Kernel density values reflect the distribution density of ICH resources within a region, revealing the spatial clustering characteristics of such resources in YRB. The higher values indicate denser distribution of ICH. The calculation formula is:

In the formula: denote the kernel function; denote the quantity of ICH items.༛denote the search radius.༛ denote the distance from the estimated ICH locationto;to the actual ICH location.

In the formula: represent the number of ICH、represent the sample size of thecategory of influencing factors.;denote the variance.represent the degree of variation for the-th category of influencing factors.༛denote the number of categories or partitions for the -th .

The MGWR model serves as a tool for revealing the strength of spatial heterogeneity among various influencing factors⁵¹. It employs a quadratic kernel function to estimate spatial weights within an adaptive bandwidth framework, selecting the optimal bandwidth through adaptive selection. Traditional geographic weighted regression (GWR) applies uniform bandwidths across all variables at the same scale. MGWR permits variables to have distinct optimal bandwidths at multiple scales, yielding more accurate regression results. It is employed to explore spatial non-stationarity and scale effects between the spatial distribution of ICH resources in YRB and other factors. The calculation formula is:

In the formula: denote the value of the dependent variable for the-thobservation in the study area.;denote the value of the-th explanatory variable for the-th observation in the study area.༛denote the error term༛denote the value of the-th explanatory variable for the-th observation in the study area.denote the geographical bandwidth used for the regression of the-th explanatory variable.□

The three-dimensional cube spatial classification method categorizes areas based on multiple factors influencing the utilization potential of ICH tourism. It encompasses three dimensions: ICH resource endowment, tangible spatial carriers, and tourism external support, thereby delineating development zones for the utilization potential of ICH tourism resources (Fig. 4). With resource classification as the X-axis, carrier classification as the Y-axis, and support classification as the Z-axis, values ranging from 1 to 4 are assigned based on the distance from each node to the origin of the three-dimensional space⁵¹. Higher values correspond to greater tourism development potential. This constructs a 4×4×4 three-dimensional four-order cube representing the tourism utilization potential of ICH resources. Each unit (x, y, z) represents a combination of attribute types, resulting in 64 distinct zones.

Characteristics of Dissemination Extent The quantity of ICH resources exhibits significant disparities between municipal and county levels (Fig. 5). At the municipal level, a pattern emerges where mid-to-lower reaches show high numbers while upper reaches lag behind. Among these, cities in Shandong Province, Zhengzhou, and Weinan hold the greatest quantitative advantage, each exceeding 165 items. Cities in central-southern Shanxi and mid-reach cities like Xi'an demonstrate relatively strong performance, whereas upper-reach cities show weaker results. A deconstruction analysis of dissemination levels at the county level reveals that ICH resources are concentrated in 45 counties and districts rich in cultural heritage, such as those influenced by Qilu culture, Heluo culture, and southern Shanxi culture, as well as in 9 counties and districts with concentrated ethnic minority populations, such as those featuring Inner Mongolian grassland culture and the Hehuang-Longzhong culture. Each of these counties and districts possesses at least 27 ICH resources.

The weak quantitative alignment between municipal and county levels indicates that ICH resources have not transcended county boundaries to reach municipal units, particularly in ethnic minority regions where projects exhibit strong internal consistency (Fig. 6). In counties and districts such as Saihan District, Wushen Banner, and Duolun County in Inner Mongolia, ICH resources with ethnic characteristics—including folk customs, traditional crafts, and traditional sports—have not transcended county boundaries. These resources exhibit strong internal acceptance but have failed to form corresponding cultural zones in surrounding areas, circulating only within ethnic minority regions. In contrast, ICH projects within Shandong, the Fenhe River Valley, northern Henan, and the Xi'an-Weinan region exert relatively strong influence on their respective cities, forming distinctive cultural zones with robust comprehensive competitiveness.

Spatial Distribution Pattern ICH resources in YRB exhibit a pronounced overall clustering trend, forming a cross-shaped structure with five core areas and two wings, oriented at a 30° angle (Fig. 7). Five core zones—Jinan-Zibo-Tai'an-Heze, Jiaozuo-Zhengzhou, Taiyuan-Jinzhong-Linfen-Yuncheng, Xi'an-Xianyang-Weinan, and Xining-Haidong—are clustered in the southeastern and eastern parts of the basin. One wing extends along the Fen River valley and Weihe River plain; the other wing stretches along the lower reaches of the Yellow River, forming linear clusters at the borders of Shanxi-Henan and Shandong-Henan, as well as within northern Shandong counties. These two wings intersect to form a cross-shaped structure with a 30° angle.

Districts and counties with high (41) and relatively high (64) utilization potential are located in provincial and prefectural administrative centers, historical and cultural districts, and ethnic minority-concentrated areas. Those with moderate potential (154) are primarily distributed in agriculturally rich cultural regions, historical and cultural cities in North China, and ethnic minority-concentrated areas in Northwest China. Districts with low utilization potential (275) are situated on the peripheries of historical and cultural cities and ethnic minority settlements. Those with very low potential (204) are concentrated in sparsely populated areas such as the northwestern Yellow River basin, eastern Inner Mongolia, and mountainous regions within the basin.

Analyzed by dimension, the coefficient of variation for RE, TSC, and TES were 0.2723, 0.4602, and 0.1868 respectively, with TSC exhibiting the greatest regional variation. RE Advantage Zones (5 high-level and 107 relatively high-level) are located in the core cultural areas and peripheral zones of the eastern Yellow River Basin. Weak areas (228 low-level and 402 lower-level zones) are concentrated in eastern counties reliant on traditional energy, agriculture, and animal husbandry. TSC advantage zones (38 high-level and 37 higher-level zones) cluster in areas with high-quality, numerous museums and concentrated historical-cultural and traditional villages. Weakness Zones (212 low-level and 363 low-level areas) are regions rich in traditional villages but lacking TSC facilities, primarily focused on traditional animal husbandry and agriculture. TES Advantage Zones (46 high-level and 94 moderately high-level areas) are prefecture-level cities with higher administrative levels and ethnic minority settlements. Weak areas (124 low-level and 380 low-rated) are situated in mountainous regions with poorly adapted reception facilities and low transportation accessibility.

Geodetector analysis was applied to detect 25 factors (Table 1) and detect interactions (Fig. 9). Results indicate that ICH resource endowment determines the baseline potential for ICH tourism utilization, with tangible spatial carriers serving as key factors.

The spatial pattern of ICH resources in YRB is jointly constrained by resource endowment and spatial carriers, with interaction effects generally exceeding those of individual factors. Single-factor detection revealed that the overall q-value for spatial carriers (2.811) exceeded that for resource endowment (2.415), indicating higher explanatory power of spatial carriers for tourism utilization potential. The number of ICH sites (0.446), density (0.451), dominance (0.522), and maturity (0.474) significantly influence this potential. Museums conducting educational activities (0.461), traditional villages (0.366), historical and cultural towns (0.357), and historical and cultural cities (0.364) emerge as dominant spatial carrier factors, while road network density (0.388) is the primary external tourism support factor.

Interaction results revealed dual-factor enhancement or nonlinear enhancement, with no weakening relationships observed. The interaction between traditional villages and ICH quantity exhibited an over-explanatory power of 94.9%; ICH dominance and scenic area quality followed, explaining 84.9% of variance. In summary, the utilization potential of ICH tourism is shaped by the combined effects of multiple factors.

Through multicollinearity testing and geographic detector factor screening, nine explanatory variables (X1, X2, X5, X9, X10, X12, X13, X15, and X19) with VIF values below 7.5 were selected. A higher residual sum of squares R² indicates better data fitting. The OLS model, GWR model, and MGWR model explained 61.2%, 63.0%, and 72.5% of the variance, respectively (Table 1). The MGWR model exhibited the largest difference between R² and adjusted R², indicating stronger significance between ICH resources across counties in YRB and various influencing factors. A lower AICc value indicates more accurate model fitting. The MGWR model (1241.138) more closely approximates the true spatial scale compared to the single bandwidths of the OLS model (4505.164) and GWR model (1367.061). The MGWR model demonstrates significantly superior fitting performance relative to the OLS and GWR models, making its application in this study more representative (Table. 2).

The influence of dominant driving factors on the spatial distribution of ICH tourism resources exhibits significant spatial heterogeneity (Fig. 10). The results indicate that the utilization potential of ICH relies on high-quality carriers capable of integrating cultural, spatial, community, and industrial elements. Specifically, tourism leisure districts, historically and culturally famous cities, and educational activities organized by museums demonstrate a high intensity of impact on ICH tourism utilization potential.

In terms of RE, regions with high ICH density (X1) all exhibit positive effects. Low-effect areas include Shanxi and northern Shaanxi, with concentrated clusters in central Inner Mongolia. Shandong and western Gansu demonstrate strong positive effects. The eastern Yellow River basin is influenced by ICH density clusters, while the western region features concentrated ethnic minority populations with distinct cultural characteristics, indicating high ICH potential. ICH density (X2) exhibits a weak negative effect, observed only in Shandong and southern Shaanxi with negative coefficients approaching zero. High-density ICH resources have failed to translate into high-quality tourism appeal, suffering from severe product homogenization and commodification. Central Inner Mongolia, northern Shanxi, and southeastern Henan feature distinct ICH themes—nomadic culture and Central Plains agricultural culture—positioned respectively for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei source market and Henan's densely populated surrounding markets. Advantage (X5) exhibits a distinct west-high, southeast-low pattern. ICH in Inner Mongolia's counties and districts primarily consists of oral traditions and ritual activities, showing strong internal consistency and pronounced tourism seasonality. The western Yellow River basin's ICH demonstrates strong contextual relevance, with skills predominantly focused on refined crafts like handicrafts and traditional arts. Authenticity remains the core direction, resulting in low substitutability.

Regarding TSC, the positive effect of tourism and leisure districts (X9) is highly significant. Within Shandong Province, leisure districts exhibit the strongest impact, exceeding 0.703, with eastern counties (X46) reaching as high as 0.734. The Qilu Culture National Cultural Ecological Conservation Area provides a systematic safeguarding system for modern ICH displays, with high innovation in cultural tourism formats. High-value zones for traditional villages (X10) are concentrated in 30 counties in central Inner Mongolia and northern Shaanxi, while secondary high-value zones span 170 counties in Shanxi and northwestern Henan. These high-value areas lie within cultural borderlands where farming and nomadic civilizations have long interacted and integrated, featuring high densities of distinctive ICH that unify the region's overall narrative. Additionally, scenic areas in Shanxi Province are dispersed, with traditional villages widely distributed across the province. The road network enhances accessibility to various scenic areas while amplifying the influence of traditional villages along the routes on tourism utilization potential. High-value zones for historical and cultural towns (X12) are located in 29 counties in northwest Henan, Jincheng, Shanxi, and 4 counties in western Gansu, with secondary high-value zones in Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, and 248 counties in western Qinghai. Northern Henan, as the core zone of the Central Plains cultural region, borders the Central Plains and Guanzhong urban clusters, offering an advantageous ICH market. Shaanxi bridges distinctive nomadic cultures with the Central Plains cultural sphere, though the tourism appeal of its ICH skills remains constrained. The western Yellow River basin possesses a unique cultural context with high market appeal for ICH. The positive effect zone for historical and cultural cities (X13) is concentrated in the core area of the Guanzhong urban cluster and 66 counties along the eastern and northern edges of the Hexi Corridor bordering Inner Mongolia. The Guanzhong urban cluster belongs to the core Guanzhong cultural zone and a high-empowerment area for ICH tourism development. The Hexi Corridor and Inner Mongolia border region represent a typical zone of multicultural integration and cultural irreplaceability. Historical and cultural cities integrate ICH tourism resources with cultural distinctiveness and uniqueness, exerting a significant influence on the tourism utilization potential of ICH resources, reaching 0.982. The high-value zone for the number of educational activities conducted by museums (X15) is concentrated in 69 counties in central Shandong, reaching 0.749. Secondary peaks are observed across Henan Province, 35 counties in northwestern Shanxi, and 15 counties in Inner Mongolia. Shandong and Henan are rich in ICH resources, primarily featuring highly visual and experiential types such as traditional crafts, fine arts, and folk arts. They lead nationally in cultural industry innovation and transformation, making it easier to develop systematic educational products. Northern Shanxi has relatively fewer renowned tourist attractions, making high-level museum educational activities a core draw for tourism. Inner Mongolia's concentrated ethnic cultures provide opportunities to showcase regional heritage to visitors from distant regions.

Regarding TES, road network density (X19) consistently falls within the low positive effect zone, with the highest values concentrated at the junction of Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Henan provinces. This region belongs to the Jin-Shanxi Yellow River Cultural Zone, characterized by low economic development levels where ICH tourism relies on primary transportation modes such as traditional roads. In eastern Shandong, the density of ICH sites benefits from extensive coverage and high efficiency of the primary road network.

Figure 10. Impact level of driving factors for tourism utilization potential

These zones serve as the core leading areas for ICH tourism development in YRB. Leveraging their high administrative status, they should utilize technological empowerment to attract innovative tourism talents⁶³, strengthen innovations in tourism experiential formats such as e-tourism³³ and virtual experiences⁶⁴, and enhance the leading role of smart ICH tourism formats. By linking surrounding cultural areas, they should cultivate competitive comprehensive cultural zones and employ new media to disseminate the influence of trendy ICH culture^13,57. The goal is to establish a replicable and promotable model for integrated heritage-tourism development.

As focal areas for enhancing growing ICH tourism resources, these zones should leverage the coordinated efficiency of local administrative bodies³⁷. Efforts should focus on strengthening the training of inheritors within historical-cultural subzones and ethnic enclaves, reinforcing the professional nature of transmission¹⁰. Living heritage tourism experiences should be enhanced within historical-cultural spaces and museums to extend the suitable tourism period and tourism product chains²². New media should be used to explore and segment potential tourist sources for ICH experiences³⁸. Targeted improvements should address deficient dimensions, and tourism infrastructure and service standardization systems should be perfected.

The core orientation here is shaping distinctive ICH tourism features. In ethnic enclaves and historical-cultural subzones, the cultural distinctiveness of ICH resources should be strengthened²⁵, along with fostering community belonging and tourist attachment⁶⁵. ICH displays in cultural carriers such as museums and leisure tourism districts should be increased, and innovative science popularization activities for ICH skills should be developed⁶⁶ to improve the compatibility between ICH resources and cultural transmission spaces. Diverse recreational infrastructure should be enhanced to extend tourist stays and increase consumption. Building on dual-dimensional advantages, iconic ICH tourism products should be created to highlight distinctiveness while optimizing weaker aspects.

Resources should be concentrated to build differentiated highlight advantages in ICH tourism, pursuing breakthrough development at specific points. The participatory role of grassroots communities should be utilized to create localized contexts for ICH experiences within historical-cultural spaces and traditional villages²⁷. Tourism transportation infrastructure should be improved to enhance the spatial accessibility of ICH-rich ethnic minority areas and connect fragmented cultural spaces⁶⁷ In-depth exploration of highly participatory and experiential ICH skills, such as handicrafts and folk customs, should be conducted to facilitate a developmental leap from single-point advantages to multi-point synergy.

Development pathways should be constructed based on single-dimensional advantages, extracting regional cultural identifiers for ICH resources from multicultural belts. Efforts should focus on promoting applications for ICH projects at various levels and establishing special funds to build safeguarding mechanisms for living transmission⁸. Accelerating the enhancement of digital archiving, using modern means like audio and video recording to preserve ICH culture²⁴, is crucial. Projects to address deficiencies in recreational infrastructure should be implemented, and tourism service support facilities should be upgraded.

As reserve areas for ICH tourism utilization potential, the core principle is long-term cultivation. Administrative grassroots units should lead preliminary projects for revitalizing ICH resources, initiating systematic surveys and rescue protection as soon as possible. For ethnic enclaves and traditional agricultural subzones, emphasis should be placed on implementing inherent authenticity protection and localized transmission of ICH resources.