Spatial transfer from urban to rural areas? Characteristics and evolutionary drivers of urban–rural spatiotemporal clusters of peer-to-peer accommodation

With the urbanization and transformation of consumption styles, the peer-to-peer accommodation (P2PA) industry has emerged to provide more convenient and efficient options for tourists and to inject new vitality into urban economies. This study investigates the spatiotemporal clustering and evolutionary drivers of P2PA in urban and rural areas of Shanghai. Spatial autocorrelation techniques and the Multi-scale Geographically Weighted Regression (MGWR) model are adopted to analyze the Airbnb data from 2016 to 2021 to identify the spatial characteristics of P2PA. The results indicate that high-value P2PA clusters in the city center are gradually breaking apart and shifting to rural areas especially in Pudong New Area. The shift from urban to rural areas makes great contributions to form an integrated urban–rural tourism system. Specifically, the spatial distribution of P2PA in Shanghai exhibits a vertical clustering pattern shaped by resource-oriented and demand-oriented mechanisms. Cultural tourism attractions significantly promote P2PA distribution, while business demands and transportation facilities have inhibiting effects. To support the sustainable growth of P2PA and tourism economy, the government should implement integrated Urban–Rural planning to build distinctive P2PA clusters based on local tourism resource, deepen local industrial linkages to develop new consumption formats and extend industrial chains, encourage practitioners to integrate intangible cultural heritage and folk customs with modern tourism needs, and establish a window for cultural display and inheritance with P2PA model.