The influence of the internet on catering and accommodation industry efficiency

Accommodation and catering industry efficiencies have been widely evaluated from destination, market concentration, and catering supply chain management perspectives; however, few studies have dynamically evaluated the overall accommodation and catering industry efficiencies under the influence of the internet. Therefore, to go some way to filling this research gap, this study used catering and accommodation industry data and related internet data from 31 Chinese provinces from 2012 to 2016 and employed a Dynamic DDF DEA model to evaluate the catering and accommodation industry efficiencies and the influence of the rising internet connections. It found that: 1. the overall catering and accommodation revenue efficiencies were higher when the internet connection inputs were considered; and 2. there were significant catering and accommodation income distribution differences between the eastern, central and western regions, with higher efficiencies being found in the more developed east.