Tourism value assessment of linear cultural heritage: the case of the Beijing–Hangzhou Grand Canal in China

Linear cultural heritage (LCH) is a precious treasure of human beings, but its spatial distribution and development modes in the context of tourism value are not clear. This study constructs the resource (R) –natural environment (N) –industrial economy (I) evaluation system through the Delphi method, analytical hierarchy process and entropy method to examine tourism value from the perspective of the whole heritage. This system is verified to the case of a World Heritage Site, the 1800 km-long Beijing–Hangzhou Grand Canal in China. Combined with the situation of 22 cities along the canal, the standard values of each evaluation variable are determined. Besides total tourism value, R–N–I coordination is also calculated through a three-dimensional model. They are regarded as a classification basis in the grouping analysis method. According to the results, a resource is the most important factor, while natural environment and industrial economy are external supports for LCH tourism. Tourism value along Beijing–Hangzhou Grand Canal is divided into ‘high-value imbalance type’, ‘key breakthrough type’, ‘comprehensive strengthening type’ and ‘low-value restriction type’. The findings offer theoretical construct and policy recommendations for the development and sustainability of LCH tourism.