**5. Conclusions**

To analyze the spatial suitability distribution of winter tourism, the daily maximum temperature, mean wind speed, relative humidity, and visibility are used to establish the MSI, and snow depth and duration are used to establish the SAI. The coupling relationship of the two indices is used to analyze the suitability degree of winter tourism based on a copula function, and then the distribution of winter tourism resources can be obtained and used in tourism planning.

According to the MSI analysis, the high-suitability area mainly distributed in the eastern region, whereas the medium-suitability area mainly distributed in the central region. The SAI analysis shows that the snow resource mainly concentrates on central-eastern Jilin province, and the snow resources in the western region are less. Through the analysis of snow and weather data from 1980 to 2014, it is found that the *Frank* is the suitable function to analyze the coupling relationship between MSI and SAI with an error of 0.241 at the 0.05 significance level. From the MSI and SAI coupling, it is found that central-eastern Jilin province is suitable for developing tourism with a tendency to decrease from the southeast to the northwest. Yushu–Jiutai–Yitong–Dongliao is the main boundary line of winter tourism resources. From the annual variations of MSI and SAI, there is high suitability in weather conditions and snow resources in the eastern region, which is suitable for the development of winter tourism. On the contrary, it has a few snow resources and large inter-annual fluctuation in the western region, therefore, the construction of long-term ski resort in this area will be very expensive. The low temperature in the west makes it possible to develop the ice-related tourism industry. That is, the eastern area is suitable for developing winter tourism, and the suitability degree of the western region is weak from little snowfall and strong wind.

Previous studies have shown that climate change will bring positive and negative impacts on winter tourism in different regions. There are also large differences in seasons. Climate change causes a lot of losses to the tourism industry in some regions while improving the suitability of tourism in other regions [64]. Combined with the change of 10 cm snow depth contour map (Figure 5) and the average temperature in winter in Jilin Province (Figure 3), it can conclude that the mean temperature in winter in Jilin Province showed an increasing trend (0.29 ◦C/10a). In terms of snow depth, winter precipitation in Jilin Province showed an increasing trend, and the 10 cm snow depth contour has been moving westward from the 1980s to 2010s. Therefore, combined with these two trends, it can be predicted that the winter tourism suitability in the central -western regions of Jilin Province will increase under the influence of climate change. These conclusions are consistent with the previous research results [65]. Therefore, the suitability boundary of winter tourism will move westward.

In this study, MSI can be used to guide tourists to travel outdoor activities in winter. SAI can be used for regional snow resources assessment and water resources assessment. This study proposed a spatial analysis method for winter tourism suitability that can be used for winter tourism planning. The study results revealed the spatial constraints of meteorological and snow resources on winter tourism. This study will have a potential impact on the attractiveness analysis of winter tourist destinations and the development of winter tourism industry. This study could provide decision support for the tourist choosing winter tourism destinations, the construction of winter ski resorts and the spatial layout of the winter tourism industry. In a further study, the winter tourism spatial suitability and its impact on the industrial economy will be studied by taking into account land use, transport, terrain, and the socioeconomy.

**Author Contributions:** W.C. analyzed the data and wrote the paper; X.L. provided the research methods in this study; H.D. collected the data.

**Funding:** This study is supported by the Innovation and Development Fund Project of the Tourism College of Changchun University (2017) Northeast Asia special project (XJZX-03).

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
