Statistical Modeling of Tourists’ Protection Behavior under Cultural Heritage Knowledge Sharing: Evidence from Shandong Province, China

Cultural heritage preservation increasingly relies on tourists’ active participation, particularly through knowledge-based interactions. This study develops and tests a structural equation model (SEM) to quantitatively analyze the nonlinear relationships between four dimensions of cultural heritage knowledge sharing—informational, social, experiential, and technological—and tourists’ protection behavior. Data were collected from 368 domestic tourists at three major heritage sites in Shandong Province, China, using purposive sampling. A bootstrapped SEM approach was employed to estimate path coefficients and assess model fit. The analysis reveals that all four knowledge sharing dimensions significantly and positively impact protection behavior, with technological knowledge sharing exerting the strongest influence. The results underscore the importance of multidimensional knowledge dissemination in shaping behavioral outcomes. Methodologically, this study applies mathematical modeling and latent variable analysis to capture complex behavioral patterns in heritage tourism, providing a foundation for future quantitative frameworks in cultural heritage research.