Evaluating Yachting Tourism Competitiveness and Identifying Obstacle Factors in Chinese Coastal Cities: A Sustainable Development Perspective

Objective evaluation of yachting tourism competitiveness is crucial for promoting the sustainable development of China’s yacht industry. This study adopts a sustainable development perspective and focuses on 12 coastal cities with strong yachting tourism development. We construct a comprehensive evaluation system covering five dimensions: resource endowment, natural environment, economic foundation, social support, and industrial development. Using the AHP-entropy method combined with obstacle factor analysis, we quantitatively assess the competitiveness and identify the key barriers of yachting tourism in 2014, 2017, 2019, and 2022. The results indicate that yachting tourism competitiveness in Chinese coastal cities has generally improved, with significant regional variations. Economic development and the advancement of the yacht industry are the primary drivers of competitiveness enhancement, highlighting the need for targeted policies to support sustainable growth and industry development.