Relevant research on Political Tournament Theory has long been absent in the field of Chinese propaganda, mainly due to the difficulties in measuring various propaganda indicators and the inability to conduct standardized comparisons. There is also scant literature studying macro interactions between communications and the economy.

Utilizing a large sample dataset constructed from tourist flow data and information on a short video, including a total of 1167 Douyin (Tiktok) short videos predominantly using officials as the primary symbols of dissemination by municipal, prefectural-level, and county-level cultural and tourist bureaus, this study reveals that in the short to medium term, for every 1 short video featuring officials that is released by prefectural-level cultural and tourism bureaus on Douyin (TikTok) accounts, the average daily tourist flow in the local area increases by 0.86 percent. This promotional effect continues to expand with the growth of such videos, reaching a maximum of 1.6 percent to 2 percent. Traditional short videos do not have any significant statistical promotional effects on tourism, indirectly confirming the special role of economic simulations on official short videos. Regarding the controversy over whether government cultural and tourism short video propaganda can convert the “flow” of tourism into “stock,” this study finds that official short videos can sustainably enhance the popularity of local tourism within a 2-week period and the popularity does not experience a decline within a 2- to 3-month time window.

Through stratified regressions and event study model identifications, this study demonstrates that short videos directly attract tourist flows and, through the channel of internet popularity, successfully construct and promote the image of cities, resulting in increased tourist flows to local attractions.

Through heterogeneity analysis, it is found that in regions where tourism accounts for a higher proportion of GDP and income from tourism was more severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the pulling effect of official short videos on tourism is stronger. Additionally, this effect is stronger in China's central and eastern regions and it is weaker in the western and northeastern regions.

In summary, it can be concluded that propaganda competition among local government cultural and tourist officials successfully stimulates the local tourism economy, achieving a virtuous interaction between politics and the economy.