Using panel data from representative listed tourism enterprises in China, this study empirically investigates, from a micro-level perspective, how digital transformation influences the international development of tourism enterprises and explores the underlying mechanisms. The results indicate that: first, digital transformation significantly promotes the internationalization of Chinese listed tourism enterprises, and this conclusion remains robust after a series of robustness tests. Second, the impact of digital transformation on the internationalization of listed tourism enterprises exhibits heterogeneity depending on enterprise size and region. Third, digital transformation enhances the risk-taking capacity of these enterprises and alleviates their financing constraints, thereby accelerating the internationalization process. This paper emphasizes that listed tourism enterprises should adopt context-specific digital transformation strategies to further expand their pathways to internationalization.
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