A coordination analysis on tourism development and resident well-being in the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration, China

Abstract

Based on the coupling coordination degree model (CCDM), this study examines the spatio-temporal characteristics of the coupling coordination of tourism development and resident wellbeing in Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration (YRDUA), China. The results showed that the both tourism development and resident wellbeing in YRDUA were steadily increasing from 2000 to 2019. Shanghai City enjoyed the highest level of condition, followed by Zhejiang Province, Jiangsu Province, and Anhui Province. Second, the coupling coordination of tourism development and resident wellbeing was in a basic coordinated state. Moreover, the coupling coordination degree (CCD) of each city was gradually increasing and the spatial difference was gradually decreasing during the sample period. Third, there was a long-term and stable cointegration relationship between tourism development and resident wellbeing. Compared with the impact of tourism development on the resident wellbeing, the growth of resident wellbeing played a more important role in promoting tourism development. Policy implications were then generated to promote high-quality tourism development and the improvements of resident wellbeing for YRDUA and other urban agglomerations in China and of the world.