Boosting heritage recommendations through awe and augmented reality

Purpose Drawing on appraisal theories, this paper aims to attempt to demonstrate how augmented reality (AR) strengthens relationships in the cognitive-affective-conative mechanism to shape visitors' recommendation of awe-inspiring heritage experiences. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-method approach was undertaken. First, an exploratory pre-study ( n = 98) analyzed the multidimensionality of awe appraisals, eliciting the most salient dimensions in tourism experiences for informing the main study. Subsequently, an on-site survey was used to examine the relationships in the cognitive-affective-conative sequence, based on 316 questionnaires collected at a highly acclaimed religious heritage equipped with a multisensory AR activity. Findings Two distinct appraisals underlined in the awe concept were elicited during the exploratory phase: altered emotions (aggregating positive self-transformative dimensions) and the need for accommodation. The survey results demonstrated that the influence of authenticity on recommendation is shaped by emotions. Altered emotions hold a central mediating role and are differentiated from other discrete emotions. AR and the need for accommodation are revealed as contingencies that regulate the mediated mechanism. Practical implications This paper provides the hospitality and tourism stakeholders with a better understanding of how immersive technologies can be used for boosting recommendations, by enhancing the emotional responses toward authenticity perceptions. Originality/value This study introduces a novel conceptual framework to broaden our understanding of how cognitive and affective mental processes are linked to visitors’ recommendations, and how AR amplifies the outcomes. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first research to distinguish and document the specific effects of two different types of awe appraisal.