Digital live streaming and urban tourism demand: empirical evidence from Chinese cities

This study examines the causal impact of digital live streaming on urban tourism demand in China. We construct a city-level Live Streaming Index (LSI) from multi-source Internet big data to measure live streaming popularity. To address endogeneity concerns, including reverse causality and omitted variables, we implement an instrumental variable (IV) strategy, using the number of lottery sales points as an exogenous instrument. Two-stage least squares estimates show that a one-unit increase in the LSI leads to an annual increase of $848 million (in 2020 constant prices) in tourism revenue and 2.06 million additional tourists. The effects are stronger in cities with superior transportation infrastructure, richer tourism resources, younger populations, and greater consumer activity. Mechanism analysis suggests that live streaming boosts tourism demand primarily by amplifying tourism-related public opinion and attracting commercial resources. These findings enrich the literature on digital media and urban economic development and provide policy implications for destination management in the digital era.