Natural heritage tourism: does co-creation matter?

Using a mixed-methods approach, this study investigates value co-creation within the context of natural heritage tourism. It focuses on those visiting the largest lake-water cave in the world: Alisadr, Iran. Semi-structured interviews (n = 22) were conducted to explore visitor experiences, complemented by a face-to-face questionnaire (n = 850) investigating the relationships among perceptions of value co-creation, leisure involvement, perceived experience value, satisfaction, and braggart word-of-mouth. The findings demonstrate that perceived value co-creation, leisure involvement, and perceived experience value influence visitor satisfaction and braggart word-of-mouth, with theoretical and managerial implications provided by way of conclusion.