Coupling Mechanisms and Development Patterns of Revitalizing Intangible Cultural Heritage by Integrating Cultural Tourism: The Case of Hunan Province, China

The integration of the cultural/creative and tourism industries is one way to present different types of regional cultural heritage to the world. This study examined the coupling of intangible cultural heritage and cultural tourism development in Hunan, seeking a pattern for the development of the former under the latter. The study included analyzing the coupling between tourism resources and ICH and exploring modes of revitalizing or developing ICH in the context of cultural tourism. We used methods of GIS spatial technology, including nearest neighbor indexing, kernel density estimation, and queuing analysis, to estimate the kernel density of a buffer of points (high-speed railway stations, and 5A and 4A scenic spots) and lines (high-speed railways and highways). The results show (1) the overall spatial aggregation of Hunan’s ICH resources; (2) how tourist attractions drive ICH resources, as illustrated by the coupling between the spatial distribution of ≥4A attractions and ICH; and (3) the pattern of high-speed road and railroad network development, featuring region-wide guidance for the development of Hunan’s ICH resources. This research not only provides development patterns and concepts for the study of intangible cultural heritage and tourism development planning in Hunan, but also provides useful references for the combination of the two in other regions.