Smart tourism technologies towards memorable experiences for museum visitors

Purpose This study aims to investigate the perception of smart tourism technologies (STTs) in creating museum tourism experiences and assess visitors’ intentions to test the impact, the extent and role that STTs play in museum service. Design/methodology/approach The investigation was conducted through an online and on-site survey; data were collected in four different museums with 365 museum tourists in four countries. SmartPLS (version 3.3.3) was used to access the measurement and structural model based on path modelling and bootstrapping. Findings STTs have a positive impact on creating a memorable tourism experience for museum visitors and are beneficial to revisit intention and positive recommendations. The impact is stronger than traditional services such as museum setting and staff service. STTs can be considered an independent new service to museums rather than complementing existing services. STTs negatively affect tourism’s experience at the communication stage. Originality/value Previous studies have noted the growing attention to the museum visitor experience, but the combined impact of new elements, such as STTs, remains an unexplored area. This study addressed the research gap through an empirical investigation and offers guidelines to test museum visitors’ acceptance and fitness for the services provided by STTs. In addition, this study presents a new point of view on the roles that STTs take in museum service, which can be useful for further investigations.