The coordination pattern of tourism efficiency and development level in Guangdong Province under high-quality development

Tourism efficiency is an important basis for measuring the quality of regional tourism economic operations. Promoting the high-quality and sustainable development of tourism is of great theoretical significance and practical value. Here, we measured the tourism development level of 21 cities in Guangdong Province from 2000 to 2020, introduced the DEA-MI model to measure and dissect tourism efficiency, and analyzed spatiotemporal data to explore the dynamic characteristics of regional tourism differences and spatial structures. Additionally, we constructed a coupled coordination degree model of tourism efficiency and development level and analyzed the coupling excellence and synergistic consistency of the two models. The results showed (1) evident spatial differences in the comprehensive tourism efficiency of 21 cities in Guangdong Province. (2) The local spatial structure of the tourism efficiency and development level fluctuates less and is more stable depending on the direction. (3) The local spatial structure of the tourism development level is more stable because the relative positions of municipal units are not readily changed. (4) The overall coupling degree of tourism efficiency, scale, and coupling coordination degree gradually improve with similar spatial and temporal divergence characteristics; the local evolution shows spatial heterogeneity and volatility.