Understanding the Organization of Public Cultural Facilities in Rural Tourism County: GIS‐Based Analysis in Deqing County, China

ABSTRACT Well‐organized public service facilities are a central objective in the policies of rural development across countries such as China. However, this area remains understudied in the context of tourism, and limited data availability further constrains our understanding of the extent to which it can be analyzed in rural areas. This study aims to bridge this gap by focusing on a specific category of public service facilities—public cultural facilities (PCFs)—to examine their spatial organization with a GIS. Drawing on a case study area of Deqing County, China, this study has a dual purpose. First, we extracted data of PCFs from electronic maps into datasets to measure their spatial accessibility, visualizing the connectivity of spatial organization across the county‐level tourism destination. Second, this study computed the spatial correlation between PCFs and tourist spots to determine the presence of spatial (in)dependency, with the aim of exploring distinct spatial organizational features within the tourism context. Using a multi‐transport mode network analysis, the accessibility results demonstrate disparities across the study area. Contrary to the high spatial interrelation observed between tourist spots and lodging facilities, there is a moderate‐to‐low spatial correlation between tourist spots and PCFs. These findings highlight the need to optimize the spatial configuration of PCFs to enhance their integration into rural tourism destinations. Coordinated planning and collaboration are essential for policymakers and planners to promote the integration of PCFs in the development of rural tourism destinations.