Driving Forces of Tourism Carbon Decoupling: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China

Abstract

Although decoupling tourism growth from carbon emissions is vital for sustainable tourism development, the driving forces of tourism carbon decoupling in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) are little known. Herein, our study applies the geo-detector model and the Tapio decoupling index to investigate the decoupling trend and driving mechanism of the tourism economy in the YREB from carbon emissions from 2009 to 2019. Our results show that (1) the tourism carbon decoupling status has gradually evolved from connection to decoupling, and the average decoupling index was optimized from 1.36 in 2011 to 0.34 in 2019; (2) the dominant factors promoting the evolution of decoupling are the industrial structure (with an average q of 0.64 (2009–2019)) and the urbanization index (with an average q of 0.61 (2009–2019)), with government policy, technological innovation capability and consumption, and regional GDP also being important drivers; and (3) the double and nonlinear enhancement between the driving factors imply that regions in poor decoupling areas, such as Shanghai and Chongqing, can promote the evolution of decoupling through multi-factor interactions to realize the sustainability of the tourism industry. Finally, an integrative and proactive policy framework that has important theoretical, methodological, and management implications for the construction of green demonstration areas in the YREB is proposed.

Tourism Transport-Related CO2 Emissions and Economic Growth: A Deeper Perspective from Decomposing Driving Effects

“…The exploration of the relationship between economic growth and carbon emissions is becoming a hot research topic [11,25]. Many scholars have used the Tapio decoupling model to study this relationship [26][27][28]. However, the Tapio decoupling model is a non-parametric model, unable to accurately characterize the extent of the impact of economic growth on carbon emissions.…”

“…This suggests that increased spending in the tourism sector, likely driven by higher disposable incomes and economic prosperity, contributes to an increase in CO 2 emissions. The variable response of the scale effect suggests that while economic growth can lead to an increase in tourist numbers, the resultant impact on CO 2 emissions can be moderated by implementing sustainable tourism and transportation policies [26,28].…”

Ecological Network Analysis of the Water-Energy-Food Metabolic System Based on the MRIO Model: A Case Study for China’s Yangtze River Delta Region

“…Te Yangtze River Delta region, located at the intersection of the two national strategies of the "Yangtze River Economic Belt" and the "Belt and Road," is one of the world-class urban clusters in China [23]. As shown in Figure 1, it is a region with dense urban agglomeration, high urbanization, and a relatively complete industrial chain, including three provinces and one municipality, namely, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, and Shanghai [24]. In 2019, the Chinese government ofcially released "the Outline of the Regional Integrated Development Plan of the Yangtze River Delta," making the Yangtze River Delta region a community with shared interests and a shared future.…”

Assessment of low-carbon tourism development from multi-aspect analysis: a case study of the Yellow River Basin, China

“…Considering that tourism is a strategic industrial pillar for China's economy, it is essential to comprehend the connection between the TE and TCDE to achieve both China's carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals and the sustainable tourism of the World Tourism Organization. A number of studies have found evidence that China's tourism industry is transitioning to a low-carbon industry 23 , 28 – 30 . However, there are 34 provincial administrative regions throughout China, and the development of tourism in each region is obviously different 31 , 32 .…”