Abstract: Based on data from 124 prefecture-level and above cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2012 to 2022, this study constructed a comprehensive evaluation index system for high-quality tourism development under the common prosperity goals.Utilizing the entropy-TOPSIS method, exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA), and Dagum Gini coefficient, we systematically investigated the spatiotemporal characteristics, evolutionary trends, and regional disparities of tourism high-quality development.Furthermore, the geographical convergent cross-mapping (GCCM) model was employed to analyze causal relationships among variables within the tourism development system.Key findings included: ① The high-quality tourism development in the Yangtze River Economic Belt maintained medium-low levels with a steady growth during the study period, where ecological conservation and coordinated development demonstrated relatively strong performance while other dimensions lagged; ② A distinct east-west gradient pattern emerged, characterized by an “east-hot-west-cold” spatial distribution; ③ Spatial disparities gradually narrowed, with interregional differences constituting the primary source (>60%) of overall variation; ④ Government intervention, financial services, infrastructure, consumption, and population exhibited causal relationships with tourism development quality, though the direction of causality showed significant heterogeneity across dimensions.