Abstract: Understanding the social and natural factors that affect the spatial and temporal patterns of ecosystem services in tourist destinations is important for achieving sustainable management and environmental protection. We quantitatively investigated the spatial distribution of ecosystem services in the Xin’an River Basin using the Pearson correlation coefficient method. Geographic probes were introduced to identify the driving factors affecting the spatial distribution of ecosystem services and analyze the intrinsic logic between spatial differences and the development of tourist destinations. The results showed that: (1) Soil conservation in the Xin’an River Basin maintained at 0-713.97 t·hm^-2. Water yield was 286.93-2060.29 mm. Average habitat quality was 0.81. Carbon storage was 2.3-106.55 t·hm^-2. Tourism culture was 0-5922 yuan·hm^-2. (2) The areas with high water yield in the Xin’an River Basin were mainly concentrated in the Huangshan Mountain and the southern hills regions. The areas with low water production value were located around Taiping Lake and the Xin’an River. The areas with high value for soil conservation were found in the Huangshan Mountains, the southern part of Huangshan City, and the border between Huangshan City and Hangzhou City. Low-value areas were mainly found in the central and eastern parts of the basin. Except for the central regions (including the Huangshan Scenic Area, Tunxi District, and Huizhou District) and the Xin’an River, carbon stock and habitat quality showed obvious clustering in other areas. High-value areas for tourism culture were mainly distributed along the Xin’an River and other water bodies, while cultivated land areas had the lowest values. (3) The relationships among the five ecosystem services in the Xin’an River Basin were primarily synergistic. There were trade-off relationships between tourism culture and carbon storage, soil conservation, water supply, as well as between water supply and habitat quality. The most significant trade-off was found between tourism and water supply, while the most prominent synergy was between tourism and habitat quality. (4) Natural factors were the dominant factors influencing the five types of ecosystem services in the Xin’an River Basin, but the impacts of social factors on ecosystem services should not be underestimated.

Key words: nature-based tourism, ecosystem services, trade-offs and synergies, driving forcing, Xin’an River Basin