Does a good story prompt visit intention? Evidence from the augmented reality experience at a heritage site in China

ABSTRACT

The emergence of digital technology has led researchers, businesses, and entrepreneurs to reflect more on the potential value that Augmented Reality (AR) can play in tourism. Although the relationship between authenticity and travel intention has been examined previously, little is known about how authenticity influences tourist travel intention after an AR experience. To fill this research gap, the current study constructs a theoretical model from narrative transportation theory. The results show that narrative transportation is a mechanism that bridges object-based authenticity and existential authenticity with travel intention. This study provides valuable theoretical insights into the antecedents and consequences of narrative transport while enriching the understanding of AR. Meaningful practical insights are offered to destination authorities.

KEYWORDS:

• Augmented reality
• narrative transportation theory
• object-based authenticity
• existential authenticity
• travel intention

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chris Zhu

Chris Zhu, is a PhD candidate in the School of Tourism Management at the Macao Institute for Tourism Studies. His research interests include metaverse experience, social media marketing, and sustainable tourism. His papers have been published in International Journal of Tourism Research, Current Issues in Tourism, Information Technology & Tourism, Journal of Vacation Marketing and elsewhere.

Colin Michael Hall

Colin Michael Hall is Ahurei Professor in the Department of Management, Marketing and Tourism, University of Canterbury, New Zealand; Visiting Professor and Docent in Geography, University of Oulu, Finland; Visiting Professor, School of Business and Economics, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, and Eminent Scholar at Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea. He publishes widely on tourism, sustainability, global environmental change and regional development.

Lawrence Hoc Nang Fong

Lawrence Hoc Nang Fong, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Business Administration and the Center for Cognitive and Brain Sciences at the University of Macau. His research interests include information communication technologies in tourism, tourist psychology, and sensory marketing. His papers have been published in Tourism Management, Annals of Tourism Research, Journal of Travel Research, International Journal of Hospitality Management, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research and more.

Christy Ying Ni Liu

Christy Ying Ni Liu, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the Macau University of Science and Technology. Her research interests include sustainable tourism and digital technologies in tourism.

Sara Naderi Koupaei

Sara Naderi Koupaei was a doctoral candidate at Eastern Mediterranean University at the time of writing. Her research interests include sustainable restaurants, sustainable tourism, circular markets, local food and the application of new technologies. She is currently working on a project on restaurants, senses of place and pro-environmental behaviour with Dr. Chris Chen at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand.