## 4 Conclusions and Prospects  
This study takes the provincial level as the research scale to estimate total carbon emissions, carbon sink increment in tourist areas, and the ecological compensation amount of the regional tourism industry in 31 provinces in China from 2019 to 2020. Overall carbon emissions from the tourism industry in the 31 provinces showed a declining trend in 2020, with a reduction of over 50% on average. Quantities of carbon sinks in tourist areas showed an upward trend, increasing by 3.4%. The regions with negative growth were mainly concentrated in provinces where the epidemic was less severe, and the tourism industry accounted for a more significant proportion of the overall GDP. Except for Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Qinghai, and Ningxia, which had a negative adequate ecological compensation amount, the remaining provinces had a positive effective ecological compensation amount. Based on each province's adequate ecological compensation amount, the estimated ecological compensation amount is CNY 6.948 billion. Provinces with higher ecological compensation amounts are mainly concentrated in regions severely affected by the epidemic, with a concentration of natural scenic areas, strong regional compensation capacity, and a high willingness of the population to compensate. The development of tourism has a promoting effect on carbon emissions [43; 44]. Factors such as the number of tourists and tourism income are the main factors influencing carbon emissions in the tourism industry [45]. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is mainly reflected in a sharp decline in the number of tourists and tourism income [46]. From the perspective of tourism supply and demand, the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the risks and burdens of local governments and tourism enterprises regarding development. Additionally, pandemic control measures may reduce tourists' willingness and demand for tourism activities [38]. From the perspective of ecological environment protection, tourism activities significantly impact the ecological environment of tourism destinations. Therefore, reducing tourism development and activities will also decrease carbon emissions in the tourism industry. Some scholars have suggested that research on ecological compensation in the tourism industry should be linked to the number of tourists, tourism income, and disposable income of residents in scenic areas [47]. The results of this study validate these viewpoints. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has indeed dealt a blow to developing the tourism industry. However, it has also facilitated the overall ecological recovery of tourism destinations. It has provided a research background for assessing the recovery capacity of the tourism ecosystem with minimal human impact during the containment of the pandemic. Different tourism destinations have other ecological systems and vegetation restoration capacities. To achieve a harmonious balance between economic development and environmental conservation for different types of ecosystems (natural, artificial, semi-natural, semi-artificial), corresponding periods for ecological restoration should be arranged based on the characteristics of each destination. The design of the impact coefficient for the tourism industry affected by the COVID-19 pandemic provides a reference for developing ecological compensation schemes for the affected tourism sector. Calculation methods for carbon emissions and the study of regional ecological compensation have been rapidly developing in China. This study primarily focuses on government-led compensation models within provincial boundaries and does not examine spillover effects, externalities, and ecological compensation between provinces in the tourism industry. In quantifying the indicators, some low-agglomeration scenic areas were excluded by referring to mature research methods, resulting in specific errors in estimating the carbon sequestration of highly agglomerated scenic areas.