Abstract
Inclusive heritage tourism has received growing scholarly attention, but there is little empirical research about the role of experience design in the creation of value among visually-impaired tourists. This work assessment evaluates the effects of gamification and multidimensional immersive senses on perceived value through experience quality in the context of heritage tourism in Shanxi, China. Using the Stimulus, Organism, and Response (S-O-R) theoretical framework, the gamification and multisensory immersion are presented as the types of experiences as stimulus, the experience (experiential quality) as the mediator, and perceived value as the response outcome. A quantitative cross section survey was distributed to the visually impaired tourists who have visited at least one heritage tourism site in Shanxi during the past twelve months. A total of 278 valid responses were analyzed by a partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Results show that both gamification and multisensory immersion make a significant contribution to the eminence of the experiential quality. Experiential quality in turn becomes the strongest predictor of perceived value. In addition, gamification has a large direct impact on perceived value, while multisensory immersion has a direct impact on the perceived value via experiential quality. These findings therefore suggest that value on inclusive heritage tourism is not only dependent on the presence of interactive or sensory features, but rather on the degree in which these are integrated into an integral, accessible and meaningful experience. The present study enhances the use of the S-O-R framework into an accessibility-sensitive heritage context and emphasizes the primary role of experience design leading to effective implementation of meaningful participation, value creation for visually-impaired tourists.