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The purpose of this paper is to discuss the relevance of popular culture in a tourism context, highlighting how it can impact the future of tourism.

Drawing upon existing research, the popularity of popular culture is discussed, and future developments are transferred to the field of tourism.

It is expected that the demand for popular culture related tourism activities and experiences will continue to increase, providing opportunities for destinations for visitor dispersal, the distribution of economic benefits across regions, and the tackling of industry-based challenges.

The paper draws attention to the potential of popular culture in positive and tourism development that reduces negative impacts.

Collaborative consumption experiences in tourism have been examined widely, yet predominantly focused on guest perspectives. Using the sharing economy platform Couchsurfing, this study aims to use value co-creation to explore hosting experiences in non-monetary accommodation sharing in a developing country, including hosts’ motivations to participate, the range of social practices during hosting and the value outcomes achieved through hosting.

Based on a social constructivist paradigm, 20 in-depth interviews and 1 focus group were conducted with experienced Couchsurfing hosts in Indonesia.

Findings highlight the exclusively intrinsic nature of hosts’ motivations and their subsequent impact on co-creational practices and value outcomes. Social practices revolve around the establishment and acquisition of social and cultural capital and providing guests with authentic local and cultural tourist experiences. Hosts reported value outcomes relating to friendship, knowledge, an improved sense of self and employment opportunities.

The results of this research may not be transferable to Western accommodation sharing settings or more rural and less touristically developed regions within developing countries.

It is argued that hosting can contribute positively to host communities in developing countries by facilitating intercultural communication and knowledge transfer while enhancing cultural self-identity and professional advancement.

The majority of existing research on accommodation sharing has examined guest perspectives while being placed within predominantly Western contexts. This paper adds new knowledge by exploring the host perspective and examining the impacts of the sharing economy in a developing country.