As a key driver of the rural revitalization strategy, the uneven development of rural tourism urgently requires resolution. To break through the limitations of traditional rural tourism research that focuses on a single economic dimension, this study innovatively constructs a comprehensive analytical framework integrating multi-dimensional evaluation, coupling measurement, and factor identification to examine the interaction between rural tourism development and ecosystem recovery capacity. Taking the Yangtze River Delta region of China as an empirical case, this paper analyzes the spatial coupling relationship and its associated factors between rural tourism development capacity and ecosystem recovery capacity. The results reveal that: (1) At the socio-economic level, the development of rural tourism in the Yangtze River Delta presents a spatial differentiation, with the southeastern region performing significantly better than the northwestern region, and 60.46% of the areas reaching a moderate level or above; (2) At the ecosystem level, high-value areas of ecosystem recovery capacity (50.28%) are mainly concentrated in the southern part; (3) The overall regional coordination level is relatively low, with 13 regions in the coordination stage (accounting for 35.3% of the total spatial area); (4) Technology and financial investment are the dominant factors associated with the coupling coordination degree, indicating a spatial pattern characterized by “innovation-driven” rather than “resource dependence”. Relying solely on natural background conditions is insufficient to build core advantages; we hypothesize that external interventions such as “capital injection” and “technological support” may serve as potential pathways to improve coordination and facilitate ecological value realization. The findings not only provide a new paradigm for evaluating the development quality of rural tourism, but also establish a complete research chain of “diagnosis-classification-optimization,” providing a scientific basis for formulating regionally differentiated development strategies. This study holds significant theoretical value and practical guiding significance for promoting the sustainable development of rural tourism.
Gui et al. (Mon,) studied this question.