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Evaluating provincial tourism competitiveness in China: an empirical application based on the EM-MGM-SNA model

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Abstract

The spatial correlation structure of provincial tourism economy development is an important factor to promote the overall tourism economy. This paper aims to construct the methodology of provincial tourism competitiveness evaluation system from the new perspective of networking. Firstly, by utilizing the panel data of 30 provinces from 2006 to 2019, the entropy method was developed to calculate the provincial tourism competitiveness. Then, the gravity model was introduced to the Social Network Analysis, and spatial correlation network and its characteristics of tourism competitiveness evaluation were elaborated. This paper reveals the spatial–temporal network evolution process of regional tourism competitiveness in China. Additionally, it provides a scientific basis for obtaining a deeper understanding of China’s provincial tourism competitiveness and a theoretical basis for the government to formulate the future direction and differentiation policy of provincial tourism competitiveness.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to extend sincere gratitude to the referees for their numerous detailed questions and constructive criticism, which greatly improved the paper. This work is support by Philosophy and Social Sciences Project of Hunan Province (Xiangshekeban 2018-15) and Ordinary University Project of Hunan Province (Xiangjiaotong 2018-380).

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Author notes

  1. Ye Tan and Shuning Liu have been contributed equally to this work and should be considered co-first authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, People’s Republic of China

    Ye Tan, Pingan Xiang & Liang Yu

  2. School of Business, Hunan First Normal College, Changsha, 410002, Hunan, People’s Republic of China

    Ye Tan

  3. Rural Ecosystem Health Laboratory of Hunan Dongting Lake Area, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, People’s Republic of China

    Pingan Xiang

  4. School of Public Economics and Administration, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai, 200433, People’s Republic of China

    Shuning Liu

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  1. Ye Tan
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Y.T.: Writing; P.X.: Review; S.L.: Writing, Software, Methodology; L.Y.: Review.

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Correspondence to Pingan Xiang or Shuning Liu.

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Tan, Y., Xiang, P., Liu, S. et al. Evaluating provincial tourism competitiveness in China: an empirical application based on the EM-MGM-SNA model. Environ Dev Sustain 25, 506–527 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-02064-x

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