Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Coupling and Coordination of Cultural Tourism and Objective Well-Being in Western China

Lili Pu; Xingpeng Chen; Li Jiang; Hang Zhang

doi:10.3390/ijerph20010650

Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Coupling and Coordination of Cultural Tourism and Objective Well-Being in Western China

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Dec 30;20(1):650. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20010650.

Authors

Lili Pu¹, Xingpeng Chen^{1

2}, Li Jiang^{1

3}, Hang Zhang¹

Affiliations

¹ College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
² Institute of County Economic Development & Rural Revitalization Strategy, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
³ Tourism College, Qinghai Normal University, Xining 810000, China.

Abstract

A supply of high-quality cultural tourism products effectively promotes people's happiness. This study takes the coupling and coordination relationship between cultural tourism (CT) and objective well-being (OWB) in western China as the research object and constructs an index evaluation system for the development levels of cultural tourism and objective welfare, which are divided into three development stages of dysfunctional, transitional, and coordinated development and 10 coordination levels, including high-quality coordination. The entropy weight method, coupled coordination model, Thiel index, standard deviation, and coefficient of variation were used to calculate the comprehensive development index and coupling coordination degree of the CT and OWB systems in western China from 2007 to 2020, and then their evolution characteristics were analyzed from the perspectives of time and space. The results show the following: (1) The comprehensive development capacity of the CT and OWB systems in the western region shows a relatively consistent growth trend except for 2020, the overall development capacity of objective welfare was relatively high, and the development capacity of cultural tourism was relatively low. (2) The CT and OWB systems were in a state of transition from high coupling and low coordination to high coupling and high coordination, which were divided into three development stages: imbalanced stage (2007-2008), transitional stage (2009-2011), and coordinated development (2012-2020). The coordination degree has developed steadily from moderate misalignment to good coordination over time, and the diversified characteristics of coupling coordination levels are obvious. (3) The spatial equilibrium of the CT and OWB systems is obvious, and the spatial difference in the western region is getting smaller, but the relative gap is widening significantly. (4) The comprehensive development capacity of the cultural tourism system should be enhanced, the spiritual needs of residents based on objective well-being should be met, and the sustainable development of the CT and OWB systems.

Keywords: coupling and coordination; cultural tourism–objective well-being (CT–OWB); evaluation index system; sustainable development; western China.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

China
Cities
Economic Development
Humans
Sustainable Development*
Tourism*

Grants and funding

Research on the Inheritance and Development of Intangible Cultural Heritage Handicrafts and the Path of Rural Revitalization in the Yellow River Basin of Gansu Province from Gansu Provincial Social Sciences (No. 20YB106), Study on Cultural Cognition, Consumption Characteristics, and Optimization Measures of Home Stay Facility Tourism in Gansu Province from Department of Culture and Tourism of Gansu Province (No. WLTKT2022A-04), and Promoting the High-Quality Development of the Cultural Tourism Industry from Department of Culture and Tourism of Gansu Province (No. WLTKT2021B-01).