Study on the Spatial–Temporal Pattern and Driving Mechanism of Tourism Eco-Security in the Yellow River Basin

Tourism eco-security evaluation is an effective tool for facilitating the coordinated and sustainable economic and environmental development of tourist destinations. Based on system theory, this study established a comprehensive evaluation index system for the DPSIR model, applying the entropy–TOPSIS method, spatial autocorrelation, spatial econometric model and geo-detector to investigate the spatial and temporal evolution and drivers of tourism eco-security of the Yellow River basin. The results showed that the tourism eco-security of the Yellow River basin steadily and significantly increased from 2003 to 2020, reaching a peak in 2019, while there was a low level of overall tourism eco-security and improvement possibility. The results show a spatial evolution pattern of expansion from provincial capital cities to nearby prefecture-level cities from the middle and lower reaches to the middle and upper reaches, with significant spatial clustering and spillover effects. Factors affecting the tourism eco-security of the Yellow River basin vary in and between regional basins. Because there are many influencing factors, the key factors were further identified by spatial effect decomposition. The results of this study have important theoretical and practical value in promoting the coordinated and sustainable development of the tourism economy and ecological environment in the Yellow River basin.