The intangible cultural heritage of local tourism through spatial distribution characteristics

Abstract Using Jiangsu Province as a case study, this paper analyzed the spatial distribution characteristics of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) in Jiangsu, China. It employed the nearest neighbor index (NNI), geographic detectors, and related analysis methods to investigate the association between ICH and local tourism. It was found that ICHs in Jiangsu was mainly concentrated in the southern part of the province, particularly in Nanjing, Suzhou, and Yangzhou. In terms of category distribution, the ICH of Jiangsu mainly comprises traditional skills, 38 of which are national-level ICHs. Moreover, the overall concentration degree of ICH in Jiangsu was relatively high (NNI = 0.268), and traditional skills exhibited the highest density (NNI = 0.362). Geographic detector results indicated that the spatial distribution of ICH in Jiangsu was most strongly influenced by gross domestic product (GDP) (q = 0.823), followed by the number of historical and cultural cities (q = 0.764). Correlation analysis showed that ICH was significantly associated with various tourism indicators. These results highlight the spatial distribution characteristics of Jiangsu’s ICH and indicate that its international development remains insufficient.