The Influence and Mechanism of Digital Economy on the Development of the Tourism Service Trade—Analysis of the Mediating Effect of Carbon Emissions under the Background of COP26

Abstract

This study explores the impact and mechanism of the digital economy on the tourism service trade. We adopted two-way fixed effects and mediating effects models, and conducted empirical studies based on panel data of 30 provinces (municipalities and autonomous regions) in China. The results show that the digital economy can significantly improve the development of the tourism service trade, and has a certain role in carbon emission reduction. This conclusion remains valid after a series of robustness tests and proves that carbon emission per capita plays an intermediary role in this process. The regional heterogeneity analysis shows that the digital economy plays a more significant role in promoting inland regions and regions with a higher tourism resource endowment. These findings are significant for the relevant industries, ecological activists, other stakeholders and the realization of the «Glasgow Climate Pact». The results provide guidelines for the recovery of the tourism service industry in the post-epidemic era, achieving the “double carbon” goal, realizing low-carbon tourism and the control of carbon emissions by countries related to the COP meeting. The guidelines can help to strengthen the development of digital infrastructure and promote digital technology in the tourism service industry, differentiate promotion measures based on geographical location and tourism resource endowment, fully consider the intermediary role of carbon emissions, and develop corresponding low-carbon technologies and innovative green technologies.