Tourism eco-efficiency and its influencing factors under the constraint of energy conservation and emissions reduction in China

In order to promote the harmonious combination of tourism development and the improvement of ecological civilization, this research utilizes a slacks-based measure (SBM) model to evaluate the tourism eco-efficiency (TEE) of China's provinces during the time period from 2006 to 2019. The goal is to examine the evolving growth of ecological tourism and perform a spatial autocorrelation analysis. A social network analysis (SNA) model is utilized to assess both the overall and local characteristics of the TEE network. From a dual perspective, the influencing factors of provincial TEE in China are analyzed using a Tobit model, aiming to identify the equilibrium point between the economic development of tourism and environmental protection. According to the research findings, there was a high overall level of TEE in China from 2006 to 2019, and the development trend was positive. It was found that the distribution of the spatial autocorrelation network of TEE is out of equilibrium. In addition, provinces vary from each other, demonstrating a positive spatial connection, and the influence of clustering is notable. Environmental governance and the number of patents positively affect TEE, total energy consumption and environmental construction have no significant impact on TEE, and the tourism industry structure and financial expenditure have a negative impact on TEE.