Extended reality (XR) resistance or exploration? Unlocking the psychological mechanism

Building on resilience theory, this study examines how tourists' personal and technological barriers influence their adaptive coping, leading to extended reality (XR) resilience and exploration in attraction and accommodation settings. Using a quantitative research design, involving two empirical studies, data were collected from tourists (N = 228) and hotel customers (N = 218) in China. Structural equation modeling and multi-group analysis were used to test hypotheses. Findings of both studies showed that personal and technology barriers negatively affect adaptive coping, which in turn positively influences participants’ XR resilience and exploration. Aesthetic value moderated the relationship between technology barriers and adaptive coping. In particular, the negative impact of technology barriers was weaker when perceived aesthetic value was high in the attraction context, but the moderating effect reversed in the accommodation context. This study pioneers a novel extended XR research framework, demonstrating that tourism practitioners can enhance tourists' coping, resilience, and exploration by reducing XR barriers through targeted guidance, support, and context-specific design strategies.