Environmental regulation and tourism development: the case of Chinese water ecological civilization city pilot policy

Environmental regulations aim to eliminate pollution while having a minimal impact on the economy. However, there is hotly debate about its effects on economic activity. Given this, the current study endeavors to scrutinize whether the Chinese Water Ecological Civilization City Pilot (WECCP) policy constitutes a propitious or deleterious force for regional tourism expansion through the analysis of China’s city panel data spanning from 2004 to 2018. Our results evince that the WECCP policy assumes a pivotal function in expediting tourism development at the city level. Furthermore, our mechanism analysis uncovers that the WECCP policy can prompt a tourism upsurge by improving green innovation, curtailing water pollution, and enhancing the quantity and quality of tourist attractions. Our findings contribute to the literature on pollution control and economic growth and offer policy implications for promoting tourism development.