Traffic–Tourism Spatial Interaction of Lai-Qu Expressway Based on the Traffic Flow Data

In the Taihang Mountain Tourism Development Plan (2020–2035), the Taihang Mountain Expressway is included in the construction of the National Tourism Scenic Road around Taihang Mountain to promote the integrated development of regional transportation and tourism. The Lai-Qu Expressway is part of the Baoding section of the Taihang Mountain Expressway. Based on the data of traffic flow on the Lai-Qu Expressway, data of regional tourism resources, and data of regional economic and social development, this paper studies the interaction between the traffic and tourism space of the Lai-Qu Expressway by using spatial interaction, geographically weighted regression (GWR), and other geospatial analysis theories and methods. The results show that the traffic flow of the Baishishan Tollgate is directly correlated with the passenger flow of the Baishishan scenic spot. The spatial pattern of two tourism resource cluster centers and one sub-center, and one residential cluster center and one sub-center is expected to be formed along the Lai-Qu Expressway. The newly built traffic routes extend the influence of the traffic space and overlaps with the regional tourism space, not only providing new opportunities and possibilities for the development of regional tourism, but also promoting the change in the regional tourism spatial pattern and the cluster form of tourism resources. The research on the interaction between the traffic–tourism space in this paper can help to enrich the theoretical connotation of the research on the integration of transport and tourism, and can also be used to evaluate the tourism impact of newly built transport routes and serve the regional tourism development.