Research on the Mechanisms and Pathways for New Quality Productive Forces to Empower the High-Quality Integrated Development of Heilongjiang's Cultural and Tourism Industry

 Corresponding author: Yuzhong Sun Haixin Zhou Copyright © 2025 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0. Research on the Mechanisms and Pathways for New Quality Productive Forces to Empower the High-Quality Integrated Development of Heilongjiang’s Cultural and Tourism Industry Yuzhong Sun, Haixin Zhou * School of Economics and Management, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Daqing city, Heilongjiang Province, China. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2025, 26(03), 1486-1492 Publication history: Received on 26 April 2025; revised on 07 June 2025; accepted on 09 June 2025 Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.30574/wjarr.2025.26.3.2205 Abstract This study focuses on the mechanisms and pathways through which new quality productive forces (NQPF) empower the high-quality integrated development of Heilongjiang’s cultural and tourism industry. The province’s cultural and tourism sector faces challenges such as insufficient technological innovation-driven growth, high barriers to factor mobility, and weak industrial synergy. Leveraging the core engine of technological innovation, the optimized allocation of production factors, and the catalytic effects of industrial synergy, NQPF provides new momentum and upgrading mechanisms to overcome developmental bottlenecks, stimulate growth vitality, and achieve deep integration for highquality development. Based on this analysis, the study proposes actionable pathways: At the government level, measures include improving collaborative innovation ecosystems, enhancing factor mobility, and refining regional and industrial coordination policies. At the enterprise level, strategies involve strengthening technological innovation awareness, optimizing factor allocation channels, and fostering industrial synergy and brand development. Keywords: New Quality Productive Forces; Cultural and Tourism Industry Integration; Modern Industrial System; High-Quality Development 1. Introduction The Report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposes new pathways for the deep integration of culture and tourism, emphasizing the convergence of the digital economy and the real economy, thereby charting a clear direction for the future development of the cultural and tourism industry. China's 14th Five-Year Plan for Culture and Tourism (2021-2025) outlines the goals and approaches for high-quality development in the sector, aiming to promote deep integration and innovation, establish national demonstration zones for the convergence of cultural and tourism industries, and provide policy support and strategic guidance for high-quality growth. During an inspection of Heilongjiang in September 2023, the importance of developing distinctive cultural tourism was emphasized by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Heilongjiang Province has actively responded to, thoroughly understood, and implemented these directives. Through the Heilongjiang Cultural Province Construction Plan (2020–2025) and the Heilongjiang Comprehensive Tourism Development Master Plan (2020–2030), the province is advancing supply-side structural reforms in the cultural and tourism industry, implementing industrial development projects, accelerating the growth of new types of cultural and tourism enterprises, business models, and consumption patterns, revitalizing industrial innovation, expanding the supply of high-quality products and services, and fostering high-quality development in the sector. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2025, 26(03), 1486-1492 1487 Promoting the integrated, high-quality development of the cultural and tourism industry through new quality productive forces holds significant implications for Heilongjiang’s economic and social progress. In the stage of highquality economic development, the cultural and tourism industry, as an emerging strategic pillar sector, plays a crucial role in driving regional economic growth and cultural heritage preservation. Heilongjiang boasts abundant cultural and tourism resources, and this initiative will not only facilitate the transformation and upgrading of the local industry toward high-tech, high-efficiency, and high-quality development but also help address regional disparities in resource allocation and economic growth, promoting balanced regional development. The experience gained can also serve as a valuable reference for other regions. 2. Current research status 2.1. Research on the Connotation of New Quality Productive Forces In 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping first proposed the concept of "New Quality Productive Forces" (NQPF). They explicitly stated that integrating scientific and technological resources and fostering "strategic emerging industries" and "future industries" are key conditions for forming NQPF. In 2024, President Xi Jinpin further clarified that "New Quality Productive Forces represent an advanced form of productive forces, characterized by innovation playing a leading role, breaking away from traditional economic growth models and development paths of productive forces. They feature high technology, high efficiency, and high quality, aligning with the new development philosophy. NQPF are fostered by revolutionary technological breakthroughs, innovative allocation of production factors, and profound industrial transformation and upgrading. Their fundamental connotation lies in the elevation of laborers, means of labor, objects of labor, and their optimized combination, with a substantial increase in total factor productivity serving as the core indicator. Innovation is their defining feature, quality enhancement is the key, and their essence is advanced productive forces" [1]. This provides a clear definition of the connotation, characteristics, and essential nature of NQPF. NQPF constitute "advanced productive forces," whose essential characteristics can be summarized as "innovation" and "quality enhancement" [2]. Innovation is the primary driving force of NQPF, playing a dominant role in their formation and development. It focuses on new technologies, new economies, and new business models, achieved through critical and disruptive technological breakthroughs that transform traditional production processes, as technological leadership and innovation-driven development are its key features. Quality enhancement, building upon the innovation-driven essence, involves achieving multi-layered progress through green development and systemic reforms. On one hand, it optimizes various indicators of the factors of production; on the other hand, it achieves a comprehensive improvement in productive forces across laborers, means of labor, and objects of labor, ultimately aiming to promote industrial upgrading and transformation [3]. Therefore, the inherent requirements and key focal points for NQPF are technological leadership, innovation-driven development, green development, and systemic reform. This provides the intrinsic logical support for NQPF to empower the high-quality development of the cultural and tourism industry [4]. 2.2. Research on High-Quality Development through Cultural-Tourism Integration The new generation of tourism consumers, represented by Generation Z, demands higher-level spiritual and cultural needs from consumer products. The tourism industry in the new era has entered a phase of transitioning from highspeed growth to high-quality development [5]. The integration of the cultural and tourism industries is both an inherent requirement for the high-quality development of the tourism and cultural sectors and a result of their interaction [6]. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the cultural and tourism industries have developed rapidly. While bearing the task of China's industrial transformation and upgrading, they have also become significant pillar industries of the national economy. The restructuring and merger of the former National Tourism Administration and the former Ministry of Culture into the Ministry of Culture and Tourism serves as a crucial marker of their integrated development. In 2019, the General Office of the State Council issued the Opinions on Further Stimulating the Potential of Cultural and Tourism Consumption, explicitly stating the need to "promote the integration of culture, tourism, and modern technology" and "enhance the digitalization level of cultural and tourism product development and service design" as soon as possible. The 14th Five-Year Plan for Cultural and Tourism Development* released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism also emphasizes the need to "promote the deep integration and innovative development of culture and tourism" and "advance cultural-tourism integration within the framework of the digital economy." This clarifies the goals, content, and pathways for high-quality development through cultural-tourism integration. High-quality development is a multidimensional concept, extending beyond mere growth in economic output and material wealth. From a systemic and comprehensive perspective, it takes innovation as the primary driver, uses the people's ever- World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2025, 26(03), 1486-1492 1488 growing social and cultural needs as the benchmark, and focuses on resolving imbalances and inadequacies encountered during socioeconomic development [7]. High-quality development through cultural-tourism integration is an essential path for the transformation and upgrading of the cultural and tourism industries. It aims to enhance the quality of tourism services, diversify tourism product offerings, improve tourist experiences, and ultimately achieve the sustainable economic, social, and environmental development of tourism destinations [8]. 2.3. Research on New Quality Productive Forces Promoting High-Quality Development through CulturalTourism Integration The proposition of NQPF offers a new perspective for the high-quality development of cultural-tourism integration. NQPF are, in essence, "advanced productive forces," representing a holistic enhancement based on the trinity of production factors, production technologies, and industrial upgrading. Compared to past approaches, they focus more profoundly on transformation from the supply side. Technological innovation and advancement can effectively enhance production efficiency, reduce the output costs and prices of tourism products and services, and thereby influence tourists' purchasing power and price acceptance levels to some extent. The optimization of production factors enables practitioners to provide a wider variety of products and services, driving improvements in service quality and striving for excellence. The proposition of NQPF brings new methods for high-quality cultural-tourism integration. Ultimately, NQPF aim to increase total factor productivity and reduce socially necessary labor time, consequently increasing individuals' leisure time – a necessary precondition for tourism consumption [9]. Traditional tourism modes are increasingly insufficient to meet the emotional needs of the new generation of consumers for happiness, curiosity, and exploration. NQPF drive technological innovation, enabling the realization and rapid growth of digital cultural tourism. The cultural and tourism industries can better satisfy consumers' diverse needs, promote the high-quality development of cultural-tourism integration, and further drive comprehensive economic progress and sustainable societal development. The proposition of NQPF introduces new approaches for high-quality cultural-tourism integration. NQPF can help innovate tourism product formats, deepen the content of tourism products, and enrich the dimensions of tourism experiences [10]. Technologies such as digitalization, big data analytics, and virtual reality allow tourism scenarios to transcend physical limitations, creating more immersive, deeply engaging, and real-time interactive viewing experiences for tourists. They promote the restructuring and improvement of cultural and tourism industry chains, fostering deeper linkages between cultural products and tourism destinations. This leverages cultural IPs to drive destination branding while enriching cultural product experiences with tourism elements, thereby achieving the integrated development of the cultural-tourism industrial chain. 2.4. Research Review The current academic community has systematically elucidated the theoretical core of New Quality Productive Forces (NQPF), defining it as an advanced form of productive forces centered on innovation-driven development and qualityefficiency enhancement. Its formation relies on a tripartite mechanism of technological revolution, factor restructuring, and industrial transformation, establishing key pathways such as technology leadership and green development. Research on high-quality development through cultural-tourism integration focuses on consumption upgrading and policy empowerment, emphasizing the use of digital transformation and industrial chain integration to meet the spiritual demands of Generation Z and achieve multidimensional sustainable development encompassing economic, social, and environmental aspects. Notably, an interdisciplinary research framework examining the intersection of NQPF and cultural-tourism integration is emerging. Scholars indicate that NQPF can release the consumption potential of cultural tourism by enhancing total factor productivity and reshape product formats and experiential dimensions through technological innovation. However, specific implementation pathways, effectiveness evaluation, and institutional adaptability require further in-depth exploration. There is a particular lack of empirical analysis concerning technological application bottlenecks and industrial synergy mechanisms. 3. Challenges in the Integration and Development of Heilongjiang’s Cultural and Tourism Industry 3.1. Insufficient Empowerment of Technological Innovation The lack of technological empowerment severely restricts the digital and intelligent development of Heilongjiang’s cultural and tourism industry. In terms of service platform construction, the province has yet to establish a comprehensive smart tourism service system. Fragmented digital services such as scenic area navigation and itinerary planning fail to meet tourists’ demand for “one-stop mobile travel.” In digital marketing, cultural and tourism enterprises are still in the early stages of applying technologies like big data analysis and targeted advertising, resulting World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2025, 26(03), 1486-1492 1489 in promotional campaigns that lack market sensitivity. This mismatch between products and consumer demands hinders the creation of market-driven hotspots. Weak innovation ecosystems further exacerbate the issue: R&D investment intensity lags behind the national average, industry-university-research collaboration mechanisms are underdeveloped, and the conversion rate of cultural and tourism technology patents from universities and research institutions remains low, leaving many technological achievements untapped for industrial applications. Regional development imbalances are stark. While central cities like Harbin leverage resource advantages to pioneer smart scenic areas and digital cultural creativity, smaller cities such as Suihua and Hegang lag in digital transformation, relying on traditional sightseeing products. This imbalance impedes innovation and high-quality development across the province’s cultural and tourism sector. 3.2. Inefficient Flow of Production Factors Heilongjiang’s cultural and tourism industry faces constraints from barriers in the circulation of production factors, leading to low resource allocation efficiency and underutilized industrial value. Financially, the industry relies excessively on bank credit, with limited participation from social capital, hindering the formation of a diversified funding system. Talent-wise, challenges such as regional economic downturn, harsh climate, and inadequate transportation exacerbate brain drain and recruitment difficulties, creating a significant shortage of interdisciplinary professionals. Data flow is fragmented due to inconsistent technical standards and practices among cultural enterprises, resulting in data silos that hinder collaboration. Consequently, resource utilization efficiency, marketization levels, and regional coordination remain weak, failing to build stable competitiveness. 3.3. Low Synergy in the Cultural and Tourism Industry Weak industrial synergy undermines the overall efficiency and market competitiveness of Heilongjiang’s cultural and tourism sector. Regionally, Northeast China’s cultural and tourism industry has long lagged behind the national average in synergy and growth rates[11], and Heilongjiang is no exception. Structural contradictions persist: broken industrial chains with loose upstream-downstream linkages, underdeveloped critical sectors like high-end equipment manufacturing and cultural creativity in ice-snow tourism, and a lack of value-added exploration. Homogeneous products, superficial exploitation of regional cultural heritage, and the absence of a distinctive “Heilongjiang IP” further fail to meet tourists’ demand for differentiated experiences. Poor intra-provincial coordination in resource integration and route planning prevents the formation of a unified provincial strategy, limiting economies of scale and brand synergy. 4. Mechanisms for New Quality Productive Forces to Empower Heilongjiang’s Cultural and Tourism Integration 4.1. Technological Innovation Mechanism New quality productive forces (NQPF) drive high-quality integration of the cultural and tourism industry through disruptive technological innovation. As “advanced productive forces,” innovation is the core driver of NQPF. Breakthroughs in disruptive and critical technologies revolutionize production methods, management systems, and cost control in the cultural and tourism sector[12]. Intelligent management and efficient production reduce costs, reshape organizational structures, and enable sustainable development[13]. Furthermore, digital technologies facilitate smart, data-driven upgrades in products and services, creating new consumption experiences and management models, propelling the industry into an intelligent, efficient, and diversified era[14]. 4.2. Factor Allocation Mechanism NQPF injects new momentum into the cultural and tourism industry by optimizing the allocation of innovative production factors. This includes introducing and configuring new laborers, labor tools, and labor objects. New laborers provide intellectual capital, new tools offer technological support, and new objects expand resource foundations. Optimized allocation of these factors energizes the industry[15]. Data, as the “fourth production factor” under NQPF, reshapes productivity frameworks. It enhances traditional factors (labor, capital, land), drives factor recombination, boosts efficiency, reduces redundant labor, and increases leisure time—key prerequisites for tourism consumption[16]. Thus, innovative factor allocation fosters both industrial advancement and sustainable structural transformation. 4.3. Industrial Synergy Mechanism NQPF promotes cross-sector integration to forge a high-quality development paradigm. As “synergistic productive forces,” NQPF deepens collaboration across supply chains, innovation chains, and industrial chains, accelerating World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2025, 26(03), 1486-1492 1490 industrial convergence[17]. Cross-domain synergy enables mutual benefits, market expansion, and service quality improvements[18]. Innovations like “intangible cultural heritage + tourism” and “cultural creativity + tourism” embed cultural value into tourism, elevating industrial value and building a healthy ecosystem[19]. Supported by digital technologies, the industry can develop derivative products, reshape systems, and diversify supply. A synergistic “fivechain” system—industrial chain, data intelligence chain, green finance chain, policy mechanism chain, and talent chain—provides robust support for intelligent upgrading and sustainable development[20]. Future research on the modernization of social governance may focus on the following aspects: 5. Pathways for NQPF to Empower High-Quality Integration of Heilongjiang’s Cultural and Tourism Industry 5.1. Government-Level Initiatives 5.1.1. Strengthen Collaborative Innovation Ecosystems Formulate policies to incentivize industry-university-research partnerships, clarifying rights and obligations in innovation labs. Establish a shared-risk, shared-benefit cooperation model. Create a special fund for patent commercialization, streamline approval processes, and organize regular innovation forums to boost technology transfer. 5.1.2. Enhance Factor Mobility Build a provincial platform for trading cultural and tourism production factors (capital, talent, data). Launch an industry guidance fund to attract social capital and introduce talent policies (housing subsidies, education benefits) to retain professionals in digital marketing and cultural planning. 5.1.3. Improve Regional and Industrial Coordination Policies Design tax incentives and land-use policies to attract innovative enterprises. Develop regional innovation corridors (e.g., Harbin-Mudanjiang-Yichun) to promote inter-city sharing of technology, talent, and data, narrowing regional disparities. 5.2. Enterprise-Level Actions 5.2.1. Boost Technological Innovation Awareness Engage with government platforms to share resources. Increase R&D investment and collaborate with institutions to develop smart navigation systems and virtual ice-snow experiences. Leverage AI for personalized travel recommendations. 5.2.2. Optimize Factor Allocation Partner with financial institutions to diversify funding. Cultivate talent through university collaborations. Utilize tourist consumption data to guide product development and service optimization. 5.2.3. Strengthen Synergy and Branding Collaborate with upstream-downstream firms to extend industrial chains (e.g., joint development of ski equipment with manufacturers). Highlight Heilongjiang’s cultural identity to create unique IPs, enhancing value-added competitiveness and avoiding homogeneity. 6. Conclusion This study systematically demonstrates the theoretical logic and practical pathways through which New Quality Productive Forces (NQPF) empower the high-quality development of the cultural and tourism industry in Heilongjiang Province. The research reveals that despite possessing resource endowment advantages, Heilongjiang’s cultural and tourism industry faces three structural challenges: insufficient momentum in technological innovation, prominent barriers to factor mobility, and low industrial synergy. NQPF provides fundamental solutions to these challenges through a three-dimensional driving mechanism of "technological innovation - factor allocation - industrial synergy": World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2025, 26(03), 1486-1492 1491 At the technological level, it drives digital and intelligent transformation via disruptive innovation, reshaping cultural and tourism product formats and service experiences; At the factor level, it optimizes the allocation efficiency of labor, capital, and technological resources through data empowerment; At the industrial level, it deepens the cultural-tourism integration ecosystem via "Five-Chain Synergy" (integrating cultural-tourism chains, data intelligence chains, green finance chains, policy mechanism chains, and innovation talent chains). Practically, it is essential to construct a dual-driven system involving both government and enterprises: Governments should focus on strengthening the innovation ecosystem, facilitating factor market circulation, and coordinating regional policies; Enterprises need to enhance awareness of technology application, optimize factor allocation channels, and deepen industrial chain collaboration and IP innovation. Heilongjiang’s practice demonstrates that NQPF-driven cultural-tourism integration serves not only as a key engine for regional industrial upgrading but also provides a transformative model of "technology empowerment + institutional innovation" for the nation. Future efforts should further explore technological adaptability, policy coherence, and benefit evaluation mechanisms to achieve the sustainable evolution of high-quality integration. Compliance with ethical standards Acknowledgments This research was supported by Heilongjiang Provincial Key Research Topics on Economic and Social Development (Science Popularization Special Project, Grant No.SKPJ202438) and was supported by Da Qing Municipal Planning Research Project on Philosophy and Social Sciences in 2025 (No.DSGB2025010). Disclosure of conflict of interest No conflict of interest to be disclosed. References [1] President Xi Jinping emphasized developing new quality productive forces according to local conditions during deliberations with the Jiangsu delegation [N]. People's Daily, 2024-03-06. [2] QI Ran, LI Fengliang. (2024). Research on New Quality Productive Forces Empowering High-Quality Development of Cultural and Tourism Industries. Journal of Yantai University (Philosophy and Social Science Edition), 37(5), 112-124. [3] ZHOU Wen, XU Lingyun. (2023). On New Quality Productive Forces: Connotative Features and Key Focal Points. Reform, (10), 1-13. 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