The evaluation of coordinated development of digital economy, ecological protection, and cultural tourism integration in the Yellow River Basin and its obstacle factors

Under the background of developing new productive forces, the digital economy reshapes new advantages in industrial development through empowerment, connectivity, and sharing, and can promote ecological protection and cultural tourism integration in the Yellow River Basin. However, the degree of coordinated development between the digital economy, ecological protection, and cultural-tourism integration in the Yellow River Basin, as well as the main obstacles affecting their development, remain unclear. Based on the panel data of 57 cities in the Yellow River Basin from 2013 to 2022, the study uses the coupling coordination degree model, Kernel Density estimation, spatial correlation analysis, and obstacle factor model to explore the coupling coordination level, spatio-temporal differentiation characteristics, and the obstacle factors affecting the development of the digital economy-ecological protection-cultural tourism integration system in the Yellow River Basin, and proposes development suggestions. The study finds that: ① From 2013 to 2022, all three subsystems have developed, and the system coordination level has improved to some extent, generally achieving a transition from mild imbalance to near imbalance. ② In terms of spatial distribution, the coupling coordination level is higher in the southeastern region and lower in the northwestern region. Over time, the gap in coupling coordination levels among cities gradually expanded. ③ The coupling coordination degree of each city shows a positive correlation, primarily exhibiting spatial clustering characteristics of "high-high" and "low-low" aggregation, with high spatial stability. ④ The main obstacle factors affecting the coupling coordination development of the three systems are the number of R&D personnel per 10,000 employees, total telecommunications business volume, per capita park green space area, air quality excellent rate, per capita library book collection, and the proportion of employees in the accommodation and catering industry. The research provides a reference for achieving the coordinated optimization of economy, ecology, and cultural tourism, promoting green transformation and high-quality development.