Museum experience and revisit intention: the impact of multitasking

Purpose The study aims to examine how multitasking behaviors, especially photo-taking and social sharing, influence museum visitors’ experiences and revisit intention. This study also investigates the mediating roles of cognitive and emotional experiences. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the cognitive load theory, the present study proposes an integrated framework that illustrates the relationships between multitasking, cognitive experience, emotional experience and revisit intention. One laboratory experiment and one field experiment were conducted to collect data from museum visitors to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings The results show that multitasking diminishes both cognitive and emotional tour experiences, resulting in lower revisit intention. When visitors take photos during museum tours, both cognitive and emotional experiences mediate the effect of multitasking on revisit intention. When visitors engage in photo-taking and social sharing (vs photo-taking only), only emotional experience acts as a mediator in this relationship. Originality/value The study extends the cognitive load theory to museum tourism, enriching the tourism literature by associating multitasking behaviors with museum experiences. The findings also offer practical insights for museums seeking to enhance visitor experiences and foster greater intention to return.