Coupled and Coordinated Development of the Tourism Industry and Urbanization in Marginal and Less Developed Regions—Taking the Mountainous Border Areas of Western Yunnan as a Case Study

Pengyang Zhang (), Lewen Zhang, Dandan Han, Tingting Wang, He Zhu and Yongtao Chen
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Pengyang Zhang: School of Business and Tourism Management, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
Lewen Zhang: School of Business and Tourism Management, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
Dandan Han: School of Business and Tourism Management, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
Tingting Wang: School of Business and Tourism Management, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
He Zhu: Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Yongtao Chen: Lancang-Mekong International Vocational College, Yunnan Minzu University, Kunming 650500, China

Land, 2023, vol. 12, issue 3, 1-24

Abstract: Promoting the coupled and coordinated development of China’s tourism industry and urbanization is of great significance for its marginal and less developed regions. Taking a typical marginal and less developed region, the mountainous border areas of Western Yunnan as the research object, this study analyzed the spatial and temporal characteristics of the coupling coordination degree of the tourism industry and urbanization, as well as their influencing factors, in this region from 2010 to 2019 using the coupling coordination model, spatial gravity model, and panel Tobit model. The study results show the following. (1) The development level of the tourism industry and urbanization in the study region had significantly increased, but there was an obvious polarization phenomenon in its spatial distribution. (2) The coupling coordination degree of the tourism industry and urbanization showed a good development trend of steady growth, and the areas were ranked according to the average annual growth rate as follows: West Yunnan > Southwest Yunnan > Northwest Yunnan. (3) The regional differences in the coupling coordination degree had expanded, reflecting an “agglomeration phenomenon” and “distance decay effect”, and the tourism industry lagging (obstructed) subtype was dominant. (4) The industrial structure, transportation accessibility, capital effect, consumption capacity, and talent support had significant positive effects on the coupling coordination degree, but the role of openness to the outside world was not obvious. This study can provide a useful reference for further studies on the marginal and less developed regions of China.

Keywords: tourism industry; urbanization; coupling coordination; panel Tobit model; the mountainous border areas of western Yunnan (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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