Holistic interactive system for empowering local tourism businesses: consumer acceptance of the iMelaka 360 System

Abstract

Inscribed as the UNESCO World Heritage City, tourism is recognised as an important source of income and catalyst of economic development in Melaka. However, an alarming downward trend can be observed from the recent tourism key indicators. Meanwhile, numerous advancements in digital technologies such as virtual reality and augmented reality now offer useful applications in enhancing the competitiveness of the tourism sector. As such, the iMelaka 360 Project is proposed to provide a holistic solution in enhancing the competitiveness of the sector and empowering the local tourism retail businesses. The innovative and interactive system serves as a platform to integrate the local tourism stakeholders. In light of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, this study aims to investigate users' acceptance of the iMelaka 360 System. The research framework explained 59.9% of the user's behavioural intention to use the system with playfulness expectancy (PL) as the strongest determinant.