Short answer
Design tourism experiences that are co-created with local communities, ensuring that local wisdom is a central element that shapes the visitor's interaction with heritage.
- Field
- Sustainability
- Source
- Sustainability (2025)
- Method
- Mixed-methods (qualitative and quantitative)
- Sample
- 208 domestic tourists
- Evidence
- Strong effect
Integrating local wisdom into co-creation processes significantly enhances the perceived authenticity and depth of cultural heritage tourism experiences. This sustainability research insight is drawn from a 2025 study published in Sustainability. Using Mixed-methods (qualitative and quantitative) with 208 domestic tourists, researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Design tourism experiences that are co-created with local communities, ensuring that local wisdom is a central element that shapes the visitor's interaction with heritage.
Co-creation amplifies heritage tourism value through local wisdom
Integrating local wisdom into co-creation processes significantly enhances the perceived authenticity and depth of cultural heritage tourism experiences.
Sustainability · 2025
Key Findings
- 01Cultural heritage identity positively influences local wisdom.
- 02Co-creation value positively influences local wisdom.
- 03Local wisdom significantly enhances the tourist heritage experience.
- 04Local wisdom mediates the relationship between cultural heritage identity and the tourist heritage experience.
- 05Local wisdom mediates the relationship between co-creation value and the tourist heritage experience.
Application
Design takeaway
Design tourism experiences that are co-created with local communities, ensuring that local wisdom is a central element that shapes the visitor's interaction with heritage.
How to apply
When designing new tourism products or experiences, initiate partnerships with local communities early in the design process. Facilitate workshops and dialogue to understand and integrate local knowledge, stories, and practices into the visitor offering.
Project actions
- 01Consider how local culture and community involvement can be integrated into your design project.
- 02Think about how to facilitate 'co-creation' in your design, where users or stakeholders contribute to the final outcome.
- 03Explore how your design can preserve or highlight local wisdom or heritage.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Mixed-methods approach provides both depth and breadth of understanding.
- +Application of PLS-SEM for robust statistical analysis.
- +Direct relevance to UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Limitations
The study's findings are specific to the context of Prenggan Tourism Village and may not apply universally. The reliance on tourist self-reporting can introduce bias.
Reliability & validity
The study employed PLS-SEM to assess the reliability and validity of its measures and the hypothesized relationships, indicating a robust statistical approach.
Think critically
To what extent can the principles of co-creation and leveraging local wisdom be applied to non-heritage-based tourism or other service design contexts?
Design Principles
"Authenticity in heritage tourism is best achieved through community-driven co-creation that leverages and amplifies local wisdom."
This research highlights a powerful strategy for developing more meaningful and sustainable tourism. By actively involving local communities and leveraging their unique knowledge, destinations can move beyond superficial attractions to offer truly immersive experiences that benefit both visitors and residents.
What This Means for Your Design
When tourists feel connected to a place's culture and get to help create parts of their experience, it makes the whole visit feel more real and meaningful because local traditions and knowledge are at the heart of it.
How to use in your project
- 1.Use this research to justify designing a tourism experience that is co-created with a specific community.
- 2.Reference the findings to explain why integrating local wisdom is crucial for authentic and sustainable heritage tourism.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
Paragraph starter
This study by Juliana et al. (2025) demonstrates that co-creation, when integrated with local wisdom, significantly enhances the authenticity and depth of the heritage tourism experience. This highlights the importance of community involvement in designing sustainable and meaningful cultural tourism, suggesting that design projects should actively seek to embed local knowledge and facilitate collaborative creation processes to foster genuine visitor engagement.
Source
Sustainability
Reimagining Heritage Tourism Through Co-Creation: Insights from Prenggan Tourism Village, Yogyakarta
journal · 2025
View sourceQuestions About This Research
- What does the research say about co-creation amplifies heritage tourism value through local wisdom?
- Design tourism experiences that are co-created with local communities, ensuring that local wisdom is a central element that shapes the visitor's interaction with heritage. Evidence: Sustainability (2025).
- Why does "Co-creation amplifies heritage tourism value through local wisdom" matter for design?
- This research highlights a powerful strategy for developing more meaningful and sustainable tourism. By actively involving local communities and leveraging their unique knowledge, destinations can move beyond superficial attractions to offer truly immersive experiences that benefit both visitors and residents.
- How can designers apply this research?
- Design tourism experiences that are co-created with local communities, ensuring that local wisdom is a central element that shapes the visitor's interaction with heritage.
- What were the main findings?
- Cultural heritage identity positively influences local wisdom.. Co-creation value positively influences local wisdom.. Local wisdom significantly enhances the tourist heritage experience.. Local wisdom mediates the relationship between cultural heritage identity and the tourist heritage experience.
- What research method was used?
- Mixed-methods (qualitative and quantitative) with 208 domestic tourists.
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Strong effect, based on a 2025 journal from Sustainability.
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- When designing new tourism products or experiences, initiate partnerships with local communities early in the design process. Facilitate workshops and dialogue to understand and integrate local knowledge, stories, and practices into the visitor offering.
- What are the limitations?
- The study focused on a specific tourism village in Yogyakarta, and findings may not be directly generalizable to all heritage tourism contexts. The quantitative phase relied on self-reported data from tourists.