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Arid Land Geography ›› 2026, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (1): 117-127.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2025.035

• Tourism Geography • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Evaluation of the development level of the “digital-cultural-tourism” industries in the Yellow River Basin and analysis of the spatiotemporal characteristics of its coupling coordination

SUN Guojun1(), LI Jiayao2, WANG Zixuan1   

  1. 1 Economics School, Gansu University of Political Science and Law, Lanzhou 730070, Gansu, China
    2 Business college, Gansu University of Political Science and Law, Lanzhou 730070, Gansu, China
  • Received:2025-01-10 Revised:2025-07-04 Online:2026-01-25 Published:2026-01-18

Abstract:

Digital, cultural, and tourism industries, which are crucial components of high-quality economic development in the Yellow River Basin of China, play a significant role in the sustainable development of the regional economy. Based on an analysis of the coupling and coordination mechanisms of these industries, this study constructs an evaluation index system for their coupling and coordination. By employing the weighted summation method and the coupling coordination degree model, the spatial and temporal characteristics of the development status of the “digital-cultural-tourism” industries, along with their coupling and coordination, are analyzed for nine provinces and autonomous regions in the Yellow River Basin from 2012 to 2022. The results indicate that (1) The development of the digital industry in the Yellow River Basin experienced a fluctuating growth trend, characterized by “rapid progress followed by slowdown”; the cultural industry, while generally stable, experienced a slight decline due to the COVID-19 pandemic; and the tourism industry exhibited an inverted U-shaped evolutionary pattern. Overall, the comprehensive development level of the “digital-cultural-tourism” industries demonstrated a fluctuating upward trend, with spatial distribution features characterized by “downstream>midstream>upstream”. (2) The coupling and coordination levels of the “digital-cultural-tourism” industries experienced a fluctuating upward trend, displaying a spatial distribution pattern of “downstream>midstream>upstream” with significant regional disparities. (3) The regional evolution of the coupling and coordination levels of the “digital-cultural-tourism” industries is as follows: upstream regions transitioned from moderate dysregulation to mild dysregulation; midstream regions evolved from mild dysregulation to near-dysregulation; and downstream regions progressed from barely coordinated to primary coordination.

Key words: digital industry, cultural industry, tourism industry, coupling coordination degree, Yellow River Basin