Policy Tool Innovation and Collaborative Mechanism for the Integrated Development of "Sports + Tourism" in Qingyuan from the Perspective of the Digital Economy

Abstract

The digital economy has become a core driving force in reshaping industrial forms and regional competitiveness. The deep integration of "sports + tourism," as a vital path to meeting the people's needs for a better life, is facing a critical moment of digital transformation. However, traditional industrial policy tools and governance mechanisms exhibit significant "failure" and "mismatch" when addressing the new characteristics brought by the digital economy, such as rapid iteration, cross-border integration, and data-driven approaches. This paper, focusing on Qingyuan City—an ecological barrier and leisure tourism destination in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area—addresses the practical policy challenges faced by its integrated "sports + tourism" development. Utilizing policy tool theory and collaborative governance theory, this paper first analyzes the empowering logic of the digital economy on "sports + tourism" integration. It then diagnoses the core dilemmas in Qingyuan, including the imbalanced supply of policy tools, the "fragmentation" of departmental collaboration, and the "time-lag" in policy execution. Building on this, the paper systematically constructs an innovative policy toolbox adapted to the digital economy from four dimensions: environmental, supply-side, demand-side, and governance. Furthermore, it designs a "five-in-one" policy collaborative governance mechanism covering target, organizational, resource, process, and information collaboration. This research aims to provide a policy framework and governance plan that is both theoretically forward-looking and practically operable for Qingyuan and similarly-situated cities to promote the high-quality development of the "sports + tourism" industry in the digital age.