Abstract
The ski tourism industry influences regional socio-economic development. Misalignment between resource endowmentsand utilization patterns, however, leads to imbalances in water and energy resource allocation andeconomic disparities, resulting in spatial unevenness. This study assesses the developmental imbalances withinChina's ski tourism industry, utilizing a water-energy-economy nexus (W-E-E-N) perspective and an EnvironmentalExtended Multi-Regional Input-Output (EE-MRIO). The findings reveal that multiplier effects amplifiedeconomic growth, with a 2.60-fold. Contrary to previous research concluding a positive correlation betweenrevenue and resource use in ski tourism, this study finds that while the economic footprint grew at a CompoundAnnual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 3.24%, the water and energy footprints had CAGR of - 8.69% and - 3.60% from2015 to 2023, respectively. The water footprint is dominated by strong decoupling, and the energy footprint byweak decoupling. By analysing internal and external footprint proportions and net destination evolution, thissection reveals how provincial dependencies shape W-E-E footprints disparities in China's ski tourism industry.Regional disparities reveal the Eastern demand-driven economic gains contrasted with the Northern andNorthwestern resource burdens. Demand expansion dominated resource consumption, with limited mitigationfrom technological advances. The study aligns with SDG 6 and 7, and constructs a policy framework to coordinatethe water-energy-economy relationship in the ski tourism industry from four dimensions, including policyguidance, technology orientation, market adjustment, and regional collaboration. The study's findings offeruseful insights for developing countries and markets experiencing rapid growth in ski tourism.
NETL
NSTL
Elsevier