Heritage bike tours at the intersection of sustainable tourist behavior and digital self-presentation: understanding clout chasing among generation Z repeat visitors

Generation Z tourists increasingly encounter heritage through forms of mobility that combine sustainability-oriented practices with digitally mediated self-presentation, yet how these orientations coexist within the same heritage experience remains insufficiently explained. This study examines how sustainable tourist behavior intersects with digital self-presentation among Generation Z repeat visitors participating in heritage bike tours in Intramuros, Manila. Guided by street phenomenology, the go-along inquiry combined participant observation and semi-structured interviews with 15 purposively selected employed Generation Z repeat visitors and analyzed the data using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings show that heritage bike touring accommodates coupled and potentially shifting motivations: participants connected cycling with heritage appreciation, environmental responsibility, well-being, and social interaction while also documenting experiences for memory, identity expression, sharing, and, in some accounts, recognition or social validation. The Crank and Cassette Model conceptualizes these orientations as sustainability-oriented heritage engagement and validating-chronicling digital self-presentation, with clout chasing representing its recognition-oriented manifestation. The study extends scholarship on sustainable tourist behavior by showing how heritage meaning and digital visibility can coexist within situated mobility experiences. Heritage tour design can therefore integrate interpretation, safe cycling, and responsible opportunities for documentation and sharing.