Immersive experience scene quality and Environmental Resilience Support in digitally mediated immersive tourism settings: the roles of ecological presence, awe, psychological ownership, and self-efficacy

Abstract

Digitally mediated immersive tourism environments increasingly integrate technologies such as VR, interactive media, digital-human applications, and, in some cases, GenAI-related functions. Visitors typically encounter these technologies as part of a broader scene rather than as isolated features. This study therefore focuses on Immersive Experience Scene Quality (IESQ) in digitally mediated immersive tourism settings and examines its association with Environmental Resilience Support (ERS). Drawing on environmental psychology and a responsibility–efficacy framework informed by the Norm Activation Model and the Theory of Planned Behavior, the study conceptualizes Ecological Presence (EP) and Ecological Awe (EA) as parallel psychological gateways linking scene quality to Environmental Psychological Ownership (EPO), Environmental Self-Efficacy (ESE), and ERS. Survey data were collected from 520 visitors at two immersive tourism settings in China and analyzed using PLS-SEM, artificial neural networks, and necessary condition analysis, with follow-up interviews used for contextual interpretation. The results show that narrative coherence and system usability are consistently associated with both EP and EA, while multisensory integration is more closely related to EP and perceived realism to EA. Interactive Participatory Affordance is not significantly associated with either gateway, suggesting that interaction may depend on how closely it is integrated with ecological meaning. EP and EA are both associated with EPO and ESE, which in turn are positively associated with ERS. The findings further indicate that responsibility and perceived action capability are important correlates of resilience-oriented support, while no single antecedent constitutes a practically meaningful necessary condition. Overall, the study shifts attention from technological novelty to the organization of ecological meaning, situated experience, responsibility, and action capability, and extends immersive tourism research toward governance-oriented environmental outcomes.