Role-based flexibility in sacred heritage tourism: symbolic identity and visitor responses to digital technologies

Digital technologies increasingly transform heritage tourism experiences, including sacred sites, where tensions often arise between innovation and respect for spiritual values. This paper introduces Role-Based Flexibility (RBF), proposing that visitors’ symbolic roles, such as pilgrim or tourist, shape how they evaluate digital technologies in sacred heritage contexts. A global survey of religious travelers (N = 539) reveals significant intra-individual differences in technology acceptance tied to symbolic identity enactment, rather than demographic or purely functional considerations. These findings extend heritage tourism scholarship by highlighting how sacredness and identity negotiation influence digital mediation in heritage sites. RBF offers practical insights for heritage managers aiming to balance technological innovation with cultural and spiritual authenticity in visitors’ experiences.