黄河流域旅游经济协调发展是推动流域高质量发展的重要力量。以旅游专业化水平为研究对象，从区域经济、创新能力、生产要素、旅游服务、制度政策5个维度构建驱动因素指标体系，基于2008—2020年黄河流域61地市的面板数据，借助核密度估计、全局莫兰指数、时空地理加权回归（GTWR）模型研究黄河流域旅游经济差异和驱动因素的时空演变规律。结果表明：（1） 黄河流域旅游经济区域差异随时间扩大，部分年份存在右拖尾现象。（2） 旅游专业化水平全局莫兰指数为正，存在空间集聚态势；局部空间集聚类型中“高-高”“低-低”“高-低”集聚区的范围扩大，“低-高”集聚区的范围缩小。从空间角度看，黄河流域旅游经济差异亦扩大。（3） 9个驱动因素对旅游经济的促进作用在时间上呈现出稳定型、递减型和递增型3种特征。（4） 黄河流域上游地市旅游经济发展的关键驱动因素为区域经济、创新能力和旅游服务，中游地市旅游经济发展的关键驱动因素为区域经济、旅游服务和制度政策，下游地市旅游经济发展的关键驱动因素为创新能力、生产要素和制度政策。

The co-ordinated development of the tourism economy in the Yellow River Basin of China is essential for promoting the region's high-quality development. Considering the level of tourism specialization as the research object, this paper constructs a driving factor index system from five dimensions: regional economy, innovation capability, production factors, tourism services, and tourism policies. Based on the panel data of 61 cities in the Yellow River Basin from 2008 to 2020, we apply kernel density estimation, Moran index, and a geographically and temporally weighted regression model to study the spatio-temporal evolution of tourism economic differences and driving factors in the Yellow River Basin. The results show that: (1) Regional differences in the tourism economy in the Yellow River Basin continue to expand, and right-trailing phenomena have occurred in some years. (2) The Global Moran's I index of tourism specialization level is positive, and there is a spatial agglomeration trend. In the types of local spatial agglomeration, the scopes of “high-high” “low-low” and “high-low” agglomeration areas expand, whereas the scopes of “low-high” agglomeration areas narrow. From a spatial perspective, the differences in the Yellow River Basin tourism economy also expand. (3) The promotion effects of the nine driving factors on the tourism economy present three temporal characteristics: stable, decreasing, and increasing. (4) The key driving factors of economic development through tourism in upstream cities of the Yellow River Basin are regional economy, innovation capability, and tourism services. The factors that drive midstream cities are regional economy, tourism services, and policies, and the major driving factors in downstream cities are innovation capability, production factors, and tourism policies.