The Spatial Difference of "Internet plus Tourism" in Promoting Economic Growth

The "Internet plus Tourism " mode, which is the coordination of the internet and tourism, has become a new driving force for regional economic growth. In order to investigate the mechanism and superiority of "Internet plus Tourism " in terms of economic growth compared with the independent effects of the internet and tourism on economic growth, this paper uses the DEA model to calculate the tourism efficiency of 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2019 and three spatial econometric models to comparatively analyze the independent effects of the internet and tourism with the synergized effect of "Internet plus Tourism " on economic growth. The results show that (1) the overall pattern of the internet is that coastal areas are ranked higher; (2) tourism efficiency presents a polarized hierarchical structure; (3) The effect of "Internet plus Tourism " on economic growth is significantly positive and is significantly greater than the independent effects of the internet and tourism on economic growth; (4) the internet, tourism, and "Internet plus Tourism " have different effects on economic growth in different regions. Therefore, the paper suggests that China should accelerate the integration of "Internet plus Tourism " and realize sustainable economic development.