Exacerbating inequality? Investigating the impact of the digital divide on the unequal distribution of tourism consumption among Chinese households
Author Identifier (ORCID)
Abstract
Purpose: This study aims to investigate the impact of digital divide on inequality in household tourism consumption.
Design/methodology/approach: Based on national micro-household data, this study evaluates unequal household tourism consumption using the Atkinson index. Subsequently, it constructs the recentered influence function (RIF) model to capture the impact of the digital divide on unequal household tourism consumption.
Findings: The digital divide significantly exacerbates the unequal distribution of tourism consumption by blocking information channels and liquidity constraints. The heterogeneity results show that the digital divide has a greater effect on exacerbating unequal tourism consumption among older adults, individuals with low cognitive ability, risk-averse individuals and female-headed, low-income and urban households.
Originality/value: This study applies the Atkinson index and RIF model to investigate the impact of the digital divide on unequal tourism consumption at the household level. By doing so, it contributes novel insights to the economic discourse on the role of the digital divide in tourism and identifies the characteristics of digitally disadvantaged groups. The findings have practical implications for policymakers and industry practitioners seeking to leverage digital tools to enhance tourism.
Keywords
Atkinson index, digital divide, inequality, liquidity constraints, recentered influence function regression, tourism consumption
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
1-1-2026
E-ISSN
17579899
ISSN
17579880
Publication Title
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology
Publisher
Emerald
School
School of Business and Law
RAS ID
100223
Copyright
subscription content
First Page
1
Last Page
20
Recommended Citation
He, L., Chen, Z., Zheng, G., Huang, S., & Zha, J. (2026). Exacerbating inequality? Investigating the impact of the digital divide on the unequal distribution of tourism consumption among Chinese households. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTT-01-2025-0044