Tourism efficiency is an effective index of measuring the development quality of the tourism industry. In this study, the tourism efficiency of 30 provinces in China during the period from 2006 to 2018 was measured with the SBM model and Malmquist index. On the basis of ESDA and GWR models, we explored the spatial pattern of China’s tourism efficiency and the spatial heterogeneity of the influencing factors in depth. The results revealed that China’s tourism efficiency has been constantly enhanced with an increasingly balanced pattern. Meanwhile, the utilization degrees of various input factors have constantly been improving. Both technological efficiency and technological progress jointly promote rapid growth of total-factor productivity. Accompanied with constant enhancement of the spatial agglomeration effect, the local spatial pattern also showed obvious differentiation. In general, low-efficiency regions were mainly concentrated in northern China, while high-efficiency regions were concentrated in southern China. The distinct spatial–temporal differentiation characteristics of tourist economic efficiency can be attributed to different influencing strengths of various factors in various regions and different action tendencies. The level of economic development, traffic conditions, the professional level of tourism, and openness degree can significantly promote tourism efficiency. Tourism resource endowment and environmental cost impose slight effects and differ in action direction, thereby inhibiting the tourism efficiency of many regions.

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/11/5825/pdf

Spatial–Temporal Heterogeneity and the Related Influencing Factors of Tourism Efficiency in China

Based on the panel data of 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta from 2008 to 2017, this paper constructs an evaluation indicators system for urban tourism eco-efficiency. By measuring the tourism eco-efficiency in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, we analyze its spatial-temporal evolution characteristics. Furthermore, the modified gravity model and social network analysis are introduced to explore the spatial network structure of tourism eco-efficiency and its evolution trend.The results show that:(1) The overall eco-efficiency of tourism in the Yangtze River Delta region presents a fluctuating downward trend, among which Jiangsu and Zhejiang have high eco-efficiency, Shanghai and Anhui are relatively low. The gap within the region first increased and then decreased. (2) During this decade, the spatial network structure of tourism eco-efficiency in the Yangtze River Delta has become increasingly loose. The weakening of the network connection strength has led to a decrease in the regional tourism eco-efficiency to a great extent. (3) The network centrality of cities such as Zhoushan, Huzhou, and Huangshan has always maintained a high level, and these cities have firmly occupied the core position of network. (4) The spatial association network of tourism eco-efficiency can be divided into four blocks: “two-way spillover”, “net spillover”, “net benefit” and “agent”. The synergy and spillover effect between various blocks are significant, and there is a spatial polarization trend centered on a few cities. Based on this, this paper puts forward optimization suggestions for the spatial network structure of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, in anticipation of promoting the improvement of regional tourism eco-efficiency.

Analysis on the Spatial-Temporal Evolution Characteristics and Spatial Network Structure of Tourism Eco-Efficiency in the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration.

From the Kyoto Protocol to the Copenhagen Conference and the Paris Agreement, eco-environmental problems have gradually become a matter of common concern worldwide. Eco-efficiency (EE) is an essential indicator for measuring levels of sustainable development. This study uses an epsilon-based measure (EBM) model with undesirable outputs to evaluate the EEs of 30 Chinese provinces during the research period 2008 to 2017, and a spatial Durbin model (SDM) to search for the impact factors of EE. The results indicate that most provinces in China have a low EE level. The EE value of the eastern area is higher than are those for the central, western, or northeastern areas. The EE in China as a whole demonstrates an inverted V-shaped trend with a high point in 2011. The SDM shows that economic development level, foreign trade dependence, and technological progress exert significant positive effects on EE, while population density exerts significant negative influences on EE. This paper provides scientific bases for the formulation of policies resulting in sustainable development.

China’s Eco-Efficiency: Regional Differences and Influencing Factors Based on a Spatial Panel Data Approach

The mining industry is one of the pillar industries of Guangxi’s economic and social development. The output value of mining and related industries accounts for 27% of the whole district’s total industrial output value. Therefore, the mining eco-efficiency measurement in Guangxi can be of great significance for the sustainable development of Guangxi’s mining industry. This study adopted Meta-US-SBM to measure the mining eco-efficiency in Guangxi from 2008 to 2018, including economic efficiency, resource efficiency, and environmental efficiency. It used the standard deviation ellipse model to simulate the migration trend of four efficiencies in Guangxi and used GeoDetector and Tobit models to explore the internal and external factors that affect the mining eco-efficiency. The four efficiencies in Guangxi show large temporal and spatial heterogeneity, and the internal and external factors that affect the mining eco-efficiency are different. The following conclusions can be drawn. (1) Environmental efficiency and mining eco-efficiency are improving, while economic efficiency and resource efficiency are deteriorating. Cities bordering other provinces have a significantly better mining eco-efficiency than non-bordering cities. (2) The development center in Guangxi has migrated to the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone. (3) Natural resources index and mining economic scale have a great impact on the mining eco-efficiency, and with the increase of the mining economic scale, the mining eco-efficiency showed a typical “U-shaped” curve. Finally, this study put forward corresponding policy recommendations to improve the mining eco-efficiency in Guangxi from four aspects: opening-up, technological progress, regional coordination, and government control.

Mining Eco-Efficiency Measurement and Driving Factors Identification Based on Meta-US-SBM in Guangxi Province, China.

The development of innovation at a regional level in a transition economy is characterised by complex multidirectional processes of generating and commercialising innovation, indicating the need for systematic research and rethinking of the existing methods of managing such territorial entities to stimulate innovation. For the successful introduction and implementation of innovative solutions, the deployment of appropriate amounts of intellectual, material and financial resources as well as their concentration in space and time is important. This article aims to develop a model for assessing the effectiveness of regional innovation systems (RISs) during the shift from the transition economy to the market economy. The authors developed a two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) model connected with patent activities and the output of innovative goods and services. The model’s application made it possible to build maps describing the rating of regions concerning the performance indicator and to identify the availability of unutilised resources. For example, we identified efficient and inefficient regions in terms of producing innovative products, which is especially important for developing additional measures for developing the institutional environment of regions with considerable resources but very low utilisation efficiency. The data obtained will allow for more effective management of the structural elements of RISs as well as the detection of changes in the dynamics of key development indicators by identifying the size of efficiency reserves and the causes of their occurrence at the individual subject level.

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Regional Open Innovation Systems in a Transition Economy: A Two-Stage DEA Model to Estimate Effectiveness

Tourism eco-efficiency is an important indicator that has often been applied to measure the quality of green tourism development. This paper takes the 31 provinces of China as examples to analyze regional tourism eco-efficiency. By constructing multiple input and output indicator systems for regional tourism, we estimated the eco-efficiency of 31 provinces in 1997–2016 using an undesirable output model of a slack-based model (undesirable-SBM) for data envelopment analysis (DEA). Then, we analyzed the spatial–temporal evolutionary trends and patterns of the eco-efficiency over 20 years by using the Hot Spot Model and Spatial Center of Gravity Model. Finally, we explored the driving forces internal and external to the tourism eco-economic system using the Panel Tobit Regression Model and Geodetector Model, respectively. The results show that: In the last 20 years, the tourism eco-efficiency of provinces in China declined, though tourism has experienced rapid but extensive development. The western regions of China, which have better eco-environmental conditions, and the southeastern coastal regions, which have higher levels of economic development, have higher tourism eco-efficiency. Regions with lower tourism eco-efficiency show diffusion trends, while regions with higher tourism eco-efficiency are characterized by a lack of obvious space spillover effects. Technology is the core driving force of regional tourism eco-efficiency, while traffic conditions and social civilization levels are key external influence factors leading to improvement of tourism eco-efficiency. The research results reveal the great significance of laws for sustainable green tourism development with different economic levels in the different regions. Our work could provide a reference for similar countries and regions in the world with the rapid growth of tourism or obvious spatial differentiation in socioeconomic development.

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/1/280/pdf

Rui Wang

Papers

Research on the Spatial Differentiation and Driving Forces of Eco-Efficiency of Regional Tourism in China