Impacts of official high-standard scenic spots on environment and growth — Evidence from China's 5A scenic spots at the city level

Abstract

5A scenic spots represent world-class tourist attractions, the highest level of officially certified scenic spots in China. This study uses the establishment of 5A scenic spots as a quasi-natural experiment to evaluate their impact on the local environment and economic growth using the difference-in-difference method. The results indicate that the establishment of 5A scenic spots is associated with an 11.2% drop in the local total volume of SO2 and a 10.5% drop in unit volume (total volume divided by area). This effect was larger in more economically developed cities. Emission reduction was achieved by the deindustrialization of industrial structures rather than the improvement of pollution control technology. It was mainly realized by a substantial drop in the number of newly added key polluting enterprises approved by local governments. Furthermore, deindustrialization associated with 5A spots benefited the tertiary industry, but hindered the secondary industry. The net effect of 5A spots on local GDP was positive on average. These findings indicate that the establishment of 5A scenic spots can reconcile the goals of environmental protection and economic growth.