The Coordinated Development of Ski Tourism, the Ecological Environment and Urbanization in Northeast China

Understanding the coupled and coordinated relationship between ski tourism, the ecological environment and urbanization is of great significance for developing the ice and snow economy, protecting the ecological environment and accelerating the construction of new urbanization. The ski tourism industry and economic and social development statistics of the three northeastern provinces from 2010–2019 were used to conduct a comprehensive systematic evaluation of each indicator of regional ski tourism, the ecological environment and urbanization (the S-E-U system). The coupled coordination degree model was used to analyze the relationship and trend of coupled and coordinated development of ski tourism, the ecological environment and urbanization in the three provinces of Northeast China. The results show that the overall development level of the S-E-U system in the Northeast has been relatively stable, and the level of coordinated development is still low. The overall comprehensive development level of the system is characterized by changes in stages, and the variability and consistency coexist in the development level of each subsystem. Except for Liaoning Province, the coupled coordination type of ski tourism, the ecological environment and urbanization in the other two provinces is “barely coordinated-lagging urbanization”. The development trend of coupling coordination is significantly correlated with fluctuations in ecological environmental quality, and the ecological environment will become a key element in determining regional development.