Research on the spatial distribution and driving mechanism of the integrated development of the health tourism industry

ABSTRACT This study uses coupled coordination, spatial autocorrelation, and grey correlation analysis to examine the degree, trends, and spatial distribution of health tourism industry integration in Guangdong Province, China, to explore the relevant factors affecting its development, and to summarize the mechanisms and paths of such integration. Results show that (1) the overall development trend of convergence of the health tourism industry in Guangdong Province is generally positive, and the health and tourism industries are in a benign coupling state of mutual promotion; (2) the convergence of the health tourism industry in Guangdong Province shows obvious local spatial agglomeration characteristics, and the spatial distribution pattern of cold hot spots of industrial coupling coordination shows the characteristics of “cold in the north and hot in the south” and “cold in the east and west, hot in the middle;” (3) among those factors affecting the convergence of health tourism industry in Guangdong Province, market demand exerts the greatest influence, followed by human resources, technological innovation, government support, and basic transportation; and (4) in the convergence mechanism of the health tourism industry in Guangdong Province, demand is the endogenous driving force, talent cultivation and technological innovation are the sustained supporting forces, and government support is the external driving force. Some suggestions are put forward to promote the convergence of the health and tourism industries and to provide a reference for the global health tourism industry to achieve high-quality convergence and development.