Cognitive and affective drivers of VR adoption in heritage tourism: Integrating UTAUT and Anticipated emotions

While the potential of Virtual Reality (VR) in destination marketing is recognized, tourists’ motivations to adopt it remain underexplored. This paper investigates cognitive and affective factors influencing intentions to use VR in heritage tourism contexts. Integrating the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology with Anticipated Emotion, an online survey was conducted on 626 respondents. Structural Equation Modelling-Partial Least Squares was employed to test the effects of cognitive and emotional predictors. Results reveal that Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Social Influence, Attitude, Positive and Negative Anticipated Emotions significantly predict VR adoption intentions. Findings further show that combining cognitive and affective antecedents enhances explanatory power. For practitioners, the study offers strategies to promote VR in heritage sites by addressing both rational and emotional motivations, fostering pre-visit engagement and enriching on-site experiences. This represents the first integration of UTAUT and Anticipated Emotion in heritage destination marketing, offering a perspective on VR adoption among visitors.