In the context of rapid urban tourism expansion and the growing emphasis on equitable and sustainable transport development, understanding how transport systems support different types of attractions has become increasingly important. This study investigates how attraction hierarchy and functional type interact with public transport accessibility to shape urban tourism patterns and equity. Whereas prior work emphasizes objective metrics, the alignment between perceived accessibility and actual transport conditions remains understudied. Using Wuhan’s A-rated and popular unrated attractions as a case, we have developed an innovative “ objective–perceived coupling framework that integrates GIS network analysis, travel cost matrix, non-parametric testing, and online comment text mining methods to examine how scenic spot levels (A-level and unrated popular scenic spots) and functional types interact with the public transportation system from both objective and perceptual dimensions. Results show: (1) A-rated attractions cluster in suburbs with low accessibility, while unrated sites concentrate centrally with high rail-bus connectivity, revealing a “high-grade–low-accessibility” mismatch. (2) Accessibility varies by type: natural sites are lowest, cultural/leisure venues intermediate, and comprehensive sites highest due to multimodal hub proximity. (3) Sentiment and topic analyses based on transport-related review content suggest that some A-rated attractions receive less favorable evaluations of access conditions (e.g., transfers, waiting, last-mile walking, wayfinding, and parking), whereas many popular unrated sites are evaluated more positively in these transport-specific aspects. (4) Quadrant analysis shows many highly rated attractions fall into a “low objective–low perceived” disadvantage, while most unrated ones exhibit strong objective–perceived coupling. These findings underscore structural imbalances among administrative grading, attraction function, and transit provision, offering evidence for optimizing public transport service to tourist attractions. They help optimize the spatial structure of urban tourism, improve resource allocation efficiency, guide differentiated scenic spot development strategies, and promote sustainable and experience-oriented urban tourism governance.

This study investigates the spatial association between metro network topological centrality and the distribution of commercial establishments in Wuhan, China, with attention to its implications for sustainable urban development. Metro station data and commercial point-of-interest (POI) data were integrated with space syntax and GIS-based spatial analysis to examine commercial spatial patterns at both the citywide and station levels. Kernel density estimation was used to identify commercial agglomerations, while station-level Spearman correlation analysis, bootstrap comparison, Gini coefficient analysis, and Local Moran’s I were employed to evaluate the spatial association between metro network topological centrality and different commercial sectors. The results show that: (1) Wuhan exhibits a “primary core–multiple nodes” commercial spatial structure, and the current distribution of commercial establishments differs among planned city-level commercial centers despite their comparable planning hierarchy. (2) A significant positive spatial association exists between metro network topological centrality and commercial establishment distribution at the station level. However, substantial spatial heterogeneity is observed across the network. For example, Optics Valley Square and Zhuyehai contain relatively dense commercial establishments despite comparatively low topological centrality, whereas Wuhan Business District Station exhibits relatively high topological centrality but limited surrounding commercial development. (3) All seven commercial sectors show significant positive spatial associations with metro network topological centrality, although finance exhibits the strongest association. The remaining sectors display broadly comparable correlation strengths but differ considerably in their spatial concentration patterns. These findings enhance understanding of the spatial organization of commercial activities in relation to metro network topology and provide empirical evidence to support commercial planning, transit-oriented urban development, and more sustainable patterns of urban commercial development.