Exploring the co-evolution and obstacles between tourism development and environmental sustainability

A synergistic perspective

Bibliographic Data

ID22235127
AuthorsChaoyue Cai (0000-0002-6802-4944, Hunan Normal University), Xiaorong He (0000-0002-0250-6609, Hunan Normal University, corresponding author), Wenhao Chen (0000-0002-1303-3544, Hunan Normal University)
Year2025
Volume13
Issue1
Publication date2025-12-16
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHumanities and Social Sciences Communications (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2662-9992 • E-ISSN: 2662-9992
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1057/s41599-025-06369-4
OpenAlexW4417399418
LanguageEN
References cited131

Tourism is widely recognized as a catalyst for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); however, the growing environmental pressures from rapid tourism expansion necessitate a critical reassessment of the relationship between tourism development (TD) and environmental sustainability (ES). This study developed an analytical framework to examine the co-evolution between TD and ES from a synergistic perspective. The Haken model was applied to evaluate the synergy score across 284 prefecture-level cities in China, followed by a systematic investigation of co-evolutionary spatiotemporal dynamics and the identification of key obstacles. The results reveal the following: (1) The comprehensive TD value increased gradually before 2019 but declined sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic, coinciding with a more distinct “central collapse” spatial pattern. In contrast, the comprehensive ES value exhibited only minor fluctuations while consistently displaying a “four high-value clusters with a depressed zone” pattern. (2) ES is identified as the order parameter of the TD–ES composite system. The co-evolution proceeded through three phases: the downturn (2012–2014), the recession (2015–2019), and the recovery (2020–2022). Spatially, it displayed a “central collapse” with minimal nationwide variability, and cities across all synergy levels exhibited path-dependent evolution. Notably, high-synergy cities were particularly vulnerable to negative spillovers from adjacent low- and minimal-synergy cities. (3) At the national and regional scales, SDG6 and the tourism development scale were the obstacle factors with the highest average and most significant upward trend in obstacle degree, respectively. At the urban scale, cities were classified into five typologies based on combinations of significant obstacles: balanced, single, dual, triple, and compound obstacle types. This study provides novel insights from a synergistic perspective and quantitative evidence from China, while proposing strategies to address obstacles in the TD-ES co-evolution

Obstacle · Recession · Sustainability · Sustainable development · Sustainable tourism · Tourism · Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research · Energy, Environment, Economic Growth · Environmental Sustainability in Business

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