Uncovering the Spatial Logic of Tourism Attractions: A Geospatial Analysis of Distribution Patterns and Driving Forces in Luxor, Egypt

Authors

  • Moaaz Kabil Faculty of Urban and Regional Planning, Cairo University, 12613 Giza
    Egypt
  • Mona Abdel Fattah Abdel Moneim Faculty of Urban and Regional Planning, Cairo University, 12613 Giza
    Egypt
  • Heba Mostafa Hassan Faculty of Urban and Regional Planning, Cairo University, 12613 Giza
    Egypt
  • Lóránt Dénes Dávid Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE), 2100 Gödöllő, Hungary; Széchenyi István University, HU-9026 Győr, Hungary; Faculty of Economics and Business, John von Neumann University, 6000 Kecskemét, Hungary; Faculty of Social Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, 9700 Szombathely
    Hungary

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.23917/forgeo.13279

Keywords:

Spatial Analysis, Urban Tourism, Tourism Attractions, Geodetector, Egypt

Abstract

The spatial distribution of tourism attractions plays an important role in shaping visitor travel behaviour, accessibility to tourism locations, and tourist destination management and planning. This study examines the spatial patterns of tourism attractions in Luxor Governorate, Egypt, and the factors influencing these spatial relationships using a variety of geospatial analysis techniques. These techniques include Nearest Neighbour Index (NNI), Standard Deviational Ellipse (SDE), Kernel Density Estimation (KDE), and Local Moran’s I. In addition, a combination of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Geodetector were applied to determine which of sixteen identified factors influenced the distribution of tourist attractions in Luxor. Finally, the spatial relationships between the identified factors and the distribution of tourist attractions were analysed through the use of Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression (MGWR). The results show that there is a strong clustering of tourism attractions in Luxor within three main hubs: Luxor City (East Bank), Qurna (West Bank), and Esna. The results further indicate that the most influential factors influencing the distribution of tourist attractions in Luxor include regional services centrality, GDP index, proximity to urban centres, tourism workforce localisation, urbanisation level, and environmental quality, respectfully. The implications of this research provide practical applications for developing more sustainable and balanced tourism development strategies in heritage-rich regions such as Luxor.

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Submitted

2025-10-11

Accepted

2026-03-09

Published

2026-03-09

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Section

Research article