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

Heritage tourism plays a central role in Spain’s cultural and territorial development, yet its spatial distribution and intensity remain unevenly understood. This study examines heritage tourism in Spain as a territorially differentiated phenomenon by analyzing provincial differences in tourism intensity, heritage tourism density, and cultural heritage concentration. Using official experimental statistics from the National Institute of Statistics of Spain, the study integrates mobile-phone geolocation data from 181,670,728 devices across 3,214 destinations, tourism expenditure information, and a Heritage Concentration Index constructed for architectural cultural heritage. Four one-way ANOVA models were applied to assess whether significant differences exist among Spain’s 52 provinces in the Internal Tourism Intensity Index, External Tourism Intensity Index, Heritage Tourism Density, and Heritage Concentration. Hochberg-adjusted post hoc comparisons were used to identify specific interprovincial differences while controlling for multiple comparisons. The results show statistically significant territorial differences across all four indicators, confirming that heritage tourism in Spain is not spatially homogeneous. These findings contribute to the literature by offering an integrated, data-driven approach to measuring heritage tourism at the provincial scale. They also provide practical evidence for designing differentiated tourism policies, improving destination management, and supporting more balanced heritage-based territorial planning.