IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v18y2026i8p4023-d1922834.html

Industrial Linkages Between the Digital Economy and Tourism and Their Carbon Footprint Effects: Evidence from Multi-Year Input–Output Analysis in China

Author

Listed:
  • Wei Li

    (College of Economics and Management, Mingxiang Campus, Taiyuan University of Technology, Jinzhong 030600, China)

  • Jiayi Sun

    (College of Economics and Management, Mingxiang Campus, Taiyuan University of Technology, Jinzhong 030600, China)

  • Guomin Li

    (College of Economics and Management, Mingxiang Campus, Taiyuan University of Technology, Jinzhong 030600, China)

  • Weigao Meng

    (College of Economics and Management, Mingxiang Campus, Taiyuan University of Technology, Jinzhong 030600, China)

Abstract

The rapid growth of the digital economy has transformed the tourism industry, yet the industrial linkages and environmental impacts of this integration remain underexplored. This study employs an input–output framework to examine the interactions between the digital economy and tourism and their carbon footprint effects in China. Multi-year digital economy–tourism input–output tables for 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2023 are constructed using sectoral disaggregation and the RAS updating method. Results indicate increasing integration, with tourism more dependent on the digital economy sectors and both industries exerting the strongest influence on the secondary sector. The digital economy shows a gradual shift from hardware manufacturing to information services. Structural decomposition analysis and structural path analysis reveal that technological progress significantly reduces emissions, whereas population growth drives increases. These findings offer empirical evidence for guiding digital–tourism integration and supporting low-carbon strategies in the tourism sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Wei Li & Jiayi Sun & Guomin Li & Weigao Meng, 2026. "Industrial Linkages Between the Digital Economy and Tourism and Their Carbon Footprint Effects: Evidence from Multi-Year Input–Output Analysis in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-32, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:18:y:2026:i:8:p:4023-:d:1922834
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/18/8/4023/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/18/8/4023/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    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:18:y:2026:i:8:p:4023-:d:1922834. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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.