Coupled and Coordinated Development of the Tourism Industry and Urbanization in Marginal and Less Developed Regions—Taking the Mountainous Border Areas of Western Yunnan as a Case Study

Abstract

Promoting the coupled and coordinated development of China’s tourism industry and urbanization is of great significance for its marginal and less developed regions. Taking a typical marginal and less developed region, the mountainous border areas of Western Yunnan as the research object, this study analyzed the spatial and temporal characteristics of the coupling coordination degree of the tourism industry and urbanization, as well as their influencing factors, in this region from 2010 to 2019 using the coupling coordination model, spatial gravity model, and panel Tobit model. The study results show the following. (1) The development level of the tourism industry and urbanization in the study region had significantly increased, but there was an obvious polarization phenomenon in its spatial distribution. (2) The coupling coordination degree of the tourism industry and urbanization showed a good development trend of steady growth, and the areas were ranked according to the average annual growth rate as follows: West Yunnan > Southwest Yunnan > Northwest Yunnan. (3) The regional differences in the coupling coordination degree had expanded, reflecting an “agglomeration phenomenon” and “distance decay effect”, and the tourism industry lagging (obstructed) subtype was dominant. (4) The industrial structure, transportation accessibility, capital effect, consumption capacity, and talent support had significant positive effects on the coupling coordination degree, but the role of openness to the outside world was not obvious. This study can provide a useful reference for further studies on the marginal and less developed regions of China.