Coupling Coordination of the Regional Economy, Tourism Industry, and the Ecological Environment: Evidence from Western China

The economic–tourism–environment (ETE) is a complex system with extensive connotations and coupling characteristics. The exact understanding of these systems forms the prerequisite and basis for regional development. This study explores the impact of the coupling coordination of the ETE system on the level and influencing factors of sustainable development in western China. An evaluation index system has been developed for assessing the coupling coordination (CC) of the ETE system based on the context of 12 provinces and cities in western China. Entropy and spatial autocorrelation methods have been used to evaluate the comprehensive benefit value and influencing factors of the ETE systems in the region. The spatial Durbin model has been used to assess empirical data from 2010–2019. The coupling coordination degree (CCD) of each subsystem was used as the main explanatory variable to quantify the spatial spillover effect. The research results show that the ETE system of the provinces and cities in western China have a strong correlation. The three subsystems interact, restrict, and promote each other, operating together in contradictory unity. The degree of coupling and coordination of the ETE systems are mainly stable but fluctuate from the time perspective. From the spatial perspective, the level of coupling and coordination have clear spatial correlation and spatial dependence. However, since 2013, the spatial dependence has significantly weakened, indicating that the level of coupling coordination is moving towards a balanced direction. The ETE subsystems not only promote the improvement of the coupling coordination of the region itself, but also optimize the coupling coordination of neighboring areas. The promotion effect of each subsystem on the degree of self-coupling and coordination is greater than the promotion effect on neighboring areas.