The Impact of Internet Penetration on Chinese Inbound Tourism Economy: An "Internet + Tourism" Perspective

Abstract

Inbound tourism serves as a core carrier for cross-cultural communication and plays a pivotal role in promoting international cultural exchange. However, the development of Chinese inbound tourism market still possesses substantial potential for growth. Based on the panel data of 31 provinces in China from 2000 to 2019, this paper empirically analyzes the impact of internet penetration on the inbound tourism economy, and further examines regional heterogeneity across the eastern, central and western China. The empirical results demonstrate that internet penetration exerts a significant positive effect on the development of the inbound tourism economy. Furthermore, this promotion effect exhibits distinct regional disparities, characterized by a step-wise pattern where the impact in the central region is slightly higher than in the eastern region, and significantly higher than in the western region.