To what extent do patents and digital finance shape the green pathway for domestic and international tourism?

This study makes a novel contribution by distinguishing the effects of international and domestic tourism on carbon emissions, using data from 132 prefecture-level Chinese cities from 2011 to 2019. Applying the tourism-extended Environmental Kuznets Curve framework and a panel threshold regression model, we find that domestic tourism influences emissions in high GDP growth cities, while international tourism affects emissions in low GDP growth cities. Specifically, international tourism shows a U-shaped relationship with emissions in high-growth cities and an inverted U-shape in low-growth cities. Additionally, we examine the moderating roles of green patents and digital finance: green patents reduce the impact of domestic tourism on emissions in lower GDP cities, while digital finance mitigates the adverse effects of international tourism in high-growth cities. These findings underscore the complex, context-dependent interactions between tourism and emissions, highlighting the importance of region-specific policies to address these dynamics.