## 1 Introduction
The emerging co-creation service orientation sees the consumer as the starting point for innovation through visitor participation and co-creation through technology, driving the core elements of the co-creation process to understand the co-creation of tourism value facilitated by technology. Therefore, with the idea of visitors' active participation in shaping the co-creation experience and contributing to the overall value as a key theme, this paper aims to address the overall co-creation experience of location-based AR games with visitors to cultural heritage sites. The value of visitor participation and co-creation is fully assessed by highlighting process elements and the differences between several processes when AR technology is in play. Drawing on the service-dominant logic of value co-creation theory, it explores the relationship between factors in the co-creation process before, during, and after the visit. The research questions are:  
* How do location-based AR games interact with co-creation experiences at cultural heritage sites? * From a process perspective, which factors in the three phases play a role in facilitating the overall co-creation experience? Based on this, we argue that engaging in the location-based AR games process triggers a continuum of positive responses manifested in higher satisfaction with the overall co-creation experience at the cultural heritage site. Incorporating the features of augmented reality technology creates a logical chain connecting pre-behavior, on-site experience, and future intentions, ultimately contributing to the overall experience and co-creation value. There are several key contributions: a combination of value co-creation theories, process perspectives, and empirical tests to broaden the literature on co-creation experiences in augmented reality. Firstly, we construct a conceptual model by investigating the process of tourists' co-creation experiences at cultural heritage sites. Second, we empirically tested the role of in-process factors on the co-creation experience, a component that involves three stages of factors: the positive effect of pre-visitation (AR engagement psychology, awareness and knowledge, and social relevance), on-site experience (real-time, storytelling, and interaction), and post-visitation emotional resonance on the overall co-creation experience. Third, we provide additional explanations of key factors and discuss the potential impact of specific factors on the overall co-creation experience. An empirical study centered on the visitor experience reveals how augmented reality can be used to facilitate the co-creation of experiences within destinations and how virtual co-creation by tourism providers and consumers can be used to maximize the potential for co-creation to enhance future destination experiences. In the next section, we examine the literature on value co-creation, service-dominant logic theory, and co-creation experiences at cultural heritage sites and implement an interpretive time-series study based on this. A conceptual model of co-creation experiences in augmented reality games is then constructed based on the findings of the two studies. The paper concludes with a discussion of the main findings and their implications, as well as analyses of the strengths and limitations of the model.