Despite the recognition of the relationship between technological innovation and tourism development, there is a dearth of rigorous empirical specifications to examine the effect of technological innovation on the latter. With 27 cities of the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration (YRDUA) in China as an empirical case, this study explores whether technological innovation can promote tourism development by using a series of panel regression models. The empirical results indicate that technological innovation has a positive effect on the development of tourism in the YRDUA. With respect to different regions, types of cities, and stages, there are differences in the positive impact of technological innovation on tourism development. Additionally, the impact of different types of technological innovations on tourism development is also diverse.
AdeolaOEvansO (2019a) Digital tourism: mobile phones, internet and tourism in Africa. Tourism Recreation Research44: 190–202.
2.
AdeolaOEvansO (2019b) ICT, infrastructure, and tourism development in Africa. Tourism Economics26: 97–114.
3.
AebliA (2019) Tourists’ motives for gamified technology use. Annals of Tourism Research78: 102753.
4.
AlamMSParamatiSR (2017) The dynamic role of tourism investment on tourism development and CO_2 emissions. Annals of Tourism Research66: 213–215.
5.
AlemayehuFKKumbhakarSC (2021) Excess capacity, production technology and technical inefficiency in hospitality sector. Tourism Management82: 104202.
6.
AlrawadiehZAlrawadiehZCetinG (2020) Digital transformation and revenue management: Evidence from the hotel industry. Tourism Economics27: 328–345.
7.
AnastasiadouCVetteseS (2019) “From souvenirs to 3D printed souvenirs”. Exploring the capabilities of additive manufacturing technologies in (re)-framing tourist souvenirs. Tourism Management71: 428–442.
8.
BilottaEBertacchiniFGabrieleL, et al. (2020) Industry 4.0 technologies in tourism education: Nurturing students to think with technology. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism Education: 100275.
9.
BuhalisDLawR (2008) Progress in information technology and tourism management: 20 years on and 10 years after the Internet—The state of eTourism research. Tourism Management29: 609–623.
10.
CampaJLLópez-LambasMEGuiraoB (2016) High speed rail effects on tourism: Spanish empirical evidence derived from China’s modelling experience. Journal of Transport Geography57: 44–54.
11.
ChaoqunC (2011) Researches on application of the renewable energy technologies in the development of low-carbon rural tourism. Energy Procedia5: 1722–1726.
12.
ChenXXuDHuangR, et al. (2020) Spatial spillover effects of county-scale tourism economic growth in Zhejiang Province. Progress in Geography39: 1512–1521 (in Chinese).
13.
CoghlanA (2020) Mobilising knowledge: an action design research case study of using technology to safeguard an endangered nature-based tourism attraction. Journal of Sustainable Tourism: 1–20.
14.
DengTGanCDuH, et al. (2020) Do high speed rail configurations matter to tourist arrivals? Empirical evidence from China’s prefecture-level cities. Research in Transportation Economics90: 100952.
15.
DengTHuYMaM (2019) Regional policy and tourism: a quasi-natural experiment. Annals of Tourism Research74: 1–16.
16.
DickinsonJEGhaliKCherrettT, et al. (2012) Tourism and the smartphone app: capabilities, emerging practice and scope in the travel domain. Current Issues in Tourism17: 84–101.
17.
ErnawatiNMTorpanAVodaM (2018) Geomedia role for mountain routes development. Mesehe and Pisoiu waterfall comparative study. Geographia Technica13.
18.
FennellDA (2020) Technology and the sustainable tourist in the new age of disruption. Journal of Sustainable Tourism29: 767–773.
19.
FukuiMOheY (2019) Assessing the role of social media in tourism recovery in tsunami-hit coastal areas in Tohoku, Japan. Tourism Economics26: 776–791.
20.
GajdošíkT (2019) Smart tourists as a profiling market segment: implications for DMOs. Tourism Economics26: 1042–1062.
21.
GongYZhangYTangC (2016) A research on the measurement and influential factors of tourism industrial efficiency in the Yangtze River Economic Zone. East China Economic Management30: 66–74(in Chinese).
22.
GösslingS (2020) Technology, ICT and tourism: from big data to the big picture. Journal of Sustainable Tourism29: 849–858.
23.
GösslingS (2021) Tourism, technology and ICT: a critical review of affordances and concessions. Journal of Sustainable Tourism29: 733–750.
24.
GretzelUSigalaMXiangZ, et al. (2015) Smart tourism: foundations and developments. Electronic Markets25: 179–188.
25.
HanSHLeeJEdvardssonB, et al. (2021) Mobile technology adoption among hotels: managerial issues and opportunities. Tourism Management Perspectives38: 100811.
26.
HouYZhangKZhuY, et al. (2021) Spatial and temporal differentiation and influencing factors of environmental governance performance in the Yangtze River Delta, China. The Science of the Total Environment801: 149699.
27.
HuangCDGooJNamK, et al. (2017) Smart tourism technologies in travel planning: the role of exploration and exploitation. Information & Management54: 757–770.
28.
JeongMShinHH (2019) Tourists’ experiences with smart tourism technology at smart destinations and their behavior intentions. Journal of Travel Research59: 1464–1477.
29.
KaushikAKAgrawalAKRahmanZ (2015) Tourist behaviour towards self-service hotel technology adoption: trust and subjective norm as key antecedents. Tourism Management Perspectives16: 278–289.
30.
KimHJChenMHJangSS (2006) Tourism expansion and economic development: the case of Taiwan. Tourism Management27: 925–933.
31.
KimMJHallCM (2020) What drives visitor economy crowdfunding? The effect of digital storytelling on unified theory of acceptance and use of technology. Tourism Management Perspectives34: 100638.
32.
LawRLeungDChanICC (2020) Progression and development of information and communication technology research in hospitality and tourism. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management32: 511–534.
33.
LawRQiSBuhalisD (2010) Progress in tourism management: a review of website evaluation in tourism research. Tourism Management31: 297–313.
34.
LeiSIWangDLawR (2019) Perceived technology affordance and value of hotel mobile apps: a comparison of hoteliers and customers. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management39: 201–211.
35.
LeoniLCristofaroM (2021) To adopt or not to adopt? A co-evolutionary framework and paradox of technology adoption by small museums. Current Issues in Tourism: 1–22.
36.
LiJKimWGChoiHM (2019a) Effectiveness of social media marketing on enhancing performance: evidence from a casual-dining restaurant setting. Tourism Economics27: 3–22.
37.
LiMYinDQiuH, et al. (2021) A systematic review of AI technology-based service encounters: implications for hospitality and tourism operations. International Journal of Hospitality Management95: 102930.
38.
LiSLiuASongH (2019b) Does tourism support supply-side structural reform in China?Tourism Management71: 305–314.
39.
LinSZhaoL (2020) Study on the threshold effect of urbanization on the competitiveness of tourism industry. Tourism Tribune35: 27–41(in Chinese).
40.
MaC (2020) Upgrade of service industry structure based on FPGA and machine learning. Microprocessors and Microsystems: 103494.
41.
MacKayKVogtC (2012) Information technology in everyday and vacation contexts. Annals of Tourism Research39: 1380–1401.
42.
MarquesLBorbaC (2017) Co-creating the city: digital technology and creative tourism. Tourism Management Perspectives24: 86–93.
43.
NagleDSVidonES (2020) Purchasing protection: outdoor companies and the authentication of technology use in nature-based tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism29: 1–17.
44.
NanniAUlqinakuA (2020) Mortality threats and technology effects on tourism. Annals Tourism Research86: 102942.
45.
NguyenB (2021) Does local environmental governance improve tourism companies’ performance? Evidence from Vietnam. Journal of Travel Research61: 1–15.
46.
PanWWangJLuZ, et al. (2021) High-quality development in China: measurement system, spatial pattern, and improvement paths. Habitat International118, 102458.
47.
PonsignonFDerbaixM (2020) The impact of interactive technologies on the social experience: an empirical study in a cultural tourism context. Tourism Management Perspectives35: 100723.
48.
QiWLiuSjinH (2016) Applicability of the new standard of city-size classification in China. Progress in Geography35: 47–56.
49.
QiuHLiQLiC (2020) How technology facilitates tourism education in COVID-19: case study of nankai University. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism Education: 100288.
50.
RuanWLiYZhangS, et al. (2019) Evaluation and drive mechanism of tourism ecological security based on the DPSIR-DEA model. Tourism Management75: 609–625.
51.
ShiZChengQXuD (2021) Spatial econometric analysis of cultural tourism development quality in the Yangtze River Delta. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research26: 597–613.
52.
ShiZWuYChiuY-h, et al. (2022) Research on the influence of technological innovation and technological application: evidence from China. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management63: 101670.
53.
SigalaM (2018) New technologies in tourism: from multi-disciplinary to anti-disciplinary advances and trajectories. Tourism Management Perspectives25: 151–155.
54.
SmithWWLiXPanB, et al. (2015) Tracking destination image across the trip experience with smartphone technology. Tourism Management48: 113–122.
55.
SongHMaY (2010) Regional spatial distribution of tourism technology innovation level in China: an statistical analysis based on patent data. Tourism Science24: 71–76(in Chinese).
StipanukDM (1993) Tourism and technology: interactions and implications. Tourism Management14: 267–278.
58.
SunSLeePCLawR, et al. (2020) The impact of cultural values on the acceptance of hotel technology adoption from the perspective of hotel employees. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management44: 61–69.
59.
TianJLiuSDingY (2015) Influencing factors and mechanism of urban tourism industry structure: a case of Shanghai City. Urban Problems: 60–68(in Chinese).
60.
TuJZhangD (2020) Does tourism promote economic growth in Chinese ethnic minority areas? A nonlinear perspective. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management18: 100473.
61.
VodaMGravesSBerariuCE (2019) Geomedia`S role in the geosystem development: Dracula`S spatial imaginaries in Romania. Geographia Technica14: 143–161.
62.
WangYAsaadYFilieriR (2019) What makes hosts trust Airbnb? antecedents of hosts’ trust toward Airbnb and its impact on continuance intention. Journal of Travel Research59: 686–703.
63.
WuWZhangTXieX, et al. (2021) Regional low carbon development pathways for the Yangtze River Delta region in China. Energy Policy151: 112172.
64.
XiangZ (2018) From digitization to the age of acceleration: on information technology and tourism. Tourism Management Perspectives25: 147–150.
65.
YooCWGooJHuangCD, et al. (2017) Improving travel decision support satisfaction with smart tourism technologies: a framework of tourist elaboration likelihood and self-efficacy. Technological Forecasting and Social Change123: 330–341.
66.
ZhangJDongL (2021) Image monitoring and management of hot tourism destination based on data mining technology in big data environment. Microprocessors and Microsystems80: 103515.
67.
ZhangMZhangGLiuH (2021) Analysis of the impact of tourism development on the urban-rural income gap: evidence from 248 prefecture-level cities in China. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research26: 614–625.
68.
ZhaoJShahbazMDongX, et al. (2021) How does financial risk affect global CO2 emissions? The role of technological innovation. Technological Forecasting and Social Change168: 120751.
69.
ZhaoLZhangC (2017) Does tourism industry affect economic growth during the process of urbanization? Empirical evidence from China. Tourism Tribune32: 57–66(in Chinese).
