Measurement of Tourism Industry-Ecological Environment Coupling Degree and Management and Control Measures for Tourism Environment: A Case Study of Henan Province, China

The tourism industry has the largest scale of economic activities worldwide with the most powerful development momentum but has generated a negative effect on the ecological environment. The development of the tourism industry is a precondition and guarantee of eco-environmental optimization, and a harmonious ecological environment is an important dynamic support for the growth of tourism economy, making them mutually associated with evident coupling characteristic. In this study, related literature regarding the tourism industry and eco-environmental protection of developed countries in Europe and America were first reviewed, and tourism industry-ecological environment coupling model was constructed using Henan Province, China, as a case study. The coupling degrees in Henan Province during 2013-2018 were measured, and a comparative analysis of the spatial changes in tourism industry-ecological environment coupling degrees of 18 prefecture-level cities in Henan in 2013 and 2018 was conducted. Results showed that the order degree of the tourism industry in Henan Province maintained a rising trend during 2013-2018, whereas that of the ecological environment exhibited a fluctuating trend. The overall tourism industry–ecological environment coupling of 18 prefecture-level cities in Henan Province enhanced in 2013 and 2018, where the coupling degrees in Zhengzhou, Nan yang, and Luoyang presented an outward radiation trend from high to low. The study results serve as significant reference values for revealing the spatial-temporal evolution characteristics of the ecological environment and the tourism industry and completing the research regarding the coordinated development of the tourism industry and ecological environment.