The impact of cultural heritage listing on regional tourism development in China

Existing studies have shown that intangible cultural heritage (ICH) listing system promotes the development of the tourism economy. However, it remains unclear which regions benefit most from ICH listing due to inherent differences in ICH resource endowments across regions. We address this issue by examining the impact of ICH listing on regional tourism development using China's prefecture-level panel data from 2000 to 2019. By employing a two-stage least squares methodology, we address the endogeneity issue and identify which regions derive the greatest benefits from ICH listing. Our findings reveal that regions with higher cultural diversity have more ICH resources and benefit more from ICH listings, resulting in positive effects on domestic and international tourism. Additionally, tangible cultural resources further amplify this relationship. These results underscore the importance of ICH protection and provide valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders seeking to leverage local ICH resources for regional tourism development.