How does infrastructure investment boost tourism development? Evidence from China

Despite infrastructure investment being an essential means to boost tourism development, empirical specifications are needed to examine the different effect of infrastructures on tourism. Based on the infrastructure-led development theory, this study utilizes panel data from China’s 30 provincial-level administrative units and categorizes infrastructure investment into three types: traditional, technology, and livelihood. The findings reveal that all three types of infrastructure investment contribute to tourism development. Notably, the livelihood infrastructure investment emerges as the most impactful factor, while the technology infrastructure investment demonstrates relatively minor impacts. The impact of infrastructure investments on tourism development is mediated by market integration, with positive moderating effects of tourism resource endowment. Heterogeneity analyses show that the positive impact of infrastructure investment on tourism development also varies across different regions. This study enriches the infrastructure-led growth theory and provides valuable empirical evidence to guide the effective utilization of infrastructure investment for tourism development.