Tourism Ecological Efficiency and Sustainable Development in the Hanjiang River Basin: A Super-Efficiency Slacks-Based Measure Model Study

Yufeng Cheng, Kai Zhu (), Quan Zhou, Youssef El Archi, Moaaz Kabil, Bulcsú Remenyik and Lóránt Dénes Dávid ()
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Yufeng Cheng: Faculty of Resources and Environmental Science, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China
Kai Zhu: Faculty of Resources and Environmental Science, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China
Quan Zhou: Faculty of Resources and Environmental Science, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China
Youssef El Archi: National School of Business and Management of Tangier, Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, Tangier 90000, Morocco
Moaaz Kabil: Doctoral School of Economic and Regional Sciences, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 2100 Godollo, Hungary
Bulcsú Remenyik: Department of Tourism and Hospitality, University of Tokaj-Hegyalja, 3950 Sárospatak, Hungary
Lóránt Dénes Dávid: Faculty of Economics and Business, John von Neumann University, 6000 Kecskemet, Hungary

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 7, 1-17

Abstract: The Hanjiang River is one of the major tributaries of the Yangtze River, and the Hanjiang River Basin serves as an important link connecting the western and eastern regions of China. As a significant tourist destination, the development of the tourism industry in the Hanjiang River Basin is of great significance for promoting local economic, social, and environmental sustainability. The study of the spatiotemporal evolution of the ecological efficiency of tourism in the Hanjiang River Basin is beneficial for optimizing the investment of tourism resource elements and promoting ecological protection and high-quality development in the area. In this paper, we used the Super-Efficiency Slacks-Based Measure Model to calculate the tourism ecological efficiency of 12 cities in the Hanjiang River Basin from 2010 to 2019 and measured its spatiotemporal evolution and spatial agglomeration using ArcGIS software. The results show that during the study period, the ecological efficiency of tourism in the Hanjiang River Basin presented a phased characteristic of first rising and then falling over time and a heterogeneity characteristic of decreasing in a downward-middle-upward staircase pattern spatially. In addition, the distribution of tourism ecological efficiency exhibited obvious spatial clustering and dependence, with significant low-level homogenization phenomena, which requires strengthening cooperation and coordination among neighboring cities to achieve more efficient resource utilization and higher-quality tourism product development.

Keywords: Hanjiang River Basin; tourism sustainability; tourism ecological efficiency; tourism diversity; spatiotemporal evolution; Super-Efficiency SBM model; spatial clustering (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

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