Revealing evolution of comprehensive transportation and tourism economic systems: evidence from the Yellow River Basin in China

Sustainable Development Goal 8 (SDG 8) Decent Work and Economic Growth is one of the 17 United Nations SDGs, focusing on the high-quality development of the tourism economy. This study addresses the development of the tourism economy in the Yellow River Basin by emphasizing the importance of a high-quality, comprehensive transportation system. This study aimed to analyze the characteristics of the coupling and dynamic interactions between the two systems at the macro and micro levels using the data fitting method, coupling model, and Haken model together. The results revealed the temporal trends and spatial heterogeneity of the comprehensive transportation and tourism economic systems. The comprehensive development score of the tourism economic system indicated a nearly linear trend. In most provinces, the development of a comprehensive transportation system lagged behind that of the tourism economy. Also, the coupling coordination degree (CCD) for all provinces ranged between 0.1 and 0.3, indicating a stage of imbalance and recession. The CCD of the middle and lower reaches indicated a slight increasing trend, and the CCD of the upper reaches exhibited a slight decreasing trend in the Yellow River Basin. Furthermore, the dynamic interactions between the two systems were unveiled. The average synergy level between the two systems was within the middle stage. In the synergy development process, the tourism economic system was an order parameter that controlled the path and direction of the coordinated evolution of the two systems for the nine provinces and three reaches, respectively. The evolution of both the comprehensive transportation system and the tourism economic system contributed to negative feedback on the tourism and transport system, ultimately enhancing the system order. In conclusion, this study offers insights and recommendations for policymakers on promoting the coordinated evolution of the comprehensive transportation and tourism economy for sustainable development.