Improving the Economic Mechanism for the Development of Green Tourism in the Digitalization of the Economy (A Case Study of the Samarkand Region)

Abstract

The modern trend of immediate expansion of the global tourism business, and the growing environmental issues, have aggravated the necessity to create sustainable and green tourism models in the framework of digital transformation. Although past research has examined either ecological factors of tourism, or the effects of digitalization, there is still a large gap in comprehending the combined economic processes that lead to the development of green tourism. The present study seeks to fill this gap by examining the connection between digitalization and green tourism, and especially tourism in the region and the world. The study uses a mixed-methodology, which integrates statistical analysis, comparative evaluation, and econometric modeling of major tourism regions worldwide using time-series data. The model analyses how the flows of the European tourism affect the global tourism flows using the example of the European tourism. The results indicate that growth in the American and African regions has complementary and substitution effects: the positive impact of the growth of the American and African regions on the European tourism is evident; however, in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions, the situation is rather competitive. This model exhibits a high level of explanatory power that confirms the high level of interdependence of global tourism markets. The findings indicate that digitalization, investment, and infrastructure development are essential factors that can be used to improve the efficiency and sustainability of tourism systems. The research also adds to the theoretical concept of the so-called smart green tourism, as it underlines the importance of connecting digital technologies with the practices of sustainable tourism. The implications are that policy makers must focus on digital innovation, environmental sustainability and cross border collaboration in order to enhance tourism competitiveness. Environmental indicators and cross-country comparisons should also be included in future studies to learn more about the development of green tourism in a digital economy.