Degree of synergy of regional tourism development and urban-rural integration and influencing factors in the Western Hunan region

Abstract

Urban-rural integration is a key path in promoting common prosperity, and tourism development is a key link to solve the "three rural issues" and an important channel to realize the two-way flow of urban and rural elements. This study analyzed the theoretical basis and strategic practice of urban-rural integration and explored the synergistic evolution mechanism between tourism development and urban-rural integration with the goal of achieving common prosperity. The results show that: 1) The overall tourism development level and urban-rural integration level in the Western Hunan region showed small fluctuations from 2012 to 2020, with an overall declining trend. Tourism sustainability was greater than tourism development potential, followed by tourism sharing ability; and urban-rural development balance was higher than coordination, followed by inclusiveness. 2) The degree of synergy of tourism development and urban-rural integration in the Western Hunan region fluctuated greatly over time, and the synergistic relationship leaped from the preliminary synergy to the intermediate synergy stage. The two-way interactions strengthened, but due to the lag in synergy in some areas, the region as a whole has not been able to advance to the high synergy stage. 3) The spatial differences in the synergy values of tourism development and urban-rural integration are significant, and the overall differences originate from intra-regional differences. Among them, the synergy difference of Huaihua City decreases, and the synergy difference of Xiangxi Prefecture and Zhangjiajie City expands. 4) The degree of synergy of tourism development and urban-rural integration in the Western Hunan region was influenced by economic development, the degree of marketization, and the advanced industrial structure in decreasing order. There was spatial heterogeneity in the influence of the above three factors in the region.