Evaluation of the Integration Policy in China: Does the Integration of Culture and Tourism Promote Tourism Development?

In recent years, the Chinese government has been introducing policies to promote the integration of culture and tourism. This study uses panel data from 31 provinces in China and examines whether these integration policies have promoted China's tourism development. Methodologically, it treats the introduction of integration policies as a quasi-natural experiment and draws on a time-varying difference-in-differences model. The results show that integration policies can significantly increase tourism performance. Moreover, there is a threshold effect: when economy or urbanization is developed, the positive effect of integration policies on domestic tourism is inhibited. In addition, when relaxing the assumptions regarding the policy durability, the findings show that the effects of integration policies are lagged. • We provide a new perspective on the study of China's macro tourism policy. • We give a clearer understanding of the integration policy through empirical evidence. • We examine the factors influencing the implementation of integration policies. • Our results can help the government with future directions for tourism reform.