Impact of Digital Tourism Economy on Regional Ecological Efficiency Using Spatial Durbin Model
TL;DR
An improved hybrid algorithm combining PSO-SVM and EW-TOPSIS is proposed to measure DTE development level and Eco-E in the Yangtze River Delta, with accuracy and precision reaching 98.57% and 97.36%, outperforming conventional algorithms.
Abstract
This study aims to investigate the impact mechanism of Digital Tourism Economy (DTE) on Ecological Efficiency (Eco-E) and its spatial spillover effects. An improved hybrid algorithm combining PSO-SVM and EW-TOPSIS is proposed to measure DTE development level and Eco-E in the Yangtze River Delta, with accuracy and precision reaching 98.57% and 97.36%, outperforming conventional algorithms. Spatial Durbin model analysis reveals that government intervention, urbanization degree, and population density demonstrate significant positive direct effects on Eco-E, with coefficients of -0.197, 0.161, and 0.054, respectively (p<0.01), while indirect effects vary across factors. Threshold effect analysis shows that DTE has an initial promoting effect on the improvement of Eco-E, but the returns diminish after exceeding a certain development level, and DTE in neighboring cities has a constraining effect on local Eco-E. The novelty lies in developing an optimized PSO-SVM-EW-TOPSIS hybrid algorithm for precise regional evaluation and integrating spatial econometrics with threshold analysis to uncover nonlinear spatial spillover mechanisms. These findings provide theoretical foundations and policy implications for coordinating digital tourism development with ecological protection in regional economies.