Smart Tourism For Community-Based Tourism Resilience: The Moderating Role of Cohesive Social Structure

Abstract

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Tourism destinations increasingly face climate-related disruptions, extreme weather, economic uncertainty, rapid digital transformation, and changing tourist behavior, making community resilience essential for sustainable destination management. This study examines community-based tourism resilience by integrating Smart Tourism Destination (STD), Cohesive Social Structure (CSS), Community Trust, and Cultural Identity, while testing CSS as a moderator. Data were collected from 100 managers involved in community-based tourism in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and analyzed using Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that Smart Tourism Destination (β = 0.329, t = 5.713, p < 0.001), Cohesive Social Structure (β = 0.258, t = 5.057, p < 0.001), Community Trust (β = 0.290, t = 5.387, p < 0.001), and Cultural Identity (β = 0.276, t = 5.162, p < 0.001) positively and significantly affect Tourism Resilience. Cohesive Social Structure significantly strengthens the effect of Smart Tourism Destination on Tourism Resilience (β = 0.305, t = 5.515, p < 0.001), whereas its moderating effects on Community Trust (β = 0.065, p = 0.227) and Cultural Identity (β = 0.011, p = 0.837) are not significant. These findings indicate that resilient community-based tourism depends on technological capability, social relationships, institutional trust, and cultural resources. The study contributes by identifying CSS as a selective contextual condition that helps smart-destination capabilities translate into stronger community-based tourism resilience.