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Journal of Desert Research ›› 2025, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (6): 334-348.DOI: 10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2025.00153

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Spatiotemporal heterogeneity and configurational enhancement pathways of ecological tourism development in the Yellow River Basin

Qiaoyan Zhao1(), Lin Zhou1(), Minmin Ren2   

  1. 1.School of Culture,Tourism,Journalism and Art / Yellow River Basin Culture and Tourism Research Institute,Shanxi University of Finance and Economic,Taiyuan 030006,China
    2.School of Economics and Management,East China Normal University,Shanghai 200062,China
  • Received:2025-08-13 Revised:2025-10-20 Online:2025-11-20 Published:2025-11-26
  • Contact: Lin Zhou

Abstract:

This study examines 63 cities in the Yellow River Basin and constructs an ecological tourism development evaluation system encompassing four major dimensions: ecological environment, supply capacity, supporting conditions, and development potential. Using entropy method, standard deviation ellipse, kernel density estimation, and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), we analyze the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics, spatial differentiation patterns, and configurational development pathways of ecological tourism in the Yellow River Basin. The results reveal that: (1) Ecological tourism development in the Yellow River Basin exhibits significant characteristics of overall improvement with structural optimization, with spatial distribution patterns showing downstream regions leading, midstream regions following, and upstream regions catching up, alongside polarization effects centered on provincial capitals and regional hub cities. (2) The spatial centroid of ecological tourism development has remained consistently located in Linfen, Shanxi Province, with spatial morphology displaying a northwest-southeast elongated distribution. The kernel density curves show slight rightward shifts with distinct bimodal characteristics, reflecting the coexistence of systematic improvement and spatial polarization in ecological tourism development. (3) Ecological tourism development demonstrates systematic and comprehensive characteristics without any single necessary condition. Ten configurational pathways were systematically identified and categorized into four development types: comprehensive coordination-oriented, resource endowment-oriented, market demand-oriented, and industrial investment-oriented.

Key words: ecological tourism, spatiotemporal differentiation, configurational pathways, Yellow River Basin

CLC Number: