Understanding AI-enabled conversational agent customer experiences in religious tourism

In today’s digital era, modern challenges, such as numerous digital touchpoints and the demand for personalization, are becoming increasingly significant in tourism (Kim and So, 2022; Taheri et al., 2021). AI-enabled technologies have raised expectations for personalized services and recommendations (Grundner and Neuhofer, 2021), with particular significance in religious tourism (Bingaman, 2020). The advent of AI-enabled Conversational Agents (AICAs), such as chatbots and virtual assistants that simulate human-like interactions, transforms how religious tourists interact with destinations, access information and enhance their overall experience (Battour et al., 2024). These intelligent systems bring about an unprecedented convergence of faith, culture and digital innovation, providing personalized experiences that cater to the nuanced needs of religious tourists (Bingaman, 2020). Furthermore, the potential for AICAs to offer round-the-clock support, multilingual capabilities and tailored recommendations presents exciting possibilities for enhancing the religious tourism journey (Battour et al., 2024).

Religious tourism represents a significant global phenomenon requiring specialized technological support across various faiths and spiritual traditions (Hendrik et al., 2024). This significance is evident in recent statistics: annually, religious tourism accounts for hundreds of millions of journeys worldwide, from Christian pilgrimages to Rome and Lourdes, Buddhist visits to temples, Hindu pilgrimages to the Ganges, Islamic journeys to Mecca and numerous other sacred destinations (Heintzman, 2020; Kim et al., 2020a; Luz, 2020). This massive influx of diverse religious tourists, each seeking meaningful spiritual experiences, presents a unique challenge for information provision and personalized support (Ali et al., 2023; Battour et al., 2023). AICAs offer promising solutions to enhance these religious journeys through multilingual assistance, personalized spiritual guidance and real-time information (Battour et al., 2024).

Given the scale of the religious tourism sector, an improved theoretical understanding of AICAs’ influence stands to benefit not only scholarly discourse but also lead to enhanced spiritual experiences for a significant portion of global religious tourists (Khan et al., 2024). Despite these developments and the growing importance of technology in religious tourism, several critical gaps exist in our understanding of AICAs’ technological integration in religious contexts. First, while existing research has examined AICAs’ impact on tourist experience in general tourism contexts (Kim and So, 2022; Taheri et al., 2021), there remains limited theoretical understanding of how AICAs can support and enhance religious tourism experiences while maintaining religious authenticity and spiritual value (Amaro et al., 2021; Hendrik et al., 2024). Second, while previous studies have examined religious consumer behavior in tourism contexts (Battour et al., 2024), there has yet to be an examination of how AICA attributes influence religious tourists’ cognitive and affective responses during religious journeys, which is the problem we seek to address. This understanding is crucial for developing technologically-enhanced experiences that respect and support religious practices (Hussain and Wang, 2024).

In response, this paper leverages the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model and technology readiness index (TRI) to examine the relationships between AICA attributes (stimuli), religious tourists’ cognitive and affective evaluations (organism) and their behavioral responses (memorable religious tourism experiences (MRTEs) and continuous use intentions) (Virto et al., 2024). The incorporation of S-O-R and TRI deepens the understanding of how AICAs shape religious tourists’ intentions and impact the memorable tourist experiences and continued usage intentions of AICAs, yielding invaluable insights. This use also aligns with the importance of studying consumers’ digital behavior in tourism (Mohseni et al., 2018).

Accordingly, this paper aims to improve understanding of the influence of AICAs in fostering MRTEs and encouraging continuance intention to use AICAs. This paper makes several important contributions to religious marketing and tourism literature as a result. First, it develops a novel integration of the S-O-R model and the TRI specifically for religious tourism contexts. Second, it introduces and conceptualizes MRTEs in the context of Islamic tourism, providing a theoretical framework for understanding how technological assistance can enhance sacred journeys. Third, it provides actionable guidelines for designing culturally sensitive AI applications in religious tourism settings. These contributions collectively advance the theoretical understanding of religious consumer behavior and the practical implementation of technologies in religious tourism (Hendrik et al., 2024).

Specifically, this paper examines (1) how AICA attributes serve as stimuli influencing religious tourists’ cognitive and affective evaluations, (2) the relationship between technology readiness (TR) and spiritual experiences in religious contexts and (3) how cognitive and affective states impact MRTEs and AICA continuance intentions among religious tourists.

The paper concludes with both theoretical and practical implications of the proposed conceptual model. From a theoretical perspective, this paper contributes to the literature by integrating the S-O-R model (Mehrabian and Russell, 1974) and the TRI (Parasuraman and Colby, 2015) within the context of religious tourism. This novel framework explores the determinants of tourist behaviors in response to AICA stimuli. Moreover, it delves into the crucial issue of cognitive and affective states and their role in mediating the relationship between MRTEs and AICA attributes (Jeong and Shin, 2020).

From a practical standpoint, this paper provides valuable insights into how tourism practitioners, policymakers and organizations involved in religious tourism can use AI-enabled services to enhance experiences for spiritual tourists. By examining how AICA features shape tourist experiences, the paper highlights opportunities to design AI tools that cater to the unique needs of religious tourists. These insights lay the foundation for improving religious tourism satisfaction, fostering spiritual engagement and encouraging long-term adoption of AI technologies. In sum, the paper offers a theoretical framework that can inform marketing strategies and service innovations, paving the way for a more immersive and fulfilling religious tourism experience.

To ensure comprehensive coverage of the relevant literature, we conducted a systematic review across key disciplines, including tourism management, information systems and religious studies. The review was guided by the contextual framework proposed by Heidari et al. (2018), which systematically maps the interplay of cultural, spiritual and technological factors in religious tourism. This framework provides a foundation for understanding the role of AI in enhancing religious tourism experiences.

The search strategy targeted leading journals in these fields and focused on recent developments in AI-enabled tourism services and religious tourist behavior, experiences, acceptance and resistance. Key search terms included combinations such as “religious tourism,” “artificial intelligence,” “conversational agents,” “customer experience,” “human-AI interaction,” and “pilgrim experience.” By prioritizing publications from top-tier journals (e.g. Paul et al., 2023a, 2023b; Xu et al., 2023), the review ensured the inclusion of high-quality sources relevant to this study.

This targeted approach enabled the identification and synthesis of theoretical frameworks and empirical findings that inform how AICAs can enhance religious tourism experiences. Insights from the literature highlight religious tourism’s cognitive, emotional and spiritual dimensions, emphasizing the need to preserve sacredness while integrating technological innovation. These findings directly informed the development of our theoretical model, which explores the potential of AICAs to address these multidimensional aspects of religious tourism.

Tourist experiences are multifaceted and dynamic processes encompassing cognitive, affective and behavioral dimensions shaped by various stimuli throughout the customer journey (Kim and So, 2022). These experiences are often treated as multidimensional constructs, influenced by sensory, emotional, cognitive, physical and social factors, contributing to tourists’ overall satisfaction and loyalty (Lemon and Verhoef, 2016). From the perspective of the S-O-R model, external stimuli – such as environmental attributes, service quality and technological innovations – play a pivotal role in shaping internal states, including tourists’ emotions, perceptions and trust.

These internal states, in turn, drive behavioral outcomes such as continued engagement, destination loyalty and word-of-mouth recommendations (Jani and Han, 2015). This perspective underscores the importance of identifying and analyzing the stimuli that influence tourists’ internal responses, offering a structured approach to understanding how specific features of services and technologies contribute to memorable and satisfying experiences.

Among the various external stimuli shaping tourist experiences, AICAs have emerged as a transformative technological innovation, driving more interactive and personalized interactions. These digital interfaces engage users in real-time conversational interactions, using natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning for dynamic, context-aware dialogues (Mariani et al., 2023). AICAs, whether chatbots, virtual assistants or voice assistants, are designed to understand and respond to user inputs in a human-like manner (Ling et al., 2023). Tourism organizations increasingly deploy these technologies to provide 24/7 customer service, personalized recommendations, automated tasks and rapid responses, reshaping how tourists engage with services (Zhang et al., 2022; Carvalho and Ivanov, 2024).

Research on consumer behavior in tourism highlights AICAs’ transformative potential across multiple dimensions (see Table 1). For instance, Pillai and Sivathanu (2020) demonstrated that AICAs enhance personalized service delivery through features such as anthropomorphism and perceived trust, which drive user adoption. Similarly, Melián-González et al. (2021) emphasized the significance of real-time responsiveness in reducing decision-making uncertainty and fostering trust. Chang et al. (2023) found that personalization and user interface design are pivotal in encouraging tourism purchase intentions. Ali et al. (2023) stressed the importance of conversational depth, accuracy and security in building trust during service interactions.

Studies have further demonstrated the importance of AICAs in pre-visit planning and decision-making. For example, Jiménez-Barreto et al. (2023) highlighted the interactive potential of AI tools, such as the interactivity of smart speakers, in enhancing cognitive decision-making processes. Similarly, Pham et al. (2024) found that ease of use and perceived usefulness significantly encourage continued engagement with AI-based chatbots.

Pereira et al. (2022) linked perceived enjoyment and service quality to tourists’ intentions to continue using AICAs. Tosyali et al. (2023) emphasized the informativeness of chatbot interactions as a key driver of destination image and visit intention. Collectively, these studies underline the multidimensional impact of AICAs, addressing cognitive, emotional and social dimensions to foster trust, satisfaction and loyalty in tourism contexts.

Despite extensive research on user satisfaction, perceived usefulness and enjoyment in general tourism contexts (Orden-Mejía et al., 2023; Pham et al., 2024; Tosyali et al., 2023), religious tourism presents unique challenges due to its emphasis on spiritual engagement and the sacred nature of experiences (Heidari et al., 2018). Within this specialized context is a deeper understanding of how AICAs can support religious tourism’s cognitive, emotional and spiritual dimensions while preserving sacredness (Ülkü, 2024; Kim et al., 2020a, 2020b).

Our critical review reveals that existing literature has largely overlooked how tourists’ cognitive and affective responses, influenced by AICA attributes such as empathy and personalization, contribute to the formation of MRTEs and intentions to continue using these technologies in sacred contexts (Hendrik et al., 2024). This gap highlights the intersection of technological functionality and spiritual authenticity, underscoring a critical need for further theoretical development and empirical exploration.

Furthermore, research suggests that religious tourists exhibit unique acceptance patterns of AICAs compared to general tourists, influenced by their practical needs and spiritual considerations (Caber et al., 2023). Specifically, perceptions of AICAs’ intelligence and interactivity significantly influence tourists’ experiences, while emotional responses, such as spiritual enjoyment or frustration, shape their engagement (Rather, 2024; Tosyali et al., 2023). These findings emphasize the need for a comprehensive theoretical framework that captures how AICA attributes influence cognitive and affective responses, ultimately contributing to memorable experiences and continued use intentions in religious tourism.

Religious tourism has long been centered on the sacred and transformative connections individuals seek during spiritual journeys (Rinschede, 1992). These journeys, often defined by pilgrimages to holy sites, participation in rituals and moments of quiet reflection, intertwine faith, culture and personal introspection to create meaningful experiences (Kim and Kim, 2019; Luz, 2020). By deepening participants’ understanding of their beliefs and fostering a sense of belonging within their faith communities, religious tourism preserves ancient traditions and sacred values within a modern context.

The emergence of AI represents a significant transformation in religious tourism, particularly in its ability to deliver highly personalized travel experiences that align with contemporary expectations (Ülkü, 2024). This technological evolution (AICAs) has effectively addressed several practical and spiritual needs across diverse religious contexts.

Research demonstrates AICAs showing promising results in real-world settings by addressing practical and spiritual needs across various religious contexts. For example, Battour et al. (2023, 2024) demonstrated how AICAs, such as ChatGPT, provide real-time guidance on rituals, ensuring practitioners perform their religious observances with greater understanding and reverence. These systems enhance the experience through practical support features, including sacred-site navigation, religious event scheduling and dietary requirement management aligned with various faith traditions.

In addition, Shah (2024) highlighted that AICAs, such as the Nusuk app developed by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, use conversational capabilities to assist pilgrims with Umrah. These systems support navigation at sites (e.g. the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina), offering personalized guidance, multilingual features and tailored information to enhance the pilgrimage experience.

Biana (2024) comprehensively analyzes AI-enabled chatbots by examining their role in religious contexts, particularly how large language models – e.g. ChatGPT – are adapted into religion-based chatbots. Notable implementations include QuranGPT, HadithGPT, GitaGPT and Kosher.Chat, and BibleMate. These chatbots function as specialized conversational agents offering insights from holy texts, providing historical and theological context and assisting in making religious practices and guidance more accessible to diverse populations. By integrating religious teachings with advanced NLP, these systems effectively address a wide range of spiritual needs, from answering theological questions to offering personalized devotional practices.

However, integrating AI into religious tourism introduces important considerations regarding mediating sacred experiences through digital means. The intersection of AI and spirituality creates unique dynamics, influencing how religious experiences are facilitated and transformed. Studies emphasize the role of AI in spiritual encounters (e.g. Bingaman, 2020; Battour et al., 2023), from augmenting prayer practices to enhancing religious learning and contemplation. This interaction demands careful attention to cultural and spiritual sensitivity to ensure meaningful engagement without compromising sacredness (Jafari and Scott, 2014).

Bingaman (2020) advocates for culturally aligned AI tools that preserve the sanctity of religious practices while enhancing spiritual engagement. Hendrik et al. (2024) highlight challenges in maintaining authenticity, privacy and trust in digital spiritual spaces. Similarly, research by Kim et al. (2020a, 2020b) explores how AI can facilitate and potentially transform traditional spiritual practices, raising critical questions about mediating sacred experiences through technology. Ülkü (2024) underscores the importance of balancing technological personalization with cultural values, particularly in how AI systems interpret and support spiritual needs.

Battour et al. (2023) further emphasize the necessity of designing AI systems that deeply understand and respect religious principles to create meaningful spiritual experiences. These studies illustrate how AI-enabled tools must navigate the fine balance between innovation and sacredness, ensuring that spiritual authenticity remains central to their design and application in religious tourism contexts.

Furthermore, user resistance emerges as a critical factor in AI-user interactions within tourism settings, stemming from psychological, cultural and situational barriers (Blut and Wang, 2020). Within religious tourism specifically, Raj et al. (2023) identify tradition and image barriers as key factors affecting senior citizens’ adoption of virtual reality technologies. This resistance manifests in various forms: Talwar et al. (2020) distinguish between passive and active resistance to digital innovations. Cham et al. (2023) highlight how psychological inertia influences technology adoption among senior tourists. The broader hospitality context provides additional insights, with Rasheed et al. (2023) revealing how emotional intelligence and cultural values mediate AI adoption attitudes and Zhang et al. (2024a, 2024b) demonstrating the interaction between smartness and traditional barriers in smart hospitality implementation.

Recent studies have expanded this discussion to include resistance in other technological contexts, such as mobile technology and service robots. Jeon et al. (2024) apply innovation resistance theory to mobile apps, highlighting barriers such as usage, value and observability, while Wang et al. (2023a, 2023b) demonstrate how complexity and lack of warmth in service robots drive resistance at hotel front desks. Rodriguez et al. (2019) emphasize that status quo bias and risk perceptions significantly influence resistance to tourism innovations. Similarly, Cai and McKenna (2021) explore resistance through the lens of digital-free tourism, framing disconnection as an active strategy against technological dominance. These diverse perspectives highlight the multidimensional nature of resistance, shaped by personal, cultural and technological factors dimensions that are particularly relevant in sensitive contexts like religious tourism. Table 2 presents a summary of existing literature on technology resistance in tourism.

Several research gaps exist in religious tourism contexts. While studies have documented AICA implementation in general tourism settings (Battour et al., 2023; Hendrik et al., 2024), there is a need to pay more attention to the unique spiritual and cultural sensitivities required in religious contexts. Theoretical and empirical research must address how AICA attributes influence religious tourists’ experiences and spiritual journeys (Kim et al., 2020a, 2020b). Additionally, research has yet to adequately examine the potential moderating role of TR in religious tourism contexts (Talwar et al., 2020; Rasheed et al., 2023), leaving a critical gap in understanding how individual differences in technology acceptance influence religious tourist experiences.

Accordingly, this paper proposes a theoretical framework integrating key aspects of the religious tourist experience with AICA implementation. Specifically, the framework seeks to understand how AICA attributes influence religious tourists’ experiences while accounting for individual differences in TR. This integration requires carefully balancing technological innovation with spiritual and cultural sensitivities, ensuring AICAs enhance – rather than diminish – the sacred essence of religious tourism experiences (Battour et al., 2023; Bingaman, 2020).

There are four types of conceptual paper: theory synthesis, theory adaptation, typology and modeling (Jaakkola, 2020). This conceptual paper adopts a model research design to develop a theoretical framework predicting relationships between key constructs. A core aim of model-research-design papers is to propose theoretical propositions that introduce new relationships (Jaakkola, 2020). Drawing on tourism and AI literature, this study explores the unique intersection of AI-enabled technologies within religious tourism contexts.

Specifically, the proposed framework conceptualizes the impact of AICAs on cognitive and affective states. Furthermore, it examines the cognitive and affective states influence on memorable religious tourism experiences (MRTEs) and MTRTE’s impact on continuance use intentions (Kim et al., 2020a). This approach represents one of the first attempts to conceptualize MRTEs, offering valuable insights into how AICAs can foster meaningful and memorable interactions for religious tourists.

This research draws on the S-O-R model to predict tourist behavior in religious tourism contexts (Mehrabian and Russell, 1974). The conceptual model (see Figure 1) conceptualizes how interactions with AICA stimuli (S), represented by AICA attributes (informativeness, accessibility, empathy and personalization), influence tourists’ internal states (O). These internal states, particularly significant in religious tourism settings, comprise cognitive evaluations (e.g. perceived usefulness, perceived trustworthiness and perceived intelligence) and affective states (e.g. frustration, enjoyment) that reflect both technological and spiritual aspects of the experience. These cognitive evaluations and affective states subsequently impact MRTEs and the intention to continue using AICAs.

To further assess religious tourists’ willingness and ability to adopt AICAs, TR (Parasuraman and Colby, 2015) is introduced as a moderating factor. The TR assesses tourists’ predisposition toward technology, specifically their optimism, innovativeness, discomfort and insecurity (Parasuraman and Colby, 2015). This moderation is particularly significant in religious tourism contexts, where tourists may feel comfortable integrating technology into their spiritual experiences (Yin et al., 2023). The TR considers positive TR, characterized by optimism and innovativeness, and negative TR, represented by discomfort and insecurity. Including these factors allows for understanding how TR moderates the impact of AICA attributes on the religious tourist’s experience (O) and, ultimately, their behavioral intentions (R) (Xiong et al., 2023).

The S-O-R model, rooted in environmental psychology, provides a robust framework for understanding the interaction between external stimuli, internal cognitive and affective states and behavioral outcomes (Mehrabian and Russell, 1974). According to this model, external stimuli (S) influence an individual’s internal state (O), which subsequently leads to specific behavioral responses (R). Widely applied across disciplines, the S-O-R model has proven effective for analyzing the influence of environmental factors on emotions and behaviors in marketing, hospitality and technology adoption (Jani and Han, 2015).

In recent years, the S-O-R model has gained traction in tourism studies, particularly in exploring the role of technology in shaping tourist experiences. Applications have spanned diverse areas, such as smart tourism technologies (Torabi et al., 2022), virtual reality tourism (Kim et al., 2020a, 2020b) and cultural heritage tourism (Liu et al., 2024). However, integrating AICAs as a stimulus variable in religious tourism contexts remains underexplored (Jani and Han, 2015; Kim et al., 2020a; Kim et al., 2020b). Specifically, little attention has been paid to how AICAs’ attributes – such as empathy, cultural sensitivity and personalization – serve as stimuli that influence pilgrims’ internal states, including trust and emotional connection, and lead to behavioral outcomes, such as MRTEs and continuance use intentions.

This study extends the S-O-R model by conceptualizing AICAs’ attributes as external stimuli (S) that influence pilgrims’ cognitive and affective states (O), ultimately predicting behavioral responses (R), such as trust, engagement and sustained adoption of AICAs, in religious tourism. By focusing on attributes including informativeness about religious sites, accessibility to spiritual content, cultural empathy and personalized guidance, our model reveals how technology-mediated interactions can enrich spiritual journeys. These interactions enhance MRTEs and support the seamless integration of AICAs into religious tourism practices, ensuring that technological solutions align with sacred traditions and cultural sensitivities (Hendrik et al., 2024).

Importantly, the successful application of the S-O-R model in religious tourism often features the moderating influence of TR. Individual and organizational preparedness toward technology significantly shapes how pilgrims perceive and engage with stimuli, such as AICAs (Shariffuddin et al., 2023). With sufficient readiness, even well-designed technological solutions may be able to foster the trust and engagement required to enhance spiritual experiences. This underscores the need to integrate TR considerations into this framework.

The application of TR in religious tourism requires careful consideration of spiritual and cultural dimensions (Hussain and Wang, 2024). Understanding individual dispositions toward technology, along with the preparedness and willingness of religious sites, organizations and pilgrims to adopt technology, is crucial to managing and addressing the resistance or skepticism that may arise among religious tourists when integrating AI-enabled solutions (Blut and Wang, 2020; Cham et al., 2023; Wang et al., 2023a, 2023b).

TR refers to an individual’s predisposition to embrace and use new technologies to achieve goals, encompassing both positive dimensions (optimism and innovativeness) and negative dimensions (discomfort and insecurity) (Parasuraman and Colby, 2015). In religious tourism, TR plays a pivotal role in shaping how pilgrims perceive and engage with AICAs as facilitators of their spiritual journeys (Caber et al., 2023; Raj et al., 2023). Unlike other domains where technological adoption is often motivated by convenience or novelty, religious tourism requires a careful balance between technological innovation and preserving sacred traditions.

Positive technology readiness (PTR) – manifested as optimism about technology’s potential to enhance spiritual experiences and a willingness to explore its capabilities – enables pilgrims to view AICAs as valuable tools for enriching their journeys (Yin et al., 2023). For instance, individuals with high PTR are more likely to trust AICAs to provide personalized spiritual guidance, culturally sensitive information and immersive storytelling about sacred sites (Kim et al., 2020a, 2020b; Gao et al., 2022). These attributes align with the cognitive and affective states outlined in the S-O-R model, reinforcing trust, satisfaction and engagement during religious tourism experiences.

Conversely, negative dimensions of TR, such as discomfort or insecurity, can hinder adopting and effectively using AICAs. Pilgrims who feel overwhelmed by technological complexity or doubt the reliability of AICAs may resist integrating them into their spiritual practices. This resistance underscores the importance of designing AICAs that are not only user-friendly but also empathetic to cultural and spiritual sensitivities (Shariffuddin et al., 2023; Yang et al., 2022). Addressing these concerns involves prioritizing features, such as simplified interfaces, trust-building mechanisms and clear demonstrations of how AICAs can complement rather than disrupt traditional practices (Battour et al., 2023).

In religious tourism, TR extends beyond individual predispositions to include the readiness of religious organizations and sites to adopt and integrate technology. Wang et al. (2023a, 2023b) argue that organizational readiness is critical in mitigating resistance and fostering adoption. Religious sites that proactively invest in culturally tailored digital solutions, such as AICAs designed for multi-faith inclusivity, are more likely to succeed in integrating technology into spiritual experiences (Qurashi, 2018). This organizational readiness ensures that adopting AICAs aligns with pilgrims’ expectations of authenticity and respect for sacred practices (Raj et al., 2023).

By framing TR as a moderating influence, this study emphasizes its role in enhancing or impeding the relationship between MRTEs and continuance use intentions (Kim et al., 2020a). High levels of PTR encourage pilgrims to embrace AICAs and amplify the positive impacts of cognitive and affective engagement during their journeys. Conversely, negative technology readiness (NTR) necessitates targeted interventions to build trust and confidence, ensuring that technological innovations meet the unique needs of religious tourists.

Drawing upon the S-O-R model, scholars have examined technological attributes (stimuli) that enhance the sacred and spiritual dimensions of religious travel experiences (Anubha, 2024; Kim et al., 2020b). The AICA attributes act as vital stimuli within the S-O-R model, particularly in contexts where technology should complement rather than diminish religious authenticity (Zhu et al., 2023). The effectiveness of these stimuli in shaping religious tourists’ experiences depends on their alignment with technological functionality and spiritual sensitivity. When AICAs demonstrate sensitivity to religious requirements and spiritual needs, it can lead to more positive evaluations and a greater willingness to incorporate technology into spiritual journeys (Nieves-Pavón et al., 2023). After a critical review of the literature, our conceptual model identifies four critical AICA attributes that serve as key stimuli for the religious tourism context: informativeness, accessibility, empathy and personalization.

Informativeness refers to the effectiveness of providing spiritually relevant, religiously accurate and culturally sensitive information about sacred sites, religious practices and ritual requirements (Zhu et al., 2023). It signifies information quality and the ability to convey religious knowledge respectfully and authentically.

Beyond basic accuracy, informativeness encompasses the timing and context-awareness of information delivery, such as providing prayer times, dietary requirements or dress codes at appropriate moments during the journey. Research indicates that AICAs can enhance the spiritual experience by offering multi-layered information that ranges from practical guidance to deeper spiritual context, allowing tourists to engage with sacred sites at their preferred level of religious immersion (Battour et al., 2024). This adaptive approach to information delivery helps bridge the gap between technological convenience and spiritual authenticity, particularly for tourists seeking educational and devotional experiences (Khan et al., 2024).

Battour et al. (2023) emphasize that effective AICAs align information with religious teachings and cultural sensitivities, fostering spiritual trust and shaping a positive perception of sacred destinations. The synergy between accurate information delivery and the preservation of religious authenticity significantly impacts both religious understanding and spiritual comfort (Caber et al., 2023).

Accessibility in religious tourism contexts extends beyond technical ease of use to encompass prayer-time sensitivity and religious protocol awareness (Amaro et al., 2021). This attribute refers to how easily religious tourists can use AICAs while maintaining their focus on spiritual activities. For instance, AICAs should be designed to minimize disruption during sacred moments, offering silent modes during prayer times and discreet interaction options during religious ceremonies (Biana, 2024). More specifically, this includes consideration of religious timing, cultural appropriateness and spiritual context. Simple, intuitive interfaces that respect religious sensitivities are crucial for broader adoption, while complexity can hinder spiritual engagement (Liu et al., 2024).

Implementing voice commands, gesture controls and adaptive interfaces that respond to religious contexts enables tourists to seamlessly integrate technological assistance without compromising their spiritual focus. Studies have shown that accessibility, particularly when aligned with religious schedules and practices, is essential for creating spiritually meaningful and memorable tourist experiences (Orden-Mejía et al., 2023). This alignment manifests in features such as automated prayer time notifications, qibla direction indicators for Muslim tourists (to indicate the direction to face for prayers), and quiet mode activation near sacred spaces. This demonstrates how thoughtful accessibility design can enhance rather than interrupt the spiritual journey.

Empathy in this context refers to the AICA’s ability to recognize and respond appropriately to religious sentiments, spiritual needs and cultural sensitivities (Murray et al., 2019). This emotional intelligence dimension encompasses understanding sacred moments, respecting religious boundaries and providing culturally appropriate responses that acknowledge the deeply personal nature of spiritual experiences. Previous studies have shown that AICAs with the ability to show religious and cultural empathy generate more trust among religious users (de Kervenoael et al., 2020).

Empathetic AICAs demonstrate this capability through respectful silence during prayer times, appropriate acknowledgment of religious milestones and culturally sensitive language choices. For instance, this includes recognizing moments of spiritual reflection, adjusting communication tone during sacred rituals and demonstrating awareness of religious emotional significance. This empathetic approach becomes particularly important during significant religious moments, such as pilgrimages, festivals or personal spiritual practices, where the AICA’s ability to understand and respect the emotional depth of these experiences directly influences user acceptance and satisfaction (Khan et al., 2024; Kim et al., 2020a, 2020b; Mariani et al., 2023).

Personalization involves customizing interactions to align with individual religious preferences, spiritual needs and cultural requirements (Zhu et al., 2023). In the religious tourism context, this means adapting services to specific religious denominations, personal spiritual practices and individual religious commitment levels (Alimamy and Kuhail, 2023). Research has demonstrated that personalization is pivotal for the religious tourism sector, as it shapes experiences that resonate on a deeply spiritual and personal level (Gao and Liu, 2022; Khan et al., 2024; Orden-Mejía et al., 2023).

Effective personalization in AICAs extends to understanding and adapting to varying levels of religious knowledge, accommodating different worship styles and respecting individual interpretations of religious practices (Gao et al., 2022). This might include offering customized guidance for novice pilgrims while providing more advanced spiritual insights for experienced practitioners. For religious tourists, personalization can transform pilgrimages into unique spiritual journeys enriched with individual devotional interests and cultural connections, making each sacred journey distinctive (Battour et al., 2024; Anubha, 2024).

These AICA attributes serve as stimuli that influence both cognitive states and affective states of religious tourists’ experiences (Chhabra et al., 2024). Based on this understanding, we propose the following hypotheses:

Religious tourists’ cognitive states are influenced by their perception of how well AICAs support their journey. Existing literature has identified three key states – perceived trustworthiness, perceived usefulness and perceived intelligence – that influence tourists’ cognitive evaluations of AICA in the tourism sector (Pillai and Sivathanu, 2020; Anubha, 2024; Rafiq et al., 2022; Xu et al., 2024; Yang et al., 2024). These cognitive evaluations are particularly significant in religious tourism, where technology must harmonize with sacred experiences while maintaining spiritual authenticity (Battour et al., 2023). The interplay of these states shapes how tourists interact with AICAs, ultimately influencing their adoption and satisfaction.

Perceived trustworthiness represents tourists’ perceptions of the reliability, credibility and security of AICA systems (Zhang et al., 2022). It fundamentally influences tourists’ cognitive evaluations of AICA technologies in the tourism industry (Shahzad et al., 2024). In religious tourism, trustworthiness extends beyond basic reliability to encompass spiritual authenticity and religious accuracy (Qurashi, 2018). This spiritual trustworthiness manifests through accurate representation of religious practices, respectful handling of sacred information and alignment with religious values. The level of perceived trustworthiness in AICAs plays a crucial role in determining tourists’ willingness to engage with these technologies throughout their journeys (Pham et al., 2024). The transparency of the technology influences tourists’ assessments of the trustworthiness of AICAs, the accuracy of information provided and the overall dependability of the system (Zhang et al., 2022).

When AICAs demonstrate a deep understanding of religious principles and cultural sensitivities, they foster a sense of sacred trust that enhances pilgrims’ spiritual engagement (Mariani et al., 2023). Enhancing the perceived trustworthiness of AICAs is essential for building confidence and fostering positive interactions between tourists and AI technologies (Alimamy and Kuhail, 2023), particularly in creating memorable religious experiences where pilgrims feel confident relying on AICAs for spiritual guidance.

Perceived usefulness refers to the perceptions of how these systems enhance travel efficiency, effectiveness and convenience (Zhu et al., 2023). In religious tourism, usefulness extends to how effectively AICAs enhance the spiritual dimension of travel while meeting practical needs. Moreover, perceived usefulness in religious tourism encompasses multiple dimensions: spiritual facilitation (helping pilgrims focus on religious practices), practical assistance (managing travel logistics) and experiential enhancement (deepening the connection with sacred sites) (Battour et al., 2023).

Studies indicate that AICAs are particularly valued when they seamlessly integrate these dimensions, providing practical support without diminishing the sacred nature of the experience (Allal-Chérif, 2022). For instance, when AICAs effectively combine prayer time notifications with route guidance to prayer spaces or blend historical religious information with practical site navigation, tourists perceive higher levels of usefulness that positively impact their spiritual journey. This factor influences tourists’ attitudes toward the technology, reflecting their belief in its ability to assist in achieving travel-related goals (Fernandes and Oliveira, 2021). Anubha (2024) emphasizes the role of cognitive and emotional engagement in creating meaningful tourist experiences, which aligns with the perception of usefulness in spiritual and logistical support provided by AICAs. Religious tourists perceiving AICAs as beneficial to their spiritual journey and practical for logistics management are more likely to experience enhanced MRTEs (Zhang et al., 2022; Pereira et al., 2022).

Perceived intelligence reflects tourists’ evaluation of AICAs’ capability to understand and respond appropriately to complex religious and spiritual contexts (Yang et al., 2024). This encompasses the system’s perceived ability to interpret religious nuances, adapt to different spiritual needs and provide contextually appropriate responses. The perception of AICA intelligence manifests in various ways within religious tourism contexts. This includes the system’s ability to recognize and respect different levels of religious devotion, adapt responses based on specific religious denominations and practices, demonstrate cultural awareness in different sacred settings and provide spiritually appropriate recommendations (Battour et al., 2024).

Research by Liu et al. (2024) suggests that these manifestations of intelligence significantly influence tourists’ confidence in using AICAs for religious guidance and support. Similarly, Mariani et al. (2023) highlight how AI conversational agents’ ability to interpret user needs and provide contextually relevant responses enhances perceptions of intelligence. When tourists perceive AICAs as intelligently engaging with religious contexts, they are more likely to trust and rely on these systems throughout their spiritual journey (Xu et al., 2024).

The integration and interplay of these cognitive states – trustworthiness in religious guidance, usefulness in spiritual support and intelligence in religious context understanding – play a crucial role in shaping MRTEs. When AICAs are perceived as trustworthy sources of religious information, useful facilitators of spiritual activities and intelligent companions in sacred journeys, they contribute significantly to creating lasting and meaningful religious tourism experiences (Lin, 2023). This synergistic relationship between cognitive states and experiential outcomes suggests that tourists’ perceptions of AICAs’ capabilities directly influence the quality and memorability of their spiritual encounters. Consequently, higher levels of these cognitive states are expected to positively influence MRTEs, leading to the following hypothesis:

Affective states in religious tourism encompass the emotional responses that individuals experience when interacting with AICA technologies. These emotional reactions significantly influence tourists’ overall experiences, perceptions and behaviors (Ahn and Seo, 2018; Khan, 2024). Given the deeply personal and sacred nature of religious journeys, these affective states are particularly crucial, as they reflect both the technological interaction and spiritual significance of the experience (Battour et al., 2024). This paper focuses on three key affective states: enjoyment, frustration and emotional involvement, chosen for their relevance to the religious tourism context and the potential to be significantly influenced by AICA interactions (Khan, 2024).

Enjoyment represents the positive emotional response that religious tourists experience when interacting with AICA technologies (Huang et al., 2024; Lu et al., 2019). In religious tourism, enjoyment transcends basic satisfaction to encompass deeper spiritual fulfillment and a sense of sacred connection (Hendrik et al., 2024). This enjoyment extends beyond conventional user satisfaction to include spiritual elements, such as discovering new religious insights through technology, the seamless integration of modern tools with traditional practices and the pleasure derived from an enhanced understanding of sacred sites and rituals.

Studies show that when AICAs successfully facilitate these spiritual-technological experiences, they create a unique enjoyment that positively influences pilgrims’ sacred journeys (Kim et al., 2023). For example, when AICAs provide timely guidance about prayer times or explain the significance of religious rituals, they foster enjoyable experiences that enhance spiritual meaning (Battour et al., 2023). These feelings of pleasure, satisfaction and delight are often derived from the AICAs’ ability to provide real-time, culturally sensitive guidance, reduce anxiety and strengthen the pilgrim’s connection to their experience. Positive emotional responses of this nature significantly contribute to creating memorable religious experiences, particularly when AICAs effectively blend practical assistance with spiritual enhancement.

Frustration is a negative emotional state that can occur when tourists encounter difficulties or limitations while using AICA technologies (Chhabra et al., 2024; Oktadiana and Pearce, 2020). In religious tourism, frustration takes on added significance, as it can directly impact the quality of spiritual experiences. For instance, frustration may arise when AICAs fail to recognize important religious moments or respond incorrectly during sacred rituals (Bingaman, 2020). Other sources of frustration include technical issues, misunderstandings around sensitive religious topics or the AICAs’ inability to meet specific spiritual or cultural needs. This frustration is particularly critical in religious tourism, as it disrupts the practical aspects of travel and the sacred nature of pilgrimages and religious activities, potentially diminishing the memorability of these spiritual experiences (Hall et al., 2018; Heidari et al., 2018). Research has demonstrated that frustration can lead to disengagement with or negative perceptions of the technology and the religious tourism service (Battour et al., 2024; Christou et al., 2020). Addressing these frustrations is essential for ensuring that AICAs enhance rather than hinder religious tourism’s spiritual and practical dimensions.

Emotional involvement refers to the degree of personal connection and emotional investment that religious tourists develop while interacting with AICAs during their spiritual journey (Khan et al., 2024). This affective state manifests in various ways, including deep engagement with religious narratives and histories provided by AICAs, a strong connection to sacred spaces through technology-mediated experiences, and active participation in digital-physical religious activities.

Research by Zhang et al. (2024a, 2024b) indicates that when AICAs successfully foster these emotional connections, they significantly enhance the authenticity and memorability of religious experiences. Similarly, Khan et al. (2024) emphasize that emotional involvement fosters more meaningful tourist experiences. Huang et al. (2024) further support this by highlighting that emotionally engaging technologies in tourism contexts can amplify user satisfaction and the perceived authenticity of the experience. Emotional involvement is particularly important during key moments of spiritual significance, where technology must seamlessly support rather than interrupt the sacred experience (Battour et al., 2023; Hendrik et al., 2024).

The depth of emotional involvement directly influences the memorability and authenticity of religious tourism experiences, reflecting the level of spiritual engagement enabled by technological support (Kim et al., 2023; Tosyali et al., 2023). By cultivating a profound sense of connection and emotional resonance, AICAs can elevate the spiritual dimension of religious tourism, ensuring a richer and more impactful journey.

These affective states – enjoyment, frustration and emotional involvement – collectively shape the emotional landscape of religious tourists’ interactions with AICAs. Their influence on MRTEs leads to the following hypothesis:

The Responses component within the S-O-R model reflects the behavioral intentions and actions that tourists exhibit following their interactions with AICAs in the context of religious tourism. This is when tourists’ experiences with AICA attributes translate into observable outcomes. As Battour and colleagues (2024) argue, these responses are particularly significant in religious tourism contexts, as they reflect both technological effectiveness and spiritual impact. These responses are shaped by the cognitive and affective states generated from the AICA interactions, which influence how tourists perceive and react to the technology. We focus on two behavioral responses: MRTEs as an intermediate outcome, and Continuance Use Intentions as the final behavioral response.

MRTEs extend the broader concept of MTEs by emphasizing the spiritual, emotional and cognitive dimensions unique to religious tourism (Bakar et al., 2024; Bhandari et al., 2024). Unlike traditional MTEs, which prioritize general satisfaction and experiential quality, MRTEs uniquely integrate sacredness, spiritual fulfillment and religious significance, emphasizing their deeply rooted connection to personal beliefs and sacred rituals (Kim, 2014; Tung and Au, 2018). These experiences distinguish MRTEs as meaningful and enduring, fostering a heightened sense of identity and connection for tourists engaged in religious practices (Hosseini et al., 2023; Jiang, 2022).

Existing research on MTEs has largely focused on dimensions including hedonism, novelty and refreshment, which dominate general tourism experiences (Kim et al., 2012; Tung and Ritchie, 2011). However, these dimensions often overlook the sacred and spiritual aspects central to religious tourism, creating a need for a model that addresses these unique dimensions (Silva et al., 2023; Hosseini et al., 2023). The proposed model addresses this gap by emphasizing the spiritual dimension of memorability, by addressing AICA attributes with tourists’ cognitive and affective states to impact MRTEs and enduring religious experiences. This approach extends the literature by offering a comprehensive understanding of how AICAs facilitate practical needs and deep spiritual engagement (Elshaer and Marzouk, 2022).

MRTEs emerge as a proximate behavioral outcome of cognitive and affective states in the proposed conceptual model by aligning technological facilitation with sacred objectives. MRTEs thus link to the long-term behavioral outcomes, such as continued use intentions and loyalty to the technology (Torabi et al., 2022; Jiang, 2022). The dual influence of cognitive and affective states underscores how AICAs bridge practical functionality with profound spiritual engagement, ensuring that religious tourism remains meaningful and technologically enhanced.

Continuance use intentions represent religious tourists’ willingness to integrate AICAs into their future spiritual journeys. Unlike general tourism technology adoption, continuance intentions in religious tourism reflect a deeper consideration of how technology aligns with and enhances sacred experiences (Ling et al., 2023; Silva et al., 2023). Drawing on the Expectation-Confirmation Model (Bhattacherjee, 2001), continuance use intentions are driven by fulfilling users’ expectations and the satisfaction derived from their interactions. This behavioral response emerges due to MRTEs and indicates tourists’ confidence in AICAs as reliable tools and respectful facilitators of spiritual journeys.

The relationship between MRTEs and continuance use intentions in religious tourism is particularly nuanced, reflecting satisfaction with technological assistance and preserving spiritual authenticity (Fernandes and Oliveira, 2021; Eid and El-Gohary, 2015). Building on the foundational role of MRTEs in shaping behavioral outcomes, AICAs that successfully contribute to creating meaningful spiritual experiences tourists via tourists’ cognitive and affective states encourage to view these technologies as valuable companions in their future religious journeys.

This acceptance is strengthened when AICAs demonstrate an ability to adapt to different religious contexts, respect varying levels of spiritual commitment and maintain cultural sensitivity across diverse sacred settings (Silva et al., 2023). For example, pilgrims who experience tailored prayers, accurate ritual guidance or culturally sensitive content through AICAs perceive these technologies as indispensable for future journeys.

MRTEs influence continuance use intentions by serving as a reinforcing mechanism. Positive and meaningful experiences motivative users to adopt the technology for future spiritual journeys (Torabi et al., 2022; Jiang, 2022). MRTEs foster individual emotional resonance through spiritual fulfillment while encouraging communal trust and advocacy for technological adoption (Hosseini et al., 2023; Bakar et al., 2024).

By addressing spiritual, cultural and practical dimensions, AICAs facilitate MRTEs and build trust and emotional connections, which are pivotal for continuance use intentions (Silva et al., 2023). AICAs that successfully adapt to sacred contexts – through personalized prayer guidance, culturally sensitive support and accessibility features – bridge practical functionality with profound spiritual engagement (Fernandes and Oliveira, 2021). In doing so, this reinforces the perception of AICAs as indispensable companions for future religious journeys, thus ensuring ongoing user loyalty.

This understanding of the relationship between memorable experiences and continuance intentions in the context of religious tourism leads to our final hypothesis:

TR is a critical moderating variable influencing the relationship between AICA attributes and tourists’ cognitive and affective states. TR refers to individuals’ propensity to embrace and use new technologies to accomplish goals (Parasuraman and Colby, 2015). Recent studies have demonstrated TR’s significant role in shaping tourist behaviors and technology adoption patterns (Wang et al., 2017; Hailey Shin et al., 2021). In religious tourism contexts, TR becomes particularly significant as it shapes how pilgrims interact with and accept AI-enabled technologies while maintaining spiritual authenticity (Battour et al., 2024).

TR comprises two dimensions influencing tourist responses to AICAs: PTR and NTR. PTR encompasses optimism and innovativeness, reflecting tourists’ enthusiasm and confidence in adopting new technologies. In contrast, NTR includes discomfort and insecurity, representing barriers to technology adoption (Lin and Hsieh, 2012). This dual nature of TR has been validated in tourism contexts (Gao et al., 2022; Yang et al., 2022) and is particularly relevant in religious tourism settings, where integrating technology with sacred experiences requires careful consideration.

The moderating influence of PTR manifests through several mechanisms. As demonstrated in virtual tourism research (Kim et al., 2020a, 2020b), tourists with higher optimism and innovativeness are likelier to appreciate AICA attributes, such as empathy and personalization, leading to enhanced cognitive evaluations of trustworthiness and usefulness (Jeong and Shin, 2020). Similarly, studies in AI-enabled tourism environments have shown that these individuals are more willing to use AICA features that support their spiritual journeys, resulting in more positive affective responses such as enjoyment and emotional involvement (Battour et al., 2023; Yin et al., 2023).

Conversely, NTR can significantly impact the effectiveness of AICA attributes. Research on smart tourism technology adoption has revealed that tourists with higher levels of technology discomfort or insecurity may perceive AICA features as intrusive or potentially diminishing the sanctity of their religious experiences (Pradhan et al., 2018). Based on tourism technology studies (Gao et al., 2023; Shariffuddin et al., 2023), NTR is expected to manifest in reduced trust in AI-generated religious guidance, heightened concerns about authenticity, skepticism toward automated spiritual support and a stronger preference for traditional, non-technological approaches.

Including TR as a moderating variable enhances our understanding of why similar AICA attributes might lead to different outcomes among religious tourists. This aligns with recent findings on TR in tourism contexts (Lee et al., 2021; Qasem, 2021) and is crucial for developing and implementing AICAs that can effectively serve diverse pilgrim populations with varying levels of technology acceptance.

Based on these theoretical considerations, we propose the following moderating hypotheses:

This study significantly advances the theoretical understanding of religious tourism by drawing on the S-O-R model and TR. It advances our knowledge by developing a conceptually richer and more in-depth explication of the intervening links between AICAs and religious tourist responses. The proposed conceptual model theoretically shows how AICA attributes can improve religious tourists’ experiences, making their journeys more personalized, satisfying and spiritually fulfilling.

The study addresses critical gaps in the literature by examining the determinants of tourist behaviors in response to AICA attributes and the role of cognitive and affective states in influencing (MRTEs) and AICA continuance usage intentions. Additionally, it posits that religious tourists’ TR moderates the relationship between AICA attributes and their cognitive and affective evaluations.

From a practical perspective, our paper offers actionable strategies for tourism practitioners, policymakers and organizations involved in religious tourism. Tailored approaches include designing user profiles that consider individual spiritual goals and varying levels of technological comfort and offering personalized interactions that align with cultural and religious contexts. AICAs should be developed with a deep understanding of religious traditions and cultural nuances to ensure respectful and appropriate guidance. These insights are particularly relevant for enhancing pilgrim experiences in contexts such as the Mecca pilgrimage, where the integration of culturally sensitive AI tools can enrich spiritual journeys, foster satisfaction among religious tourists and promote the continued use of AI-enabled services (Battour et al., 2024).

Our paper has several important limitations. First, there is the need to empirical validate the proposed theoretical framework, potentially limiting its immediate practical applications (Jaakkola, 2020). Second, while the paper is generally focused on religious tourism, the theoretical framework would benefit from comparative analyses across specific religious contexts (e.g. Christian pilgrimages to the Vatican and Hindu visits to sacred temples) to establish its broader applicability (Battour et al., 2024). Third, a future study could consider a more thorough examination of cultural and social challenges related to AI adoption in religious settings, particularly regarding sociocultural barriers to practical implementation (Raj et al., 2023).

Building upon these limitations, several promising research avenues emerge. Mixed-method approaches combining surveys with in-depth interviews would provide rich insights into how pilgrims incorporate AICAs into their spiritual practices while maintaining religious authenticity (Kim et al., 2020a, 2020b). First, in-depth interviews could seek to understand in depth how AICAs foster (or hinder) religious tourists’ cognitive and mental states in their religious tourism experience. Next, quantitative structural equation modeling studies could test the relationships between AICA attributes, cognitive-affective states and behavioral outcomes (Xiong et al., 2023). The use of longitudinal research tracking pilgrim experiences throughout their religious journeys could reveal how AICA interactions evolve, while experimental studies could examine specific AICA features’ effectiveness and user acceptance patterns (Battour et al., 2024).

Future research should also explore the intersection of spiritual and emotional dimensions in religious tourism, focusing on how AICAs facilitate emotional engagement and spiritual fulfillment. For instance, examining how empathy and personalization features in AICAs contribute to pilgrims’ emotional satisfaction and spiritual connection would provide deeper insights. Additionally, investigating how these dimensions influence the formation of MRTEs and long-term behavioral outcomes would strengthen the framework’s applicability. Finally, cross-cultural comparative studies examining AICA usage across Islamic, Christian and Buddhist pilgrimages could identify universal and context-specific factors influencing technology adoption in sacred settings (Raj et al., 2023).

Funding: The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Declaration of conflicting interests: The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.