Through in-depth analysis of the three dimensions of input, output and development environment, the evaluation index system of integrated development of culture and tourism in the five provinces in northwest China was constructed, and the level of integrated development of culture and tourism in the five provinces from 2011 to 2021 was measured. The weight of each index was used to determine the combination assignment. The results show that the integrated development of the cultural and tourism industry in the five northwestern provinces is less synchronised and mostly dominated by cultural lag. In addition, there is no equivalence between the integrated development of culture and tourism industry and regional economic level and resource abundance, and the overall development level is not high. On the whole, most of the integrated development level of culture and tourism in northwest China is unbalanced, the allocation of factor resources still needs to be adjusted, and the industrial structure needs to be transformed. Therefore, in order to promote the prosperous development of cultural undertakings and tourism in northwest China, it is necessary to taken more effective measures to improve the integrated development level of culture and tourism.