PONE-D-24-00500Asymmetric modeling of regional tourism economic disparity in ChinaPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Ling,

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Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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Additional Editor Comments:

Please take the below reviewer suggestions into consideration and make necessary revisions.

[Note: HTML markup is below. Please do not edit.]

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

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3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

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4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: I have reviewed the article titled "Asymmetric Modeling of Regional Tourism Economic Disparity in China," and I am pleased to provide you with a positive review.

The article delves into an important and often overlooked aspect of China's tourism economy – the distinctive regional disparity. The use of statistical data from 31 provinces in mainland China showcases the comprehensive nature of the research. The application of fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) adds a unique dimension, allowing for a nuanced understanding of the complex interactions that contribute to regional tourism economic disparities.

One of the strengths of the article lies in its identification and exploration of asymmetric causes behind regional tourism economic disparity. The differentiation between high and low levels of tourism economy formation approaches adds depth to the analysis. The recognition of the non-linear effects of influential factors, influenced by antecedent conditions, is a valuable contribution to the field.

The identification of transportation convenience as a necessary condition for a high level of tourism economy and poor tourism attraction as a necessary condition for a low level of tourism economy is a significant finding. This insight not only broadens our understanding of the determinants of regional tourism economic performance but also provides practical guidance for policymakers.

Overall, the article not only offers a fresh perspective on regional tourism economic disparity but also contributes to the development of a region-based tourism model. The research is well-executed, providing valuable insights for both academics and policymakers in the tourism sector.

Suggestions:

1. Add more citations.

E.g.

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/13/10398

and

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2023.1148868/full

Etc.

2. Native language correcrtion are needed.

Reviewer #2: The authors need to mention (at least, sometimes) the scholars instead of mere using digits. Otherwise, we need to turn pages up and down more than 40 times to see who the scholar was.

Bibliography rises a question: what sort of references have been used. It is not MLA, Chicago, APA, Turabian. E.g., Pappas IO, Woodside AG. Should have been Pappas, I.O., Woodside, A.G.

Page 5 line 106: …. literature include but (Passive voice is necessary) not limited to local economy

Line 248: comprehended with set theory[45, 46] (a blank space is necessary)

Line 257: Calibration is refers to the membership (please check the grammar)

Line 313-315 But different regions have (we suggest adding here “different”) economic foundation, tourism attraction, and geographic location, consequently, ….

Fig 1, 2 and others should include a period, e.g., Fig. 1, Fig. 2 (check through the entire text)

Line 481 I would rather be careful declaring “The biggest contribution of this research lies in revealing the complex causality….” because the authors’ conclusion does not obligatorily mean the reviewers or large audience’s opinion or conclusion.

Reviewer #3: The originality of this paper is the utilizing statistical data from the tourism economy in 31 provinces in mainland China, this research explores regional tourism economic disparity through asymmetric modeling of fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).

The theorectical contributions is the exploration of the causes of regional tourism economic disparity are asymmetric; high and low levels of tourism economy have different formation approaches; the functioning of the most influential factors is impacted by other antecedent conditions, presenting an asymmetric non-linear effect; and favorable transportation convenience is a necessary condition for a high level of tourism economy, while poor tourism attraction is a necessary condition for a low level of tourism economy.

Managerial implications of this research introduces a new perspective on regional tourism economic disparity, enabling in-depth comprehension of the complex interaction and non-linear functional mechanisms of influential factors. Besides, the authors explored a region-based tourism development model. Therefore, it can offer significant practical guidance for tourism policymakers.

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: Yes: Dr. Kamo Chilingaryan

Reviewer #3: Yes: Cuong Nguyen

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Asymmetric modeling of regional tourism economic disparity in China

PONE-D-24-00500R1

Dear Dr. Ling,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

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Kind regards,

Saliha Karadayi-Usta, PhD

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.

Reviewer #1: All comments have been addressed

Reviewer #2: All comments have been addressed

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2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: I accept this paper to publish. Authors added the suggested citations, corrected the English. Paper is suitable for publication.

Reviewer #2: (No Response)

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7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: Yes: Dr. Kamo Chilingaryan

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