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This paper aims to explore the collaborative communication between stakeholders in tourism development on Madura Island, Indonesia. It assesses the collaborative communication efforts of the tourism stakeholders and its barriers. With a focus on its crucial elements in the context of less developed island destinations, the study recommends strategies for facilitating sustainable collaboration in supporting government tourism policies and development.

Utilising the qualitative research design, the paper categorises the crucial components of collaborative communication in supporting tourism development in less-developed settings. This is done through saturated interviews with 26 informants from the local government, private sector and local community. The results of the interviews were then thematically analysed and reported.

Collaborative communication is an important means of compiling tourism information. It can improve capabilities, create common goals, avoid conflict, facilitate optimum resource utilisation and be open to sharing developmental roles among the different spectrums of public, private and hybrid tourism stakeholders. However, the activity is impeded by strict government policies, lack of knowledge, skills, awareness, limited access, transparency and stakeholder relationships. By engaging in collaborative communication, stakeholders can develop a shared understanding that promotes tourism benefits and leads to a collective vision and mission and transparent information exchange. This, in turn, fosters a sustainable commitment, promotes inclusion and cultivates a sense of responsibility among all stakeholders involved.

The insights are crucial for tourism stakeholders to develop premises for systematic coordination of sustainable development policies and support programs by identifying possible strategic solutions through collaborative communications.

The study presents contemporary destination management practices through a collaborative communication approach for tourism destinations, specifically those in the early stages of development.

This study investigates how tourists’ local food consumption value, local food experiential value and food culture differences influence food destination image, with food destination attractiveness acting as the mediator. The moderating role of social media influencers is also analysed within this interrelationship.

This study employed a quantitative research design and purposive sampling to collect data. Partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed to test the research hypotheses, with 312 food tourists participating.

The results indicate that tourists’ local food consumption value, tourists’ local food experiential value and tourists’ food culture differences positively influence food destination attractiveness, which, in turn, mediates their impact on food destination image. However, the moderating role of social media influencers has a significant but negative effect on the relationship between food destination attractiveness and food destination image.

The research findings indicate that, by considering factors such as overall consumption experiences, cultural differences and social media management, destination stakeholders can capitalise on local food to enhance destination attractiveness and image significantly.

This study provides new insights into the significance of food consumption experiences and their values in tourism while highlighting the critical role of local food culture differences in enhancing each destination’s attractiveness and image. Additionally, it emphasises the subtle influence of social media influencers in promoting destinations, particularly within the context of food tourism.