Digital technology rituals at heritage sites: how technology–culture fit shapes tourists’ willingness to recommend through dual-Path emotional energy

Despite the growing adoption of digital technology in cultural heritage tourism, few studies have examined its significance for cultural heritage experiences and its impact on tourists’ willingness to recommend across multiple levels: the digital project, the heritage site, and the broader destination. Grounded in the “tourism as ritual” framework and interaction ritual chains theory, this study proposes a digital technology rituals framework and investigates how it shapes visitors’ willingness to recommend. Using a three-stage mixed-methods design, we identify the sacred characteristics of digital technology rituals and reveal a dual-path mechanism of technology interaction and cultural interaction, through which emotional energy mediates recommendation behaviours while culture–technology fit moderates their effectiveness. These findings advance theoretical insights on digital technology integration in cultural heritage tourism contexts and provide actionable advice for developing digital heritage experiences.