Digital Village Construction and Its Impact on Agriculture–Culture–Tourism Integration: Empirical Evidence from 30 Provinces in China

Examining the effect of digital village construction (DVC) on agriculture–culture–tourism integration (ACTI) is important for understanding sustainable rural development. Using panel data from 30 Chinese provinces from 2012 to 2022, this study employs a two-way fixed-effects model to examine the impact of DVC on ACTI, along with its mediating mechanisms and heterogeneous effects. Results show a significant inverted-U-shaped relationship between DVC and ACTI. This finding remains robust across a series of tests. Mechanism analysis reveals that industrial structure upgrading and urbanization play partially mediating roles with the same inverted-U-shaped characteristics. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that DVC presents a linear positive effect in central and western regions and in areas with low DVC levels, while an inverted-U-shaped pattern is observed in eastern regions and in areas with high DVC levels. These findings suggest that DVC strategies should account for both regional differences and development stages.