Spatial-temporal Differentiation and Influencing Factors of Agriculture-tourism Integration Efficiency in the Yangtze River Economic Belt Based on the Benevolent DEA Cross-efficiency Model

The integration of agriculture and tourism is an important path for promoting rural revitalization and regional coordinated development in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Based on the panel data of 11 provinces in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2010 to 2023, the efficiency of the integration of agriculture and tourism was measured using the benevolent DEA cross-efficiency model, and the spatial-temporal differentiation and its influencing factors were analyzed by combining the ArcGIS method and the panel regression model. The results showed: (1) The overall efficiency of the integration of agriculture and tourism in the Yangtze River Economic Belt was relatively high and showed a fluctuating upward trend. The driving effect of tourism on agriculture was significantly higher than that of agriculture on tourism, presenting a tourism-driven characteristics. (2) There were significant differences in provincial efficiency. The high-efficiency regions were stable and concentrated, while the low-efficiency regions fluctuated greatly, forming a gradient differentiation pattern along the lower, middle, and upper reaches of the Yangtze River. (3) The development of the tertiary industry and transportation infrastructure were the key factors for improving efficiency, while the concentration of urban resources, the imbalance of industrial entity layout, and the bias of fiscal investment towards cities had an inhibitory effect on the integration of agriculture and tourism in rural areas. Accordingly, practical countermeasures such as promoting differentiated development, strengthening transportation and service industry support, and optimizing fiscal and industrial layout are proposed, providing references for the high-quality development of the integration of agriculture and tourism in the Yangtze River Economic Belt.