RT Journal Article
T1 Impact of virtual reality experiences on destination image and visit intentions: the moderating effects of immersion, destination familiarity and sickness
A1 Anaya-Sánchez, Rafael
A1 Rejón-Guardia, Francisco
A1 Molinillo-Jiménez, Sebastián
K1 Turismo
AB Purpose – The aims of this study are to explore how the experience of “visiting” a destination in a virtualreality (VR) technology environment influences destination image and visit intentions and to evaluate themoderating effects of the immersion level of the technology, destination familiarity and VR sickness.Design/methodology/approach – An empirical study was conducted in a laboratory, using two types of immersive VR technologies. The data, collected through a personal survey of 144 participants, were analysed using PLS-SEM.Findings – The results indicated that sense of presence is a crucial determinant of the user’s experience, which in turn contributed positively to destination image and visit intentions. VR sickness was observed to moderate the relationship between sense of presence and user experience, especially at low immersion levels.Destination familiarity did not influence the model’s relationships.Practical implications – The findings lead us to propose that tourism destination managers: useimmersive VR technologies in their marketing strategies; in these VR scenarios enhance the user’s sense ofpresence and experience and implement segmentation strategies.Originality/value – This is one of the first works to empirically analyse how the customer’s experience ofimmersive technologies affects destination image and visit intentions. The study also evaluates threemoderating effects: the effects of the level of immersion evoked by the technology, and destination familiarity, on the model’s relationships, and the effects of a negative aspect of the technology, VR sickness, on the relationship between sense of presence and the customer experience.Keywords Virtual reality, Destination image, Familiarity, Tourism destination, Customer experience,Google Earth, Sense of presence, Immersive technology, Visit intentions, SicknessPaper type Research paper
PB Emerald
YR 2024
FD 2024-06-18
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10630/39465
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10630/39465
LA eng
NO Rafael Anaya-Sánchez, Francisco Rejón-Guardia, Sebastian Molinillo; Impact of virtual reality experiences on destination image and visit intentions: the moderating effects of immersion, destination familiarity and sickness. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 14 October 2024; 36 (11): 3607–3627. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-09-2023-1488
NO B3-2023/21PID2022-137648OB-C22B3-2021/01
DS RIUMA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga
RD 23 ene 2026