Authors: Dr. K. Suganthi, Assistant Professor Mrs. P. Nisha, K. Gayathria, M. Priya Dharshinia, P. Mahalakshmia, R. Rashithaa
Abstract: Destinations are investing in QR codes, mobile applications and other smart tourism features, yet little is known about the psychological route by which such features translate into tourist satisfaction. This study tests whether tourist experience and perceived value transmit the effect of smart tourism destination attributes on satisfaction. Data were collected from 94 tourists who had visited Mayiladuthurai District, Tamil Nadu, through an online questionnaire (27–30 September 2026; convenience sampling), and six attributes – destination branding, tourism infrastructure, QR-based smart tourism, mobile application quality, accessibility and service quality – were averaged into a composite. Reliability analysis, correlation, multiple regression and a bootstrap-based serial mediation model (5,000 resamples) were applied. The six attributes explained 54.7% of the variance in tourist experience, and only mobile application quality (β = 0.40) and service quality (β = 0.38) were significant individual predictors. The total effect on satisfaction (0.909) comprised a significant direct effect (0.528) and a significant total indirect effect (0.381, 95% CI [0.139, 0.623]). Indirect effects ran through perceived value alone (0.242) and through experience and value in sequence (0.242), whereas the path through experience alone was not significant (−0.103); the pattern held after removing 12 straight-lining respondents. A good experience therefore raises satisfaction chiefly by first creating perceived value, evidence from a district-level heritage destination that is rarely studied in smart tourism research. Destination managers should pair digital services with visible value cues and fix basic services (cleanliness, safety, transport) first, because value, not experience alone, converts into satisfaction.
