Based on the panel data of prefecture-level administrative units in China from 2000 to 2018, this paper empirically examines the impact of red cultural resources on regional economic development, and analyzes the channel role of tourism in this process. On the whole, red cultural resources have limited effect on the promotion of regional economic development. However, when the agglomeration advantage or comparative advantage is formed, the pulling effect is obviously enhanced. When we separate the function of tourism channels, we find that the overall driving effect of red cultural resources on regional economic development is limited, because red cultural resources generally have the problem of “draining but not attracting money” in tourism attraction. But when the red cultural resources form the agglomeration advantage, they can “draining and attracting money”. Further mechanism test shows that if red cultural resources can be integrated with other tourism resources and supported by a good cultural system environment, it is expected to achieve “draining and attracting money”, and then effectively drive the regional economic development. This study provides empirical evidence for the economic value of red cultural resources, and provides practical path guidance for each region to promote high-quality tourism development and drive regional economic growth by taking advantage of its local red cultural resources.