Heritage Tourism in Spain: Territorial Differentiation in Tourism Intensity and Cultural Heritage Concentration

Heritage tourism is central to Spain’s cultural and territorial development, but its spatial distribution and intensity are still unevenly understood. This study analyzes heritage tourism in Spain as a territorially differentiated phenomenon by comparing provincial differences in tourism intensity, heritage tourism density, and cultural heritage concentration. Drawing on official experimental statistics from the National Institute of Statistics of Spain, the analysis integrates mobile phone geolocation data from 181,670,728 devices across 3214 destinations, tourism expenditure information, and a Heritage Concentration Index constructed for architectural cultural heritage. Four one-way ANOVA models were applied to assess differences among Spain’s 52 provinces in the Internal Tourism Intensity Index, External Tourism Intensity Index, Heritage Tourism Density, and Heritage Concentration Index. Hochberg-adjusted post hoc comparisons and Tukey HSD robustness checks were used to examine interprovincial differences, while Welch ANOVA and Moran’s I were added to assess robustness and spatial structure. The results show statistically significant territorial differences across all four indicators, indicating that heritage tourism in Spain is not spatially homogeneous. The study contributes an integrated, data-driven approach for measuring heritage tourism at the provincial scale and provides diagnostic evidence that may inform differentiated tourism planning, destination management, and more balanced heritage-based territorial strategies.