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Threshold effect of tourism density on urban livability: a modeling study on Chinese cities

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Abstract

This study applied a threshold panel data model to test the nonlinear impacts of tourism development and the potential moderating effect of tourism density on urban livability, using observations of 35 large and medium-size cities in China from 2002 to 2016. Findings revealed that the total effect of tourism development on urban livability first increased and then decreased with the growth of tourism density. Thus, tourism development was found to have a critical impact on urban livability, both positively and negatively, with a non-monotonic moderating effect of tourism density. Results lead to practical managerial implications regarding tourism sustainability and urban livability.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by: National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41801138), National Social Science Foundation of China (No. 19BJY202), and Humanities and Social Sciences of Ministry of Education Planning Fund of China (NO. 19YJAZH046). We also acknowledge a grant of the Romanian Ministry of Research and Education, CNCS-UEFISCDI, project nr PN-III-P4-ID-PCCF-2016-0166 within the PNCDI III project ReGrowEU—Advancing Ground-Breaking Research in Regional Growth and Development Theories through a Resilience Approach towards a Convergent, Balanced and Sustainable European Union.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Economics and Management, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Jingjing Liu

  2. Department of Management and Marketing, College of Business, North Dakota State University, Fargo, USA

    Jamie M. Chen

  3. Center for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Iasi, Romania

    Peter Nijkamp

  4. Department of Geography, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland

    Peter Nijkamp

  5. Open University, Heerlen, The Netherlands

    Peter Nijkamp

  6. Department of Recreation, Texas A&M University, Park & Tourism Sciences, College Station, USA

    James F. Petrick

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  1. Jingjing Liu
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  2. Jamie M. Chen
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  4. James F. Petrick
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Correspondence to Jingjing Liu.

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Liu, J., Chen, J.M., Nijkamp, P. et al. Threshold effect of tourism density on urban livability: a modeling study on Chinese cities. Ann Reg Sci 70, 315–331 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00168-022-01118-w

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