Digital economy and tourism growth: the role of online attention allocation and transportation infrastructure

Purpose This study aims to apply the concept of attention allocation and integrates the theory of planned behavior to shed light on the role of tourism online attention and transportation infrastructure in the causal relationship between the digital economy and tourism growth. Design/methodology/approach This study hand-curated the tourism online attention and transportation infrastructure data of 341 prefecture-level cities in China from 2011 to 2019. A series of econometric models were then used to systematically analyze the mediating role of attention allocation between the digital economy and tourism growth, as well as the moderating role of transportation infrastructure. Findings The digital economy enhances tourist arrivals and destination revenue and holds true even after exogenous shocks, instrumental variables and a set of robustness tests. The digital economy boosts tourism prosperity by attracting online attention from tourists, and transportation infrastructure amplifies the positive impact of the digital economy on tourism growth. The effectiveness of digital economy-empowered tourism varies depending on factors such as tourism dependency, regional characteristics, tourism resource types and urban agglomerations. Originality/value This work provides new digital tourism insights from an intra-tourism perspective, revealing the inner mechanisms through which the digital economy influences tourism growth.