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Driving Forces of Tourism Carbon Decoupling: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China

Author

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  • Qunli Tang

    (Department of International Tourism Management, School of International Economics Management, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China)

  • Qianqian Wang

    (Department of International Tourism Management, School of International Economics Management, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China)

  • Tiancai Zhou

    (Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modelling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China)

Abstract

Although decoupling tourism growth from carbon emissions is vital for sustainable tourism development, the driving forces of tourism carbon decoupling in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) are little known. Herein, our study applies the geo-detector model and the Tapio decoupling index to investigate the decoupling trend and driving mechanism of the tourism economy in the YREB from carbon emissions from 2009 to 2019. Our results show that (1) the tourism carbon decoupling status has gradually evolved from connection to decoupling, and the average decoupling index was optimized from 1.36 in 2011 to 0.34 in 2019; (2) the dominant factors promoting the evolution of decoupling are the industrial structure (with an average q of 0.64 (2009–2019)) and the urbanization index (with an average q of 0.61 (2009–2019)), with government policy, technological innovation capability and consumption, and regional GDP also being important drivers; and (3) the double and nonlinear enhancement between the driving factors imply that regions in poor decoupling areas, such as Shanghai and Chongqing, can promote the evolution of decoupling through multi-factor interactions to realize the sustainability of the tourism industry. Finally, an integrative and proactive policy framework that has important theoretical, methodological, and management implications for the construction of green demonstration areas in the YREB is proposed.

Suggested Citation

  • Qunli Tang & Qianqian Wang & Tiancai Zhou, 2022. "Driving Forces of Tourism Carbon Decoupling: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-14, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:14:p:8674-:d:863574
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