Tourism-Oriented Spatial Analysis of Tangible Cultural Heritage in Bukhara (Uzbekistan)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23917/forgeo.v39i2.10235Keywords:
Cultural heritage, Spatial analysis, Sustainable tourism, Circular tourism, Kernel density estimation, Nearest neighbour analysis, Gini index, Moran’s IAbstract
This study examines the spatial distribution and tourism utilization of 829 officially registered architectural heritage sites in the Bukhara, Uzbekistan. Spatial analysis methods including the Gini Index (0.569), Lorenz Curve, Nearest Neighbor Analysis, Kernel Density Estimation, and Bivariate Moran’s I were applied to examine clustering patterns and disparities across districts. The findings reveal unequal heritage distribution: over 50% of the sites are located in two districts, mainly in the eastern region, while others remain underrepresented. The Bukhara city shows strong clustering, whereas several districts exhibit random or dispersed patterns. Despite a sharp rise in tourist arrivals from 13,300 international visitors in 2020 to over 1.7 million in 2024 only 146 sites (17.6%) are actively used for tourism. This increased tourism pressure, with visitors per site growing from 1,798 to 39,351. Typological analysis showed uneven spatial patterns among major religious, administrative, residential, and public groups. Bivariate Moran’s I (I = –0.0621, p = 0.498) indicated no significant spatial correlation between population density and heritage distribution. The study recommends adopting circular tourism strategies to reduce pressure, balance regional disparities, and promote sustainable heritage-based tourism development. Findings offer a basis for balanced heritage management and tourism development in Uzbekistan with comparable regions.
Downloads
References
AlMasri, R., & Ababneh, A. (2021). Heritage Management: Analytical Study of Tourism Impacts on the Archaeological Site of Umm Qais—Jordan. Heritage, 4(3), 2449-2469. doi: 10.3390/heritage4030138
Axhami, M., Ndou, V., Milo, V., & Scorrano, P. (2023). Creating Value via the Circular Economy: Practices in the Tourism Sector. Administrative Sciences, 13(7), 166. doi: 10.3390/admsci13070166
Bai, Q., Gao, M., Lyu, H., Zhang, L., & Zhang, J. (2024). Spatial Distribution Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Tangible Cultural Heritage in Henan Province, China: A Watershed Perspective. Sustainability, 16(20), 8979. doi: 10.3390/su16208979
Barnes, S., J. (2022). Heritage protection and tourism income: the tourism heritage Kuznets curve. Tourism Review, 77(6), 1455-1471. doi: 10.1108/tr-03-2022-0125
Bertocchi, D., & Visentin, F. (2019). “The Overwhelmed City”: Physical and Social Over-Capacities of Global Tourism in Venice. Sustainability, 11(24), 6937. doi : 10.3390/su11246937
Biró, T. S., & Néda, Z. (2020). Gintropy: Gini Index Based Generalization of Entropy. Entropy, 22(8), 879. doi: 10.3390/e22080879
Bonnier, A., Finné, M., & Weiberg, E. (2019). Examining Land-Use through GIS-Based Kernel Density Estimation: A Re-Evaluation of Legacy Data from the Berbati-Limnes Survey. Journal of Field Archaeology, 44(2), 70–83. doi: 10.1080/00934690.2019.1570481
Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan. (2019). Resolution No. 846 on approval of the National List of Tangible Cultural Heritage Sites (October 4, 2019). LexUZ. Retrieved from https://lex.uz/docs/7261884
Cerisola, S., & Panzera, E. (2024). Heritage tourism and local prosperity: An empirical investigation of their controversial relationship. Tourism Economics, 31(5). doi: 10.1177/13548166241234099
Chen, J., Guo, Z., Xu, S., Law, R., Liao, C., He, W., & Zhang, M. (2022). A Bibliometric Analysis of Research on Intangible Cultural Heritage Tourism Using CiteSpace: The Perspective of China. Land, 11(12), 2298. doi: 10.3390/land11122298
Chen, S.-Q., Zhang, J., Luan, W.-L., & Luo, X. (2025). A GIS-Based Study on Spatial Pattern, Accessibility and Equity of Urban Cultural Resources: A Case Study of Red Culture Resources in Shanghai. Buildings, 15(13), 2268. doi : 10.3390/buildings15132268
Chenavaz, R., Leocata, M., Ogonowska, M., & Torre, D. (2022). Sustainable tourism. Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, 143, 104483. doi: 10.1016/j.jedc.2022.104483
Ciski, M., Rząsa, K., & Ogryzek, M. (2019). Use of GIS Tools in Sustainable Heritage Management—The Importance of Data Generalization in Spatial Modeling. Sustainability, 11(20), 5616. doi: 10.3390/su11205616
Espino Hidalgo, B.D. (2020). Patrimonio cultural como factor de desarrollo territorial resiliente en áreas rurales. El caso de Mértola (Portugal). PASOS Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural, 18, 9-25. doi: 10.25145/j.pasos.2020.18.001
European Commission. (2025). Cultural tourism projects funded by the EU. Retrieved fromhttps://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/sectors/tourism/eu-funding-and-businesses/funded-projects/cult ral_en
Folorunso, C. A. (2021). Globalization, Cultural Heritage Management and the Sustainable Development Goals in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of Nigeria. Heritage, 4(3), 1703-1715. doi: 10.3390/heritage4030094
Geçikli, R. M., Turan, O., Lachytová, L., Dağlı, E., Kasalak, M. A., Uğur, S. B., & Guven, Y. (2024). Cultural Heritage Tourism and Sustainability: A Bibliometric Analysis. Sustainability, 16(15), 6424. doi: 10.3390/su16156424
Graham, B. J., Ashworth, G. J., & Tunbridge, J. E. (2000). A geography of heritage: Power, culture and economy. London: Arnold; New York: Oxford University Press.
Heydari Dastenaei, M., & Niknami, K. A. (2024). Application of Moran’s I statistics in spatial analysis of archaeological sites of the Sarfirouzabad Plain, Central Zagros, Iran. Journal of Ancient History and Archaeology, 10(4). doi: 10.14795/j.v10i4.921
Holtorf, C. (2018). Embracing change: how cultural resilience is increased through cultural heritage. World Archaeology, 50(4), 639–650. doi: 10.1080/00438243.2018.1510340
Huang, B., & Wang, J. (2020). Big spatial data for urban and environmental sustainability. Geo-Spatial Information Science, 23(2), 125–140. doi: 10.1080/10095020.2020.1754138
Huang, W. J., Beeco, J. A., Hallo, J. C., & Norman, W. C. (2016). Bundling attractions for rural tourism development. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 24(10), 1387–1402. doi: 10.1080/09669582.2015.1115510
Huang, Y. (2024). Bibliometric analysis of GIS applications in heritage studies based on Web of Science from 1994 to 2023. Heritage Science, 12, 57. doi: 10.1186/s40494-024-01163-y
Juraturgunov, H., Raimkulov, M., Ahn, Y.-j., & Kang, E. M. (2023). World Heritage Site Tourism and Destination Loyalty along the Silk Road: A Study of U.S. Travelers in Uzbekistan. Sustainability, 15(13), 10337. doi: 10.3390/su151310337
Kilichov, M. (2023). The Silk Road Heritage Enhancement for Local Sustainable Tourism Development in Bukhara (Uzbekistan). Analysis and Diagnosis about the Current Situation [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/201551
Li, L., & Tang, Y. (2024). Towards the Contemporary Conservation of Cultural Heritages: An Overview of Their Conservation History. Heritage, 7(1), 175-192. doi: 10.3390/heritage7010009
Lian, Y., & Xie, J. (2024). The Evolution of Digital Cultural Heritage Research: Identifying Key Trends, Hotspots, and Challenges through Bibliometric Analysis. Sustainability, 16(16), 7125. doi: 10.3390/su16167125
Liu, B., Wu, C., Xu, W., Liu, Y., Zhang, Y., & Zhang, Y. (2024). Emerging trends in GIS application on cultural heritage conservation: A review. Heritage Science, 12, 139. doi: 10.1186/s40494-024-01265-7
Lu, C., & Wan, C. (2018). Cultural Self-Awareness as Awareness of Culture’s Influence on the Self: Implications for Cultural Identification and Well-Being. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 44(6), 823-837. doi: 10.1177/0146167217752117
Maietti, F. (2023). Heritage Enhancement through Digital Tools for Sustainable Fruition—A Conceptual Framework. Sustainability, 15(15), 11799. doi: 10.3390/su151511799
Malaperdas, G. (2022). Techniques for drawing and mapping a cultural route. e-Review of Tourism Research, 19(2), 280–307.
Martín Martín, J. M., Rodriguez Martín, J. A., Zermeño Mejía, K. A., & Salinas Fernández, J. A. (2018). Effects of Vacation Rental Websites on the Concentration of Tourists—Potential Environmental Impacts. An Application to the Balearic Islands in Spain. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(2), 347. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15020347
Mazzamuto, M., & Picone, M. (2022). RETRACTED: The Commodification Dilemma: Tourism Pressure and Heritage Conservation in Barcelona. Societies, 12(4), 111. doi: 10.3390/soc12040111
Ottaviani, D., Demiröz, M., Szemző, H., & De Luca, C. (2023). Adapting methods and tools for participatory heritage-based tourism planning to embrace the four pillars of sustainability. Sustainability, 15(6), 4741.
Piñar, G., & Sterflinger, K. (2021). Natural sciences at the service of art and cultural heritage: an interdisciplinary area in development and important challenges. Microbial biotechnology, 14(3), 806–809. doi: 10.1111/1751-7915.13766
Puttanapong, N., Luenam, A., & Jongwattanakul, P. (2022). Spatial Analysis of Inequality in Thailand: Applications of Satellite Data and Spatial Statistics/Econometrics. Sustainability, 14(7), 3946. doi: 10.3390/su14073946
Qaemmaqami, S. A. (2024). A Note on the Āl-i Burhān of Bukhara and the Author of the Laṭāʾif al-aḏkār. Iranian Studies, 1–6. doi: 10.1017/irn.2024.22
Qi, J., Lu, Y., Han, F., Ma, X., & Yang, Z. (2022). Spatial Distribution Characteristics of the Rural Tourism Villages in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and Its Influencing Factors. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(15), 9330. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19159330
Qiu, Q., Zuo, Y., & Zhang, M. (2022). Intangible Cultural Heritage in Tourism: Research Review and Investigation of Future Agenda. Land, 11(1), 139. doi: 10.3390/land11010139
Ramón-Cardona, J., & Sánchez-Fernández, M. D. (2022). Tangible and Intangible Heritage of Ibiza (Spain) and Its Potential to Be Valued as a Tourist Offer. Heritage, 5(3), 1350-1369. doi: 10.3390/heritage5030070
Rodríguez Rangel, M. C., & Sánchez Rivero, M. (2020). Spatial Imbalance Between Tourist Supply and Demand: The Identification of Spatial Clusters in Extremadura, Spain. Sustainability, 12(4), 1651. doi: 10.3390/su12041651
Rong, A., & Jianwei, S. (2023). Evaluation model of cultural heritage tourist attractions based on network virtual resource sharing and real-time information processing. Soft Computing, 27, 10249–10261. doi: 10.1007/s00500-023-08278-7
Rudan, E. (2023). Circular Economy of Cultural Heritage—Possibility to Create a New Tourism Product through Adaptive Reuse. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 16(3), 196. https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm16030196
Rueda Márquez de la Plata, A., Cruz Franco, P. A., & Ramos Sánchez, J. A. (2022). Architectural Survey, Diagnostic, and Constructive Analysis Strategies for Monumental Preservation of Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Management of Tourism. Buildings, 12(8), 1156. doi : 10.3390/buildings12081156
Sethaba, R.M., & Scholes, M.C. (2021). Management guidelines for the conservation of heritage resources in Wakkerstroom, Mpumalanga. doi: 10.4102/KOEDOE.V63I1.1647
Shirokalova, G., Bataev, D., Bataeva, P., & Konyukhov, V. (2023). Revival of historical heritage sites in the North Caucasus in the context of urbanization. Sustainable Development of Mountain Territories.
Shrestha, R., Shen, Z., & Bhatta, K. D. (2024). Cultural Heritage Deterioration in the Historical Town ‘Thimi’. Buildings, 14(1), 244. doi: 10.3390/buildings14010244
Strippoli, R., Gallucci, T., & Ingrao, C. (2024). Circular economy and sustainable development in the tourism sector – An overview of the truly-effective strategies and related benefits. Heliyon, 10(17), e36801. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e36801
Tang, C., Zheng, Q., & Ng, P. (2019). A Study on the Coordinative Green Development of Tourist Experience and Commercialization of Tourism at Cultural Heritage Sites. Sustainability, 11(17), 4732. doi: 10.3390/su11174732
Thompson A. E., Walden J. P., Chase A. S. Z., Hutson S. R., Marken D. B., Cap B. (2022). Ancient Lowland Maya neighborhoods: Average Nearest Neighbor analysis and kernel density models, environments, and urban scale. PLoS ONE, 17(11): e0275916. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275916
Ultsch A, Lötsch J. (2017). A data science based standardized Gini index as a Lorenz dominance preserving measure of the inequality of distributions. PLOS ONE, 12(8): e0181572. doi : 10.1371/journal.pone.0181572
UNESCO. (1972). Convention concerning the protection of the world cultural and natural heritage. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Retrieved from https://whc.unesco.org/en/conventiontext/
UNESCO. (2025). Historic Centre of Bukhara. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Retrieved from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/602/
UNESCO. (2014). Sustainable tourism and World Heritage. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Retrieved from https://whc.unesco.org/en/tourism/
Valjarević, A., Vukoičić, D., & Valjarević, D. (2017). Evaluation of the tourist potential and natural attractivity of the Lukovska Spa. Tourism management perspectives, 22, 7-16. doi: 10.1016/j.tmp.2016.12.004.
Vallianatou, E., Sarris, A., & Malaperdas, G. (2025). Cultural heritage risk assessment in a changing rural landscape: The case study of Northeastern Messenia, Greece. Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, 38, e00425. doi: 10.1016/j.daach.2025.e00425
Wang, X., Zhang, J., Cenci, J., & Becue, V. (2021). Spatial Distribution Characteristics and Influencing Factors of the World Architectural Heritage. Heritage, 4(4), 2942-2959. doi: 10.3390/heritage4040164
Wei, F., Sun, C., & Ma, J. (2024). Analysis of the Spatiotemporal Distribution Characteristics and Influencing Factors of High-Grade Cultural Heritage in the Region Surrounding Mount Song. Buildings, 14(10), 3259. doi: 10.3390/buildings14103259
Ye, X., & Andris, C. (2021). Spatial social networks in geographic information science. International Journal of Geographical Information Science, 35(12), 2375–2379. doi: 10.1080/13658816.2021.2001722
Yuan, C., Gan, L., & Zhuo, H. (2022). Coupling Mechanisms and Development Patterns of Revitalizing Intangible Cultural Heritage by Integrating Cultural Tourism: The Case of Hunan Province, China. Sustainability, 14(12), 6994. doi: 10.3390/su14126994
Zhang, J., Cenci, J., Becue, V., & Koutra, S. (2022). Analysis of spatial structure and influencing factors of the distribution of national industrial heritage sites in China based on mathematical calculations. Environmental science and pollution research international, 29(18), 27124–27139. doi: 10.1007/s11356-021-17866-9
Zhang, J., Jiang, L., Wang, X., Chen, Z., & Xu, S. (2024). A Study on the Spatiotemporal Aggregation and Corridor Distribution Characteristics of Cultural Heritage: The Case of Fuzhou, China. Buildings, 14(1), 121. doi: 10.3390/buildings14010121
Submitted
Accepted
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Mukhriddin Kilichov, Lóránt Dénes Dávid
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
