Abstract Sustainable tourism is widely advocated as a low-impact development strategy that promotes economic growth while preserving ecological integrity. However, empirical evidence increasingly reveals complex environmental trade-offs associated with tourism expansion, particularly in ecologically sensitive heritage sites. Mount Emeishan, a UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage Site in China, exemplifies a destination where tourism has driven regional socio-economic development through culturally meaningful product innovation. Yet, this growth has also imposed significant ecological pressures, particularly in waste management, where hazardous waste accumulation correlates strongly with increasing visitor numbers—posing a growing threat to local ecosystem stability. To address these challenges, this study proposes a dynamic environmental monitoring framework integrating high-resolution remote sensing imagery (HR-RSI) and advanced image fusion techniques (IFT). The primary objective is to develop a systematic, data-driven methodology for assessing and mitigating tourism-induced environmental degradation, thereby supporting sustainable management of the Emeishan National Park. Empirical evaluation of the framework demonstrated a system stability rate of 88%, representing a 12.7% statistically significant improvement (p<0.05) over traditional monitoring systems under a sample size of 100 test cases. Through the synthesis of multi-source remote sensing data, the study quantitatively assessed the impacts of tourism activities on key environmental indicators, including vegetation cover, land use dynamics, and water quality. Results revealed a noticeable decline in vegetation coverage and significant land use transitions, particularly in high-traffic zones. Furthermore, elevated water pollution risks were observed during peak tourist seasons, underscoring the seasonal nature of tourism-related environmental stressors. These findings provide robust scientific support for policy-makers and tourism authorities in formulating evidence-based environmental protection strategies and adaptive resource management policies. The integration of HR-RSI and IFT offers a scalable and replicable approach for monitoring environmental impacts in heritage-rich, tourism-intensive regions, contributing to the global discourse on sustainable tourism and ecological resilience.
Sun et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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