Mismatch and Coupling: A Study on the Synergistic Development of Tourism-Economy-Ecology Systems in the Pearl River Delta

Abstract

The integrated study of the tourism-economy-ecosystem plays a significant role in regional high-quality development. In this study, methods including the Spatial Mismatch Hypothesis (SMH), coupling coordination degree and a gravity model are adopted in combination to explore the evolution characteristics of the Tourism-Economy-Ecology (TEE) systems in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) from 2009 to 2019 from four perspectives: development level, spatial mismatch, coupling coordination and spatial mismatch-coupling coordination. The research results are presented as follows. Firstly, the overall development level of the three subsystems shows improvement, the overall pattern of tourism and economic development levels shows similarity, the polarization of tourism development reaches a relatively significant level, and the changes in the ecological subsystem are more significant than those in other subsystems. Secondly, the spatial mismatch direction and level of cities are relatively stable, and the mismatch index of high-grade cities varies considerably, while the tourism subsystem contributes significantly to the occurrence of spatial mismatch in the regional system. Thirdly, the coupling and coordination level of the system in the east is higher than in the west, with a vast majority of them in the state of near-mismatch, while the coupling and coordination state is more stable in most cities and tends to be coordinated. Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Foshan represent the crucial nodes of regional system coupling and coordination. The opening of high-speed railway lines enhances the connection between cities, and it remains necessary to enhance the coupling and coordination across various economic circles. Lastly, according to the comparison of spatial mismatch-coupling coordination linkage, these cities can be classified into three categories: prominent core cities, coordinating sub-cities, and potential peripheral cities. To be specific, Guangzhou and Shenzhen represent prominent core cities, Dongguan, Foshan and Huizhou represent coordinated secondary cities, and Zhuhai, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing represent potential peripheral cities.