Dual mediating role of perceived authenticity and place satisfaction on intention to revisit a technology-enhanced cultural heritage tourism site

As heritage sites increasingly employ immersive technologies to enrich visitor experiences, understanding how technology-enhanced heritage experiences influence revisit intention has become an important research concern. Drawing on the experience economy concept and the stimulus-organism-response framework, this study develops a dual-path model to examine how experiential dimensions shape revisit intention in technology-enhanced cultural heritage tourism. Survey data from 418 visitors to a UNESCO World Heritage Site in China were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The findings reveal differentiated mediation patterns across experiential dimensions. Escapism demonstrates partial mediation, exerting both direct and indirect effects on revisit intention, whereas edutainment and aesthetic experience exhibit full mediation through internal psychological evaluations. Perceived authenticity and place satisfaction operate as parallel yet distinct mediators, representing cognitive appraisal and affective evaluation, respectively. By revealing the nonuniform psychological pathways through which technology-enhanced heritage experiences influence revisit intention, this study extends experience economy research and advances the application of the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) framework in cultural heritage tourism. The findings also provide practical insights for designing immersive heritage experiences that strengthen authenticity perception, visitor satisfaction, and revisit intention.