The Impact of IoT, Community Engagement, and Social Media on Social Innovation in the Digital Era

This study investigates the combined influence of the Internet of Things (IoT), community engagement, and social media on driving social innovation within heritage tourism, focusing on Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The primary aim of the research is to assess how these three factors interact and contribute to social innovation in the context of heritage tourism development. A quantitative research approach was employed, utilizing a Likert-scale self-administered questionnaire distributed to 267 participants to measure the interdependence of the variables. Path analysis was used to analyze the data and determine the strength of the relationships between IoT, community participation, and social media in fostering social innovation. The results reveal that social media has the strongest influence on social innovation (coefficient = 0.391), followed by community participation (coefficient = 0.354), and IoT (coefficient = 0.163). The findings suggest that while social media facilitates real-time communication and idea exchange, community engagement ensures that innovation is locally relevant and actionable. Although IoT has the lowest impact, its potential in enhancing tourism experiences through data analytics and sensor technologies is promising. This study emphasizes the need for integrating digital technologies and community participation to create effective and sustainable social innovations in heritage tourism, with implications for future research in rural areas and government support systems.