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Assessing quality tourism development in China: an analysis based on the degree of mismatch and its influencing factors

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Abstract

The quality development of tourism is an important means of implementing China’s quality development strategy, meeting people’s aspirations for a better life and enhancing China’s tourism competitiveness. On the basis of defining the concept of high-quality tourism development, this paper constructs an evaluation system for high-quality tourism development that includes five dimensions: tourism economic scale, tourism development speed, tourism supply quality, tourism industry structure and tourism industry efficiency. Using the entropy value method, multi-indicator comprehensive index method and health distance model, we measure the level of high-quality tourism development and its mismatch in 30 Chinese provinces (municipalities and regions) from 2010 to 2019, and analyze the factors affecting high-quality tourism development in China. The findings show that: (1) the overall level of quality development in China’s tourism industry is not high, with a low degree of mismatch dominating, and a trend from mismatch to match. The high-quality development of the national tourism industry is mainly due to the high quality of tourism supply and the comprehensive benefits of tourism. The role of tourism industry structure in promoting high-quality tourism development in China has not yet been fully exploited. (2) The four major regions of China have seen high-quality tourism development, with the eastern region generally outperforming the central, western and northeastern regions. The gap between the four regions has narrowed, but the performance is unstable. It is difficult to change the pattern of quality tourism development in the four regions in the short term. (3) The ranking of each province in terms of the level of quality tourism development remains relatively stable, but the average level varies considerably. Spatial differentiation within the four regions is evident, most notably in the east. (4) Policymakers should focus their policies on optimizing the structure of the tourism industry, implementing differentiated development strategies and enhancing the capacity for coordinated regional development, with a focus on the quality of tourism supply and the overall benefits of tourism in the western region.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author [Hong He] upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by Shaanxi Provincial Education Science Project of "the 14th Five-Year Plan" (Project No.SGH21Y0076), Shaanxi Provincial Art Science Planning Project for 2022 (Project No.2022HZ1720), Shaanxi Provincial Department of Education Key Scientific Research Project (Project No.20JZ089) and Humanities and Social Sciences Research Planning Fund Project of the Ministry of Education (Project No.17YJC790048).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Economics and Management, Xi’an University of Posts and Telecommunications, No. 618 West Chang’an Street, Chang’an District, Xi’an, 710121, Shaanxi Province, China

    Hong He

  2. School of Computer Science, Xi’an University of Posts and Telecommunications, Xi’an, 710121, Shaanxi, China

    Shouheng Tuo

  3. College of Leisure Management, Xi’an Eurasia University, Xi’an, 710065, Shaanxi, China

    Kewei Lei

  4. International Business School, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, 710119, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of China

    Aixiong Gao

  5. School of Economics and Management, Xi’an University of Posts and Telecommunications, No. 563 Chang’an South Road, Yanta District, Xi’an, 710061, Shaanxi Province, People’s Republic of China

    Aixiong Gao

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Correspondence to Hong He.

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He, H., Tuo, S., Lei, K. et al. Assessing quality tourism development in China: an analysis based on the degree of mismatch and its influencing factors. Environ Dev Sustain 26, 9525–9552 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-03107-1

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