From cultural authenticity to behavioral intentions: the cognitive pathway linking community contentment, destination image, and attractiveness in a heritage city

Abstract

In an era increasingly shaped by technology-driven tourism analytics and artificial intelligence applications, understanding the human and community foundations of heritage tourism remains critical. Heritage destinations are sustained not only through digital visibility but also through lived cultural environments and enduring community–tourist relationships. This study investigates the cognitive mechanism through which perceived cultural authenticity and local community contentment influence destination competitiveness in a heritage tourism context. Specifically, it examines how these antecedents shape destination image, destination attractiveness, and tourists' behavioral intentions within the context of a country widely recognized for its warm hospitality and kind-hearted society. A structured questionnaire was administered to domestic and international tourists in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The collected 300 data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the structural relationships and to assess the mediating role of destination image in linking cultural authenticity and community contentment with destination attractiveness and tourists' behavioral intentions. The results show that perceived cultural authenticity and local community contentment both significantly and positively influence destination image, which subsequently enhances destination attractiveness and tourists' behavioral intentions. Mediation analysis confirms significant indirect-only effects through destination image, indicating that the effects of perceived cultural authenticity and local community contentment on destination attractiveness operate through destination image. The findings highlight the importance of preserving authentic cultural environments and strengthening community wellbeing in heritage tourism development as a strategic resource for heritage destination competitiveness. Destination managers and policymakers should prioritize community-inclusive tourism strategies that reinforce authentic cultural interaction and enhance visitor experience to transform the nation's reputation for warmth and hospitality into a distinctive and sustainable destination brand. This study advances authenticity-based tourism research by positioning cultural authenticity as a cognitive antecedent of destination evaluation rather than solely an experiential outcome. It also integrates perceived community contentment into destination competitiveness modeling, demonstrating how tourists' perceptions of host community wellbeing shape image formation and attractiveness in a living heritage city.