Service Facilities in Heritage Tourism: Identification and Planning Based on Space Syntax.

Improving the development level of tourism service facilities in historic areas of old cities and realizing the sustainable tourism are important strategies for urban historical protection, economic development, and cultural rejuvenation. Districts at different tourism development stages show different characteristics of tourism service facilities. This study collects location-based service data and uses space syntax to identify the correlation between the distribution of tourism service facilities and street networks, which helps decision-makers to optimize the spatial layout of tourism facilities in the planning of historic areas. Taking the southern historic area of Nanjing, China, as an example, this is an area with a rich collection of cultural heritage and many historic districts, and the study reveals that the areas with strongest street agglomeration and best accessibility, as well as the districts with most mature tourism development, are the core of the tourism facilities. The agglomeration of transportation and accommodation facilities should be set at the traffic nodes as much as possible due to the highest correlation with the street network. Instead, the entertainment, catering, and shopping facilities can be set in the nontraffic node areas under the premise of ensuring good traffic accessibility owing to the insignificantly relationship with the street network. The research results can be used as an important reference for urban decision-makers regarding the planning of historic areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]