Role of new urbanization in tourism supply-demand evolution within the urban agglomeration via driving mechanisms and...

Urban agglomerations serve as a critical vehicle for advancing high-quality regional urbanization, with the Lanzhou-Xining (Lanxi) urban agglomeration representing an advanced stage of urbanization in western China. As a nationally significant urban agglomeration in the western region, the Lanxi urban agglomeration also functions as a vital ecological barrier. Studying the supply and demand dynamics of ecotourism in this area is therefore important for the development of ecotourism and for promoting sustainable regional tourism practices. Based on this premise, this study focuses on the supply and demand conditions of new urbanization and ecotourism across 19 cities (districts and counties) within the Lanxi urban agglomeration. An evaluation index system is developed to assess the development of regional new-type urbanization and ecotourism supply and demand. The study employs methods including the coupling coordination model, the obstacle degree model, and the geographical detector to examine the comprehensive development levels of the regional systems, their spatial and temporal distribution characteristics, and the associated obstacle factors. The results indicate the following: (1) During the study period, the average comprehensive development level of the three major systems within the Lanxi urban agglomeration exhibited a steady upward trend overall. (2) Over the study period, the degree of coupling coordination among the three systems shifted from moderate imbalance (with coordination values between 0.2 and 0.3) to mild imbalance (with coordination values between 0.3 and 0.4). Significant regional differences and spatial clustering were observed in the coupling coordination levels. The overall spatial distribution of new-type urbanization and ecotourism supply and demand in the Lanxi urban agglomeration generally presented a pattern characterized by higher values in the central area (Lanzhou and Xining) and lower values in the peripheral areas. (3) The four dimensions represented by eight influencing factors-namely tourism scale, tourism benefits, tourism resources, and infrastructure-are identified as key determinants influencing the coupled and coordinated development of regional new urbanization and ecotourism supply and demand.