Analysis of the coupled and coordinated development of sports and tourism industries and the driving factors

The Yellow River Basin has a wealth of tourism resources, a long history of folk sports, and strong legislative support, all of which are advantages for the growth of the sports tourism sector. This study constructs an evaluation index system based on panel data from nine provinces and regions in the Yellow River Basin from 2011 to 2020, and then measures the development index and analyzes the driving factors using the entropy method, coupling coordination degree model, kernel density estimation method, and grey correlation analysis method. The findings demonstrate that (1) the Yellow River Basin's overall level of growth in the sports and tourist sectors exhibits a consistent and upward trend and that Shandong and Henan provinces clearly have an edge over other provinces in terms of development. (2) The geographical development pattern was lower Yellow River > upper Yellow River > middle Yellow River, and the coupling coordination status shifted from slight disorder to good coordination. (3) There is a close connection between sports tourism and variables including population density, financial prowess, and infrastructure growth. The employment population index has the smallest link with invention patent authorization. The macro-policy framework should therefore be strengthened in the future, the sports tourism infrastructure should be improved, and the Yellow River basin's unique sports tourism resources should be fully utilized in order to increase brand influence. In addition, new sports tourism products should be developed in response to market demand and consumer preferences, and enterprise innovation and research and development efforts should be increased in order to achieve high-quality development transformation.