Virtual Reality Technology as a Marketing Catalyst for Travel Agencies

ABSTRACTThis study examined how their place attachments and virtual reality (VR) experiences affect tourists’ travel destination choices. Prior research has not focused on the relationship between motivation from VR experience and tourists’ destination choices. A research model was developed based on the social identity and signaling perspective. Altogether, 436 tourists were interviewed after purpose sampling was adopted. The research findings show that tourists’ place attachment has no significant effect on the cognitive destination image; VR experience promotes a mental destination image; cognitive destination image significantly affects destination choice; and responsiveness has moderation effects on cognitive destination image and destination choice. VR technology allows travel agencies to combine destination marketing with attractive tourist destinations so that tourists can experience a destination’s beauty in advance. VR has become a powerful marketing tool for travel agencies.KEYWORDS: Virtual reality experienceplace attachmentresponsivenessdestination marketing Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).