This study constructs a comprehensive evaluation index system for green finance and the ecological tourism industry, utilizing entropy weight method, coupling model, coupling coordination degree model, and relative development degree model to investigate the spatiotemporal evolution of the coupling coordination degree between green finance and ecological tourism across 30 provincial administrative units in China from 2010 to 2023. The results indicate that, in the temporal dimension, the comprehensive indices of green finance and ecological tourism in China both show a continuous growth trend, with an increasing coupling degree and a gradually strengthening mutual influence between the two systems. The coupling coordination degree level has progressively entered a state of marginal coordination, while the relative development degree is also on the rise, indicating an overall synchronous development stage. In the spatial dimension, the eastern and central regions maintain a leading advantage in the coupling degree and coupling coordination degree of green finance and ecological tourism, though they lag behind in terms of relative development degree. Conversely, the northeastern and western regions exhibit an opposite situation; however, the overall development trend appears positive. Therefore, it is recommended that relevant departments formulate targeted policy measures based on regional development needs and resource endowments, establish a framework for cross-departmental deep cooperation, and create a long-term stable cooperation mechanism to promote higher levels of coordinated development between green finance and ecological tourism in China.