In this study, we considered tourism collaboration for sustainable development as a co-creative practice of learning about tourism in order to achieve benefits for local communities. We focused on projects run by non-governmental development organisations (NGDOs) and the challenges relating to their long-term impact. These challenges concern the projects' potential to facilitate the emergence and/or reinforcement of local learning communities. The study was conducted by an academic and a representative of the NGDO that constituted the empirical case. The empirical investigation was based on a variety of data sources and explored both the NGDO's strategic approach to collaboration and the experience gained from two projects. We identified factors that can be crucially important for the promotion of collaboration driven by local actors and extending beyond the limited time horizon of the NGDOs' projects. The paper contributes to the literature by adopting the concepts of co-creative practices and communities of practice (CoPs) to study collaboration, elucidating the evolving linkages connecting CoP constellations in learning communities. The study also presents some reflections on collaborative research with non-academics as a useful way of promoting plurality, depth and reflexivity.