Research on Spatial Patterns and Sustainable Development of Rural Tourism Destinations in the Yellow River Basin of China

Rural tourism is a new point of growth for tourism and the economy in the context of the new normalization of the economy and is of great significance in achieving the complementary coordination and integration of urban and rural areas, promoting rural transformation, and increasing farmers’ incomes. The trends of rural tourism development mechanisms studied on a spatial scale can be used to interpret the sustainable development of rural tourism from different perspectives. Based on the data of key rural tourism villages in China’s Yellow River Basin (hereinafter referred to as the Yellow River Basin), kernel density estimation and spatial hot spot clustering methods were used in the present study to analyze the spatial distribution pattern and sustainable development mechanisms of these villages. The results showed that the spatial distribution of the key villages presents greater concentrations in the west and south than in the east and north, respectively. The spatial distribution of the key villages was found to be primarily affected by factors such as historical culture, transportation locations, economic level, and topography. Finally, the sustainable development mechanisms of rural tourism are proposed, and corresponding suggestions are provided from the perspectives of sustainable livelihoods, operation management, and marketing.