Empowering Memorable Tourism Experiences: How Smart Tourism Technology Quality Shapes Destination Perceptions and Tourist Psychological Empowerment

Smart tourism technologies are increasingly transforming how tourists interact with destinations, yet the mechanisms through which technology quality contributes to memorable tourism experiences remain insufficiently understood. Drawing on Stimulus–Organism–Response (S-O-R) theory, this study examines the relationships among smart tourism technology quality (STTQ), smart destination perception (SDP), tourist psychological empowerment (TPE), and memorable tourism experience (MTE). Data were collected from tourists visiting selected Egyptian destinations characterized by extensive use of digital and smart tourism technologies. The proposed model was assessed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The findings revealed that STTQ positively relates to MTE, SDP, and TPE, while both SDP and TPE positively relate to MTE. Furthermore, the results indicate significant indirect associations between STTQ and MTE through SDP and TPE. The findings extend S-O-R theory by demonstrating that smart tourism technology quality can influence memorable experiences through both destination-oriented cognitive perceptions and tourist-oriented psychological empowerment. The study contributes to smart tourism research by integrating technological quality, destination smartness, and tourist agency within a unified framework and offers practical implications for designing technology-enabled destination experiences.