneity effects, and provide a scientific basis for the formulation of rural revitalization policies. Based on panel data from 1749 counties in China from 2008 to 2021, an empirical test using a propensity score matching-difference-in-differences (PSM-DID) model found that the National Policy on Leisure Agriculture and Rural Tourism Demonstration Counties significantly enhances the level of sustainable development in counties through three mechanisms: stimulating consumer demand, attracting capital inflows, and optimizing industrial structure. Moreover, the effect is more pronounced in the western regions of China. In terms of theory, this study shifts the focus to the county level, constructing a comprehensive measurement index system for county-level sustainable development. It analyzes the mechanisms through which the integration of agriculture and tourism operates and verifies the policy effects. In terms of practice, policy implementations are proposed to adopt a multi-pronged approach to increase agricultural-tourism consumption; to promote government-enterprise cooperation and introduce long-term funding; and to develop the service industry in a location-specific manner to continuously optimize the industrial structure. This study indicates that agro-tourism integration is an effective path for the sustainable development of counties. The policy design needs to take into account the differences in regional resource endowments. This has important implications for promoting county-level development in a location-specific manner under the rural revitalization strategy.

Suggested Citation

  • Qi Wang & Xianhui Dang & Ting Song & Guangpeng Xiao & Yongqin Lu, 2025. "Agro-Tourism Integration and County-Level Sustainability: Mechanisms and Regional Heterogeneity in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-27, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:10:p:4549-:d:1657119
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/10/4549/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/10/4549/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Longtian Fu & Zhenyu Xu & Qin Chen & Qi Zhang & Zixiu Zou & Luluo Li & Chere’ Cato Yturralde & Lita Gayrama Valencia, 2024. "Research on the integrated development of agriculture and tourism in inner Mongolia," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(6), pages 14877-14892, June.
    2. Liu, Qiang & Sun, Hongyu & Luo, Haiming, 2022. "Resource-richness, technological innovation, and sustainable development: Evidence from emerging economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    3. Hunjra, Ahmed Imran & Azam, Muhammad & Bruna, Maria Giuseppina & Bouri, Elie, 2023. "A cross-regional investigation of institutional quality and sustainable development," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    4. Janina Jędrzejczak-Gas & Joanna Wyrwa & Anetta Barska, 2024. "Sustainable Energy Development and Sustainable Economic Development in EU Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-20, April.
    5. Yang, Ming & Peng, HuaTao & Yue, Shunli, 2025. "How returning home for entrepreneurship affects rural common prosperity," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    6. Tieli Wang & Dingliang Wang & Zhiwei Zeng, 2024. "Research on the Construction and Measurement of Digital Governance Level System of County Rural Areas in China—Empirical Analysis Based on Entropy Weight TOPSIS Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-23, May.
    7. Ullah, Atta & Pinglu, Chen & Ullah, Saif & Qaisar, Zahid Hussain & Qian, Ningyu, 2022. "The dynamic nexus of E-Government, and sustainable development: Moderating role of multi-dimensional regional integration index in Belt and Road partner countries," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    8. Fengmei Ma & Heming Wang & Asaf Tzachor & César A. Hidalgo & Heinz Schandl & Yue Zhang & Jingling Zhang & Wei-Qiang Chen & Yanzhi Zhao & Yong-Guan Zhu & Bojie Fu, 2025. "The disparities and development trajectories of nations in achieving the sustainable development goals," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-20, December.
    9. Slimani, Sana & Omri, Anis & Abbassi, Abdessalem, 2024. "International capital flows and sustainable development goals: The role of governance and ICT diffusion," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    10. Yongwei Tang & Yong Zhou & Hui Ci & Helin Liu & Mei Luo & Ying Xu & Maomao Zhang, 2025. "How Capital Intervention Impacts Rural Sustainable Development: A Case Study of Two Suburban Villages near Wuhan," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-16, January.
    11. Gu, Wentao & Wang, Jiayi, 2022. "Research on index construction of sustainable entrepreneurship and its impact on economic growth," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 266-276.
    12. Wang, Jingyu & Peng, Lu & Chen, Jiancheng & Deng, Xiangzheng, 2024. "Impact of rural industrial integration on farmers' income: Evidence from agricultural counties in China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    13. Salvatore Ammirato & Alberto Michele Felicetti & Cinzia Raso & Bruno Antonio Pansera & Antonio Violi, 2020. "Agritourism and Sustainability: What We Can Learn from a Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-18, November.
    14. He, Siyi & Liu, Jinsong & Ying, Qianwei, 2023. "Externalities of government-oriented support for innovation: Evidence from the national innovative city pilot policy in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Alieh Abadi & Mehdi Khakzand, 2022. "Extracting the qualitative dimensions of agritourism for the sustainable development of Charqoli village in Iran: the promotion of vernacular entrepreneurship and environment-oriented preservation per," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(11), pages 12609-12671, November.
    2. Zhen Wang & Xupeng Zhang & Chaozheng Zhang & Qing Yang, 2022. "How Regional Integration Affects Urban Green Development Efficiency: Evidence from Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-16, June.
    3. Yi Liang & Jung-Mo Koo & Min-Jae Lee, 2024. "The Interplay of Environmental Dynamism, Digitalization Capability, Green Entrepreneurial Orientation, and Sustainable Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-17, September.
    4. Alina Emilia Maria Gherdan & Ramona Vasilica Bacter & Ramona Ciolac & Tiberiu Iancu & Cristina Maria Maerescu & Monica Angelica Dodu & Aurelia Ioana Chereji & Vasile Grigore Herman & Alexandra Ungurea, 2025. "Sustainable Agritourism Development in Romania’s North-West Mountain Region: A TOPSIS-Based Evaluation of Strategic Priorities," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-28, March.
    5. Doan, Nguyen & Nguyen, Canh Phuc, 2025. "Can e-government facilitate the deployment of renewable energy?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 318(C).
    6. Zhonggang Yue & Kai Wang & Maokun Ye, 2024. "The impact of fintech on corporate innovation: mediating role of entrepreneurship," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 231-252, March.
    7. Li, Na & Wu, Di, 2023. "Nexus between natural resource and economic development: How green innovation and financial inclusion create sustainable growth in BRICS region?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    8. Han, Ze & Deng, Xiangzheng & Li, Zhihui & Huang, Xiankai, 2024. "Mechanism and simulation of intensive use of urban inefficient land based on evolutionary game theory," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    9. Wentao Gu & Wanting Mo & Meiyu Wang, 2024. "Enterprise-level sustainable entrepreneurship index construction and its applications," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 867-900, June.
    10. Schmidt, Claudia & Tian, Zheng & Goetz, Stephan J. & Chase, Lisa, 2022. "Drivers of Agritourism and Direct Sales Clusters in the United States," 2024 Annual Meeting, July 28-30, New Orleans, LA 322207, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    11. Rahab Wanjiku Kinuthia & Peter Omboto & Hilary Ndambiri, 2025. "Fiscal Sustainability in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Effects of Climate Change, Institutional Quality, Foreign Exchange Rate and Foreign Direct Investment," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(6), pages 1825-1842, June.
    12. Hu, Jun & Zhang, Siyu & Wang, Liang & Yao, Daifei, 2024. "Carbon emission trading scheme, investors’ attention, and earnings response coefficients," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    13. Khan, Naveed R. & Ameer, Farah & Bouncken, Ricarda B. & Covin, Jeffrey G., 2023. "Corporate sustainability entrepreneurship: The role of green entrepreneurial orientation and organizational resilience capacity for green innovation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    14. Tomasz Skrzyński & Aleksander Wasiuta, 2025. "Assessing Municipal Performance in Serbia: A TOPSIS-Based Analysis of Economic Vitality and Public Safety Dynamics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-23, June.
    15. Valéau, Patrick & Gabay-Mariani, Laetitia & Paillé, Pascal, 2024. "How initial and long-term commitment profiles shape entrepreneurial persistence over time," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    16. Joana Carolina, Chaves-Vargas & Gabriela, Ribes-Giner & Ismael, Moya-Clemente, 2024. "Effect of the economic, social and technological factors on sustainable entrepreneurship over time," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    17. Weixin Yang & Yue Hu & Qinyi Ding & Hao Gao & Lingguang Li, 2023. "Comprehensive Evaluation and Comparative Analysis of the Green Development Level of Provinces in Eastern and Western China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-23, February.
    18. Zheng Li & Yaofu Huang & Muzhe Pan & Yaxin Pei & Xun Li, 2025. "Revealing the Priorities for Rural Infrastructure Maintenance Through Complex Network Analysis: Evidence from 98 Counties in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-20, August.
    19. Zhenyu Qi & Zixing Wu & Yuezhou You & Xiaoying Zhan, 2024. "Can Rural Industrial Convergence Alleviate Urban–Rural Income Inequality?: Empirical Evidence from China," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-30, December.
    20. Gu, Wentao, 2023. "Impact of Managers’ overconfidence upon listed Firms’ entrepreneurial behavior in an emerging market," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 155(PB).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:17:y:2025:i:10:p:4549-:d:1657119. 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.