As COVID-19 has shown in a way unimaginable before it hit, tourism is susceptible to uncertainty and incidents that can directly impact the supply and demand of its discretionary products and services. Before the pandemic, consensus had been reached among practitioners and academics that consumer experience is more important than ever for enterprises as well as destinations, as the sector had become globalized, reached maturity and became highly competitive. Tourism came to a grinding halt due to the pandemic and recovery may take years. Still, the pathway to success (or failure) lies on the overall satisfaction of visitors and tourists, which heavily depends on perceived value; a concept that can be co-created or co-destroyed by the very interaction between all social actors and stakeholders involved. Value creation or destruction is critical not just for traditional supply of and demand for, but also for an array of actors across value and distribution chains (including for example staff and intermediaries across the networks). The special issue’s aim was to assist the better understanding of value co-creation and co-destruction in tourism development by bringing together different perspectives and disciplines.

Judging from the diversity of the theoretical perspectives of the articles collected in this issue and the richness of the presented findings the special issue has indeed achieved its aim. Yet some real trends could be distinguished: the relevance of online communication and information; the importance of interpersonal encounters and social interaction for value co-creation and co-destruction in tourism; and the challenges in the design and delivery process of co-created experiences.