How do museums foster loyalty in tech-savvy visitors? The role of social media and digital experience

The recent debate about the digitalization of museums and new technologies has become increasingly important among tourism scholars. Digital innovation and virtual environments, such as social media platforms, might significantly foster the competitive advantage of museums and their ability to attract new visitors. Particularly in times of crisis, prospective tourists appreciate the addition of a ‘digital flavor’ to exhibitions and art galleries. Improved experiences, increased loyalty, and overall higher satisfaction result from the introduction of Internet Communication Technologies (ICTs) in museums. Building on experiential marketing and the extended technology acceptance model (TAM2), a conceptual model has been created to better explore the underlying mechanisms between tourists’ digital propensity – their positive attitudes towards digital innovation and new technologies – and their degree of economic support to museums. The model was empirically validated through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and tested using covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM) on a sample collected in 2020 consisting of 201 Italian museum visitors. Results showed that loyalty and identification derived from digital experiences and social media activities cause tech-savvy visitors to be more willing to economically support digital museums.