Purpose The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), an ambitious plan led by the Chinese government aiming to reach a close integration between countries, is reshaping the global institutional landscape. Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) play a leading role in the BRI and they usually follow an unconventional behavior derived from the institutional influence of their home government. Prior research reports that institutional distance between home and host countries has an impact on multinational enterprises’ (MNEs’) ownership level in their foreign subsidiaries. Therefore, our aim is to investigate how institutional distance, the BRI and state ownership affect Chinese tourism MNEs' ownership level in their cross-border acquisitions. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the institutional theory, this study develops several hypotheses that are tested using a sample of Chinese MNEs from accommodation, travel agencies, transport and leisure/entertainment industries. Findings The results show that the idiosyncratic characteristics of being an emerging-market MNE belonging to a soft-service industry is associated with a positive relationship between institutional distance and a high ownership level in cross-border acquisitions. They also indicate that targeting a country included in the BRI and being an SOE negatively moderates that relationship. Originality/value This study extends institutional theory in the case of tourism firms from an emerging economy. It also addresses an under-research topic in the literature, namely, how the BRI is leading Chinese tourism MNEs to redesign their international strategies. 

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