Abstract

The development of cultural heritage tourism (CHT) frequently encounters obstacles pertaining to community support, as the attitudes of the local populace typically dictate the outcome of tourism endeavors. The community's influence on these perceptions has been undervalued in traditional approaches, which has resulted in low levels of engagement and support for cultural preservation. This study aims to bridge this gap by investigating how different degrees of community involvement impact local perceptions of the advantages of tourism, the preservation of culture, and general satisfaction with the results. Data was gathered from 300 participants who were actively involved in many heritages sites' tourism planning. The connections between perceptions of the advantages of tourism and community involvement (CI) were evaluatedby utilizing Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results demonstrated that the perceptions of economic benefits (PEB), perceptions of cultural preservation (PCP), and community satisfaction (CS) are all positively impacted by greater CI. The aforementioned results underscore the significance of adopting participatory methodologies, implying that cultivating community engagement is vital for the sustainable growth of CHT.