From pursuing quantity to pursuing quality: exploring the coupling coordination and influencing factors of high-quality tourism development and ecosystem service value in the Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration of China

IntroductionThe coordinated development of tourism and the ecological environment has long been a critical issue for achieving human health and well-being and The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The tourism industry is gradually shifting its focus from “quantity-driven” to “quality-driven” growth, a necessary transition for its high-quality development. However, few studies have explored the coordinated evolution between the high-quality tourism development and the environment.MethodsThis study introduces the measurement of ecosystem services (ES) to quantitatively assess the spatial–temporal evolution of the coupling coordination degree between high-quality tourism development and ecosystem service value (ESV) in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) urban agglomeration from 2011 to 2022. Furthermore, a panel data model is employed to identify its influencing factors.Results and discussionThe findings are as follows: (1) the comprehensive index of high-quality tourism development exhibited a trend of an initial rise followed by a decline, displaying a spatial distribution pattern of “high in the central region, low in the eastern and western regions.” (2) The overall ESV showed a fluctuating downward trend, with a spatial pattern of “low in the east, high in the west; high in the north, low in the south.” (3) The coupling coordination effect first increased and then decreased, having long been in a run-in phase, presenting a spatial distribution of “high in the north, low in the south; high in the west, low in the east.” (4) The coordinated development of the two systems is influenced by economic development, governmental environmental regulations, urban expansion, and industrial structure. The results of this research provide significant theoretical and practical implications for the coordinated development of tourism system and ecosystem services.