From Cross-Sectoral Linkage to Sustainable and Coordinated Development: Spatiotemporal Evolution, Structural Barriers, and Transition Pathways of Sports–Culture–Tourism Integration in China

Cross-sectoral integration among sports, culture, and tourism has emerged as a crucial pathway for fostering coordinated and sustainable regional development. Using panel data from 30 provincial-level regions in China from 2013 to 2022, this study applies the entropy weight method, coupling coordination degree (CCD) model, kernel density estimation, spatial autocorrelation analysis, and obstacle degree model to examine the spatiotemporal evolution and structural shortfalls of sports–culture–tourism coordination. The results reveal steady improvement in the cultural subsystem, persistent vulnerabilities in the sports subsystem, and notable volatility in tourism. The national mean CCD rose from 0.342 in 2013 to 0.411 in 2019 but subsequently declined to 0.373 in 2022, demonstrating that structural synchrony can coexist with limited overall coordination. Regional differences remained significant, with no sustained convergence. Global Moran’s I revealed positive but weak spatial dependence. Obstacle diagnosis identified primary structural shortfalls in sports infrastructure and public service provision, cultural value conversion, and tourism market capacity. Overall, the findings suggest that cross-sectoral linkage does not automatically translate into substantive coordination, highlighting the necessity of balancing subsystem capacities and tailoring regional development support.