TOURISM SCIENCE ›› 2025, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (8): 19-37.

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Can Ecotourism Integration Promote Provincial Economic Development’s “Curve Overtaking”? An Empirical Test from Zhejiang-Anhui-Fujian-Jiangxi National Ecotourism Collaboration Zone

ZHANG Yuli1, CHEN Zhaoxing1, XU Tong2,*, WANG Liqin3   

  1. 1. Business School,Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, Tianjin 300222, China;
    2. College of History and Tourism Culture, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China;
    3. College of Tourism and Service Management, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
  • Received:2023-06-28 Revised:2025-08-10 Online:2025-08-30 Published:2025-11-04

Abstract: Ecotourism plays a crucial role in connecting “green mountains” and “golden mountains”, and ecotourism integration is in line with the concept of ecological civilization and the requirements of regional integration strategy, which is of great significance to regional economic development. This article considers the construction of “Zhejiang-Anhui-Fujian-Jiangxi National Ecotourism Collaboration Zone” (NECZ) as a quasi-natural experiment of ecotourism integration. Based on provincial panel data from 2009 to 2020 in China, the paper uses the synthetic control method and other methods to explore whether and how the integration of ecotourism can help promote “overtaking on a curve” in provincial economic development. This study shows that: the construction of NECZ can effectively improve the regional economic development level, indicating that ecotourism integration can effectively promote provincial economic growth and help achieve “overtaking on a curve” in regional economic development; ecotourism integration has promoted economic growth in the provinces of NECZ and effectively assisted in achieving “overtaking on a curve” in the economic development of Fujian, Anhui, and Jiangxi; ecotourism integration can promote regional economic development through the path of industrial agglomeration, industrial structure upgrading, technological innovation spillover and environmental improvement. This article clarifies the inner influence mechanism of ecotourism integration on regional economic development, enriches the theory of tourism integration, and provides theoretical support for the policy formulation of ecotourism integration and tourism integration.

Key words: national ecotourism collaboration zone, ecotourism integration, economic development, overtaking on a curve

CLC Number: 

  • F592

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