Spatio-temporal evolution of the water-energy footprints and economic decoupling effects in China's ski tourism industry

The ski tourism industry exhibits increasing dependence on water and energy resources. This study utilizes an Environmental Extended Multi-regional Input-output (EE-MRIO) model and the Tapio decoupling model to analyze the spatio-temporal evolution of the water-energy footprints and economic decoupling effects of China's ski tourism industry in 2015, 2019, and 2023. The findings indicate that: (1) The national ski tourism water-energy footprint first increases and then declines. Spatially, the water footprint is predominantly concentrated in the Northwest, Northeast, and North China regions, alongside rapid growth in southern areas. Meanwhile, energy footprint exhibits destination-specific gradient expansion and source-region clustering. (2) From a sectoral linkage perspective, the water footprint displays structural characteristics of upstream sector concentration, differentiated core sectors, and external derivative sector penetration. The energy footprint is primarily driven by upstream and core sectors. (3) The spatial mismatch between supply and demand is evident, with the water-energy footprints creating a spatial flow pattern characterized by outward exports from East China and load-bearing in Northwest China. (4) The water footprint is predominantly characterized by strong decoupling, whereas the energy footprint exhibits weak decoupling. The water-energy footprints associated with ski tourism demonstrates spatial spillover effects and industry transmission characteristics, necessitating cross-regional responsibility sharing and hierarchical management of industrial chains to promote green transformation.