Moving pilgrimage into the virtual realm: Understanding of the advantages and complexities of immersive technologies

Immersive technologies, including mixed realities (MR), virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), have gained rapid development and presented more interactions for visitors with innovative solutions. Although the degree of immersive technologies enriching the visitor experience has been well studied, little attention has been given to the pilgrimage tourism experience in the current literature despite being a significant part of the global tourism economy and attracting millions of travellers annually. To better understand how visitors respond to the use of immersive technologies and fill this gap, this chapter offers a conceptual framework by examining the overall role of immersive technologies on the pilgrimage experience in cognitive, emotional, spatial and social behavioural aspects. This chapter also discusses the challenges and limitations of implementing immersive technologies in pilgrimage tourism. It concludes with recommendations for the future of pilgrimage tourism and practical implications in light of these findings.