Exploring the influence of historical storytelling on cultural heritage tourists' value co-creation using tour guide interaction and authentic place as mediators

This study examines how storytelling contributes to co-creating tourists' experiences with tour guide interactions and authentic places, ultimately facilitating positive value co-creation and identifying specific generated values. This expansion of knowledge applies to cultural heritage tourism contexts. Purposive sampling and personal interviews were conducted at Macau International Airport, involving 499 respondents. The research reveals that historical storytelling significantly enhances tour guide interactions and perceptions of authentic places, with tour guide interaction partially mediating this effect. Moreover, tour guide interaction positively influences perceived educational, entertainment, experiential, and emotional values. Authentic places primarily amplify educational value, serving as a partial mediator between tour guide interaction and perceived education, and as a full mediator between tour guide interaction and perceived entertainment, experiential, and emotional values. These findings bridge knowledge gaps and provide valuable insights for tour guide training programs and tourism management strategies to elevate tourist engagement and satisfaction in historical sites.