Spatial-temporal pattern evolution and mechanism model of tourism ecological security in China

To address the conflict between ecological environmental conservation and fast tourism growth, as well as to preserve the structure and function of the tourist destination ecosystem. This study evaluated the characteristics of the spatial and temporal pattern evolution and dynamic change, as well as the influencing factors and driving mechanisms of tourism ecological security. The “Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR)” framework was used to construct a dynamic multi-scenario simulation model based on China's provincial regions. The dynamic changes in tourism ecological security and its driving mechanism in the study area from 1998 to 2018 are analyzed using spatial autocorrelation and geographic detectors. The results show that: (1) From the perspective of temporal evolution, the level of tourism ecological security in China's provinces has risen from 1998 to 2018, with Guangdong province ranking first. (2) In terms of spatial distribution, the spatial correlation of tourism ecological security in each province is weakening, the cold and hot spots areas changing from an east–west trend to a north–south trend. (3) All provinces show a balanced trend in the five dimensions of DPSIR, indicating that the tourism ecological security system pays more attention to the coordinated development of all aspects. (4) From the standpoint of the driving mechanism, economic factors are no longer the biggest driving force of tourism ecological security. Service quality, science and technology, environmental governance and protection, and system response-ability are all significant approaches and techniques to develop and improve tourism ecological security. This study identifies the core influencing factors in the tourism ecological security system’s evaluation index system and constructs the driving mechanism, which greatly promotes the policy implementation of tourism ecological security.