Eliminating Short-Termism: How Does Patient Capital Promote the Integrated Development of Culture and Tourism?

Against the backdrop of culture–tourism integration as a national strategic priority, identifying forms of capital that can support its long-term, coordinated development carries important policy and academic relevance. As an investment characterized by long-term value orientation, stable commitment, and risk sharing, patient capital closely matches the cultural and tourism industries’ long investment cycles and high return uncertainty. Using provincial panel data from 2000 to 2023, this study empirically examines the effect of patient capital on culture–tourism integration and develops a mechanism framework encompassing financial agglomeration, industrial agglomeration, and green technological innovation. The results indicate that patient capital significantly promotes the coordinated development of culture–tourism integration, with all three mechanisms receiving empirical support. Moreover, culture–tourism integration further contributes to regional economic growth, highlighting its role in high-quality development. Overall, this study provides new evidence on the function of long-term capital in cross-industry integration and offers policy implications for strengthening the financial support system for culture–tourism integration.