Digital Innovation in Italian Museums:
Visitor Experiences with AR/VR across Regional Contexts
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18335/region.v13i2.651Abstract
This paper examines the adoption of immersive technologies -- Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) -- in Italian museums, focusing on how digital tools shape visitor experiences across different regional contexts. Building on earlier exploratory work conducted through online surveys and preliminary field research in winter 2024--25, the study draws on survey data collected in September 2025 from visitors across museums located in diverse territorial and institutional settings. The analysis combines descriptive statistics, regression models, and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to investigate the relationships between immersive technologies, visitor satisfaction, emotional engagement, post-visit understanding, and future behavioural intentions. The findings indicate that AR/VR experiences are positively and consistently associated with visitor satisfaction, emotional engagement, and cognitive outcomes across the sampled institutions. Emotional engagement and post-visit understanding emerge as the strongest predictors of positive evaluations and future intentions, while pre-visit expectations and familiarity with immersive technologies play secondary but significant roles. The results also indicate territorial variation in the adoption and perceived quality of immersive technologies, with patterns varying across regional and institutional contexts. Rather than suggesting uniform patterns of digital transformation, the study highlights how immersive experiences are associated with specific regional and institutional conditions that warrant further investigation. By combining experiential and territorial perspectives, the paper contributes to current debates on digital transformation in cultural heritage and smart cultural tourism. The findings suggest that the perceived value of immersive technologies is associated not only with technological availability, but also with the quality of narrative design and the broader contextual conditions of each institution. Future research may extend this work through longitudinal approaches and simulation models exploring the diffusion of AR/VR under different policy and funding scenarios.
References
Abou-Shouk M, Zouair N, Abdelhakim A, Roshdy H, Abdel-Jalil M (2024) The effect of immersive technologies on tourist satisfaction and loyalty: The mediating role of customer engagement and customer perceived value. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management/ 36: 3587–3606. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-09-2023-1496
Antonietti R, Burlina C, Rodriguez-Pose A (2025) Digital technology and regional income inequality: Are better institutions the solution? Papers in Regional Science 104: 100079. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pirs.2025.100079
Bakhshi H, Throsby D (2012) New technologies in cultural institutions: Theory, evidence and policy implications. International journal of cultural policy 18: 205–222. https://doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2011.587878
Beck J, Rainoldi M, Egger R (2019) Virtual reality in tourism: A state-of-the-art review. Tourism review 74: 586–612. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-03-2017-0049
Bekele MK, Pierdicca R, Frontoni E, Malinverni ES, Gain J (2018) A survey of augmented, virtual, and mixed reality for cultural heritage. Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage 11: 1–36. https://doi.org/10.1145/3145534
Bonacini E (2024) Considerazioni e prospettive per musei digitali orientati al futuro. In: Musei digitali e Generazione Z. Nuove sfide per nuovi pubblici, Volume 1. EdiPuglia, 187–244
Bonet L, Négrier E (2018) The participative turn in cultural policy: Paradigms, models, contexts. Poetics 66: 64–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2018.02.006
Capello R, Lenzi C (2019) Structural dynamics of regional innovation patterns in Europe: The role of inventors’ mobility. Regional Studies 53: 30–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2017.1379600
Capello R, Lenzi C (2024) 4.0 Technological transformations: Heterogeneous effects on regional growth. Economics of Innovation and New Technology 33: 627–646. https://doi.org/10.1080/10438599.2023.2204523
Carta F, Straccamore I (2025) Territorial inequalities between digital innovation and the labour market. Rivista Italiana di Economia Demografia e Statistica: 222–232. https://doi.org/10.71014/sieds.v79i2.322
Cellini R, Cuccia T, Ferrante L, Lisi D (2024) The quality of regional institutional context and museum service provision: Evidence from Italy. Italian Economic Journal 10: 155–195
Dağ K, Çavuşoğlu S, Durmaz Y (2024) The effect of immersive experience, user engagement and perceived authenticity on place satisfaction in the context of augmented reality. Library Hi Tech 42: 1331–1346. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHT-10-2022-0498
de Lourdes Calisto M, Sarkar S (2024) A systematic review of virtual reality in tourism and hospitality: The known and the paths to follow. International Journal of Hospitality Management 116: 103623. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2023.103623
Di Leo A (2023) Technology-driven innovation in cultural heritage: A museum experience perspective. Turistica – Italian Journal of Tourism 32. https://doi.org/10.70732/tijt.v32i3.26
Dogan E, Kan MH (2020) Bringing heritage sites to life for visitors: Towards a conceptual framework for immersive experience. Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Research 8: 76–99. https://doi.org/10.30519/ahtr.630783
Falk JH, Dierking LD (2016) The museum experience revisited. Routledge, London. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315417851
Felice E (2019) The roots of a dual equilibrium: GDP, productivity, and structural change in the Italian regions in the long run (1871–2011). European Review of Economic History 23: 499–528. https://doi.org/10.1093/ereh/hey018
Fricano S, Fazio G, Pirrone C (2025) Strategic adoption of immersive technologies in cultural heritage and tourism. Advances in management and applied economics (3): 101–127. https://doi.org/10.47260/amae/1536
Graziano T, Privitera D (2020) Cultural heritage, tourist attractiveness and augmented reality: Insights from Italy. Journal of Heritage Tourism 15: 666–679. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743873X.2020.1719116
Grossi E, Sacco PL, Blessi GT (2023) Cultural, creative, and complex: A computational foundation of culture-driven urban governance. Cities 140: 104437. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2023.104437
Hooper-Greenhill E (2007) Museums and education: Purpose, pedagogy, performance. Routledge, London. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203937525
Kitchin R (2014) The data revolution: Big data, open data, data infrastructures and their consequences. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781473909472
Kline RB (2023) Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. Guilford publications, New York, NY
Laratta A (2024) In Italia mai così tanti turisti come nel 2023, un anno record. Finestre sull’arte, online. Available at: https://www.finestresullarte.info/turismo/in-italia-mai-cosi-tanti-turisti-come-nel-2023
Lemy DM, Juliana D, Pramezwary A (2025) Cultural value in the digital age: Combining smart travel technology with traveler satisfaction and loyalty. International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning/ 20: 607–621. https://doi.org/10.18280/ijsdp.200212
Liberatore A, Sousa AE, Cardoso P, Pais S (2025) Immersive technologies in Italian cultural tourism: An exploratory analysis of visitor satisfaction and predictive modeling. Studia UBB Negotia 70: 43–76. https://doi.org/10.24193/subbnegotia.2025.2.02
Lohr SL (2021) Sampling: Design and analysis. Chapman and Hall/CRC, Boca Raton, FL. https://doi.org/10.1201/9780429298899
Mauro L, Pigliaru F, Carmeci G (2023) Decentralization, social capital, and regional growth: The case of the Italian North-South divide. European Journal of Political Economy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2023.102363
Nevola F, Coles T, Mosconi C (2022) Hidden Florence revealed? Critical insights from the operation of an augmented reality app in a World Heritage City. Journal of Heritage Tourism 17: 371–390. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743873x.2022.2036165
Oliver RL (1980) A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of satisfaction decisions. Journal of Marketing Research 17: 460. https://doi.org/10.2307/3150499
Omran W, Casais B, Ramos RF (2025) Attributes of virtual and augmented reality tourism mobile applications predicting tourist behavioral engagement. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction 41: 13335–13348. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2025.2470293
Omran W, F RR, Casais B (2024) Virtual reality and augmented reality applications and their effect on tourist engagement: a hybrid review. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology 15: 497–518. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTT-11-2022-0299
Packer J, Ballantyne R (2016) Conceptualizing the visitor experience: A review of literature and development of a multifaceted model. Visitor Studies 19: 128–143. https://doi.org/10.1080/10645578.2016.1144023
Palumbo R (2023) Leveraging digitalization and people-centeredness: An investigation of the attractiveness of Italian museums and cultural institutions. Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development/. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCHMSD-06-2023-0072
Sacco PL (2012) Culture 3.0: A new perspective for the EU 2014-2020 structural funds programming. In: European House for Culture (ed), The Cultural Component of Citizenship: An Inventory of Challenges. Access to Culture Platform
Santoro MT, Cavallo L, Sante S, Petrei F (2024) Cultural tourism in Italy: A proposal for definitions, analysis indicators and data integration. In: International Symposium: New Metropolitan Perspectives, Cham, 217–226. Springer Nature
Tom Dieck MC, Jung T (2018) A theoretical model of mobile augmented reality acceptance in urban heritage tourism. Current Issues in Tourism 21: 154–174. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2015.1070801
Tranos E (2013) The geography of the internet: Cities, regions and internet infrastructure in Europe. Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, UK. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781781953372
Tranos E (2026) A multi-scale story of the diffusion of a new technology: The Web. Journal of Economic Geography 26: 99–122. https://doi.org/10.1093/jeg/lbaf035
Tranos E, Kitsos T, Ortega-Argilés R (2021) Digital economy in the UK: Regional productivity effects of early adoption. Regional Studies 55: 1924–1938. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2020.1826420
Tranos E, Kourtit K, Nijkamp P (2014) Digital urban network connectivity: Global and Chinese internet patterns. Papers in Regional Science 93: 409–429. https://doi.org/10.1111/pirs.12097
Trunfio M, Della Lucia M, Campana S, Magnelli A (2022a) Innovating the cultural heritage museum service model through virtual reality and augmented reality: The effects on the overall visitor experience and satisfaction. Journal of Heritage Tourism 17: 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743873X.2021.2011368
Trunfio M, Jung T, Campana S (2022b) Mixed reality experiences in museums: Exploring the impact of functional elements of the devices on visitors’ immersive experiences and post experience behaviors. Information & Management 59: 103664. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2022.103664
Yung R, Khoo-Lattimore C (2019) New realities: A systematic literature review on virtual reality and augmented reality in tourism research. Current issues in tourism 22: 2056–2081. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2017.1417359
Zhou Y, Chen J, Wang M (2022) A meta-analytic review on incorporating virtual and augmented reality in museum learning. Educational Research Review 36: 100454. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2022.100454
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Assia Liberatore, Ana Elisa De Sousa, Paula Cardoso
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
REGION is an open journal, and uses the standard Creative Commons license: Copyright We want authors to retain the maximum control over their work consistent with the first goal. For this reason, authors who publish in REGION will release their articles under the Creative Commons Attribution license. This license allows anyone to copy and distribute the article provided that appropriate attribution is given to REGION and the authors. For details of the rights authors grant users of their work, see the "human-readable summary" of the license, with a link to the full license. (Note that "you" refers to a user, not an author, in the summary.) Upon submission, the authors agree that the following three items are true: 1) The manuscript named above: a) represents valid work and neither it nor any other that I have written with substantially similar content has been published before in any form except as a preprint, b) is not concurrently submitted to another publication, and c) does not infringe anyone’s copyright. The Author(s) holds ERSA, WU, REGION, and the Editors of REGION harmless against all copyright claims. d) I have, or a coauthor has, had sufficient access to the data to verify the manuscript’s scientific integrity. 2) If asked, I will provide or fully cooperate in providing the data on which the manuscript is based so the editors or their assignees can examine it (where possible) 3) For papers with more than one author, I as the submitter have the permission of the coauthors to submit this work, and all authors agree that the corresponding author will be the main correspondent with the editorial office, and review the edited manuscript and proof. If there is only one author, I will be the corresponding author and agree to handle these responsibilities.
