Is tourism always detrimental to ecosystems? Insights from tradeoffs and synergies among ecosystem services in tourism destinations

Due to the representativeness and rarity of ecosystems in tourism destinations, studies of ecosystem services in tourism destinations can not only promote the sustainable development of tourism, but can also promote human well-being. We performed a comprehensive temporal and spatial assessment of changes in ecosystem services and identified the tradeoffs and synergies that exist among ecosystem services in Huangshan. The results show that the relationships among ecosystem services in the Huangshan scenic area were mainly synergistic. In the buffer zone, land use varied by township, and the ecosystem services in this zone showed different changes and relationships compared to those in the Huangshan scenic area from 2000 to 2023. This study provides empirical evidence that under perfect management systems in scenic areas, the development of tourism can promote the synergy of regional ecosystem services. In contrast, agriculture facilitates tradeoffs among regional ecosystem services.