Prudent destinations: advancing coupling coordination and obstacle degree based evolving model in tourism safety

Tourism sustainability is vital for economic development and adherence to Sustainable Development Goals. Destination safety and reviews significantly influence tourism flow, which is essential for management. Safety measures enhance competitiveness and tourist satisfaction, whereas negative reviews can harm the industry but are often overlooked. This study introduces an evolving model based on Coupling Coordination and Obstacle Degree methods to investigate the quantitative relationship between safety measures and digital reviews to fill the research gap. This study utilized the model robustness by taking a case of Bhopal, India, where tourism flow has declined by 60% over five years. Findings reveal that tourism safety is influenced significantly by the surrounding context (39.2%) and destination ratings (47.4%). In Bhopal, eleven destinations exhibit well-balanced safety classifications, while fourteen require maintenance. The study highlights the significance of sensitivity analysis in evaluating system stability, indicating that moderate input errors minimally affect overall results, thus supporting the reliability of the model. It identifies insufficient street lighting and poor destination ratings as key obstacles to tourism safety, negatively impacting safety perceptions. Recommendations for improvement include enhancing lighting, establishing a tourism protection police unit, promoting community involvement upgrading infrastructure, and urging local governments to implement informed policies for better safety and visitor experiences.HighlightsProposed model to assess tourism safety based on coupling coordination and obstacle degree.Tourism safety is primarily influenced by the surrounding context and destination ratings.The model is reliable and satisfies the sensitivity analysis.Poor street lighting and destination ratings are barriers to tourism safety.