Abstract

This study explores the relationship between environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and enterprise value in Chinese tourism companies, with differing degrees of media attention and green innovation as the multiple-chained mediating factors. In this study, we adopted a quantitative approach to collect survey data from 804 samples selected from China’s A-level tourist attractions, star-rated hotels, and travel agencies. Through rigorous statistical analysis and hypothesis testing, our results reveal a significant positive relationship between ESG performance and enterprise value in tourism companies. Media attention and green innovation demonstrate crucial chained mediating effects in this relationship. The findings expand the understanding of ESG performance’s influence on enterprise value in the tourism sector, highlighting how media visibility and innovation initiatives amplify ESG’s positive effects. This study offers practical implications for tourism companies, emphasizing the importance of integrating ESG principles into core business strategies, engaging with media, and investing in green innovation to enhance firm value. In addition, it suggests that policymakers create incentive structures to promote sustainable practices and encourage media–tourism company collaborations to communicate ESG efforts effectively.