Technopreneurship and Sustainability in Cultural Heritage Tourism: A Systematic Literature Review on Consumer Behaviour
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61492/r6711w73Keywords:
Consumer behavior, technopreneur, sustainability marketing, heritage tourism.Abstract
Digital transformation and technopreneurship are redefining tourism by changing how destinations and firms create value, interact with tourists, and communicate sustainability commitments. This study systematically reviews how technopreneurship, sustainability-oriented marketing, and digital transformation shape consumer behavior in cultural heritage tourism. Recent tourism research has increasingly connected sustainable marketing practices, digital engagement, and behavioral outcomes such as revisit intention, loyalty, recommendation, and environmentally responsible action. However, the literature is still fragmented across general tourism, destination branding, and heritage-specific experience studies. Evidence from the attached dataset also shows that the field remains heavily concentrated in mainstream tourism settings, is dominated by quantitative approaches, and focuses mainly on social-media-based tools, while heritage and cultural tourism receive far less direct attention. The review, therefore, addresses an important gap by repositioning cultural heritage tourism as a distinct context in which sustainability, authenticity, and consumer meaning-making must be understood together rather than separately. Following the PRISMA 2020 framework and a thematic synthesis approach, this review identifies the main drivers, mechanisms, and outcomes discussed in recent studies. The findings indicate that consumer responses in heritage tourism are rarely shaped by digital promotion alone. Instead, behavioral outcomes are more often formed through indirect pathways involving trust, perceived value, authenticity, emotional engagement, place attachment, and satisfaction. In particular, storytelling, authentic place interpretation, and culturally meaningful experiences play an important role in strengthening value co-creation, emotional resonance, and intention to revisit or recommend heritage destinations. The review also shows that sustainability marketing can support pro-environmental and loyalty-related behavior when it is communicated through emotionally relevant and value-based mechanisms rather than through symbolic promotion alone. Overall, this study argues that digital transformation in cultural heritage tourism should be re-framed not merely as a communication tool, but as a strategic technopreneurial capability that enables sustainable heritage value creation, stronger consumer relationships, and more meaningful long-term destination competitiveness.
Downloads
References
Abdelghani, A. A. A., Ammar, S. A. M., & Ahmed, H. A. M. T. (2025). The Interplay of Cultural Identity and Behavioral Factors in Promoting Sustainable Heritage Tourism: A Study on Islamic Mamluk Heritage. Research Journal in Advanced Humanities, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.58256/zvyym846
Ahmad, R., Basarudin, N. A., Eliza, A., Purnamasari, F., & Suryanto, T. (2025). Digital Marketing, Cultural Tourism, And Legal-Ethical Challenges: Implications for Social Entrepreneurship in Malaysia and Indonesia. Advances in Consumer Research, 2(4).
Aziz, S., & Niazi, M. A. K. (2025). Protecting natural environment of destination through tourists’ environment responsible behavior: Empirical analysis of green brand equity model. Social Responsibility Journal, 21(4), 704–724. https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-09-2024-0628
Balaskas, S., Yfantidou, I., Panteli, A., Komis, K., & Nikolopoulos, T. (2025). From Intention to Action: Modeling Post-Visit Responsible Behavior in Ecotourism. Tourism and Hospitality, 6(4), 170. https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp6040170
Borrego-Baslalobre, F.-J., Morales-Baños, V., Zurita-Ortega, F., & Díaz-Suárez, A. (2024). Website Quality of Entities Managing Nautical-Sports Facilities as a Leisure and Active Tourism Alternative. Journal of Tourism and Services, 15(28), 210–234. https://doi.org/10.29036/jots.v15i28.670
Chen, S., Ou, Y., Pu, S., & Bai, O. (2025). Digital Transformation and Ambidextrous Innovation for Sustainable Growth: Evidence from Listed Tourism Firms in China. Sustainability, 17(13), 5923. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17135923
Chen, W. Q., Lee, H. S., & Wang, M. (2025). Rural tourism servicescape’s influence on experiential value and citizenship behavior. Acta Psychologica, 260, 105585. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105585
Del Vecchio, V., Lazoi, M., Marche, C., Mettouris, C., Montagud, M., Specchia, G., & Ali, M. Z. (2025). Designing Innovative Digital Solutions in the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Industry: Best Practices for an Immersive User Experience. Applied Sciences, 15(9), 4935. https://doi.org/10.3390/app15094935
Dingzhao, Y., & maruf, T. I. (2025). Enhancing Tourist Satisfaction through Smart Tourism: Evidence from Urban Cities in China. Peta International Journal of Social Science and Humanity.
Hu, D., Samad, S., & Mahmood, S. (2026). Sustainable marketing and tourists’ sustainable behavior in South Korea: The roles of emotional value, connectedness to nature, and green consumption values. Acta Psychologica, 262, 106129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.106129
Huang, Z. (Joy), Lin, M. S., & Chen, J. (2024). Tourism experiences co-created on social media. Tourism Management, 105, 104940. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2024.104940
Kerdpitak, C., Pungnirund, B., Hotrawaisaya, C., Jariyachamsit, S., Yen, H., & Chantranon, S. (2022). Effect of competitive advantage, digital marketing to supply chain management on tourism business performance in Thailand. 10, 721–728.
Li, J., Coca‐Stefaniak, J. A., Nguyen, T. H. H., & Morrison, A. M. (2024). Sustainable tourist behavior: A systematic literature review and research agenda. Sustainable Development, 32(4), 3356–3374. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2859
Li, L., & Guan, Y. (2025a). Conceptual Model and Empirical Measurement of Dynamic Capabilities in Small and Micro Tourism Enterprises Under the Context of Digital Transformation. SAGE Open, 15(3), 21582440251367646. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440251367646
Li, L., & Guan, Y. (2025b). Research on the Influence Mechanism of Digital Transformation on the Business Performance of Small Tourism Enterprises in China. Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society, 2025(1), 3363257. https://doi.org/10.1155/ddns/3363257
Li, M., & Gao, Z. (2024). Research on the Strategy and Implementation Path of Digital Transformation of Traditional Sports Games in Modern Tourism Industry. Applied Mathematics and Nonlinear Sciences, 9(1), 20243381. https://doi.org/10.2478/amns-2024-3381
Lin, F., Ma, Z., & Shen, Y. (2025). Making meaning, making a living: Historical transformations of handicraft labor and cultural identity in China. Labor History, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/0023656X.2025.2551523
Medunjanin, Semija, & Tahiri, A. (2025). Cultural Heritage Marketing As A Driver For Sustainable Tourism Development: Evidence From The Peja Region. Knowledge - International Journal, 61(3), 1443–1453. https://doi.org/10.30892/gtg.61304-1514
Rivaldy, M. A. P., Yunus, A. A., Rifaldi, M. R., & Princes, E. (2025). Implementation of the S-O-R Framework in Analyzing Consumer Behavior on TikTok Platform Toward Repurchase Intention. BASKARA : Journal of Business and Entrepreneurship, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.54268/baskara.v8i1.27913
Sandriester, J., Harfst, J., Kern, C., & Zuanni, C. (2025). Digital Transformation in the Cultural Heritage Sector and Its Impacts on Sustainable Regional Development in Peripheral Regions. Sustainability, 17(15), 6661. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17156661
Santarsiero, F., Carlucci, D., & Schiuma, G. (2024). Driving digital transformation and business model innovation in tourism through innovation labs: An empirical study. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, 74, 101841. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jengtecman.2024.101841
Skandalis, K. S., & Skandali, D. (2025). Can FinTech Close the VAT Gap? An Entrepreneurial, Behavioral, and Technological Analysis of Tourism SMEs. FinTech, 4(3), 38. https://doi.org/10.3390/fintech4030038
Xie, C., Yu, J., Huang, S. (Sam), & Zhang, J. (2022). Tourism e-commerce live streaming: Identifying and testing a value-based marketing framework from the live streamer perspective. Tourism Management, 91, 104513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2022.104513
Yizhan, D., & Jiabao, F. (2026). The Influence of Ecological Values on Ecotourism Behavior of Vocational College Students: Chain Mediation of Green Consumption Atmosphere and Pro-environmental Behavior. In Review. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8899220/v1
Zheng, S., Han, J., Gandolfi, F., Alturise, F., & Alkhalaf, S. (2025). Fostering eco-conscious tourists: How sustainable marketing drives green consumption behaviors. Acta Psychologica, 255, 104900. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.104900
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Fajar Lestari, Nurvi Oktiani, Muhammad Khairul Amal, Mohamad Rizan (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
