The spatio-temporal evolution and influencing factors of the coupling coordination degree between tourism supply and demand in the Yangtze river economic belt

Abstract

The imbalance between supply and demand is a pressing issue in the development of the tourism industry. Understanding the coupling coordination relationship and impact mechanism of supply-demand in the tourism system can help achieve high-quality tourism development. This study focuses on the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) as the research area, quantifies the tourism supply index (TSI) and tourism demand index (TDI) from 2011 to 2020 using the tourism development index model, calculates the coupling coordination degree (CCD) of TSI and TDI based on the coupling coordination model, and explores the factors influencing the CCD using the geographic detector. The findings indicate that: (1) The TSI and TDI in various provinces show fluctuation but exhibit an overall upward trend. (2) There were apparent spatial disparities of the CCD, with a distribution characteristic of high in the east and low in other regions. The CCD gradually improved, with its gravity center slowly shifting toward the southwest. All provinces entered the intermediate stage of tourism development since 2014. (3) Basic service guarantee, consumption drive, and innovation drive are identified as the dominant factors influencing the CCD. The study can provide valuable insights for tourism coordination and sustainable development.