Presenter(s)
Samantha Dischinger, Grace Baden, and Natalia Miller
Abstract
New technologies, including virtual reality (VR), offer exciting new opportunities for tourism, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. While these technologies provide tourism experiences for those who are not comfortable with or able to physically travel, they may have adverse effects on tourist destinations by reducing the number of physical visitors. To assess this, the study will include questions to analyze whether VR experiences increase or decrease the incentive to physically travel to a given destination. This question will be answered through a laboratory experiment involving exposure to a virtual tour, either with a VR headset or a tablet PC, followed by a survey about participants' willingness and likelihood of traveling to the destination. There will also be a follow-up survey with open-ended questions asking participants to explain their responses to the previous survey. Data collection has been ongoing since March 2025. Any adult who can watch 360-degree videos without health issues is eligible to participate in this study. The quantitative data will be analyzed statistically, and the qualitative data will be analyzed using content analysis. The outcome of this study is expected to expand our knowledge of the effects of virtual tourism on destinations and how these technologies can be used to influence travel intentions.
College
College of Nursing & Health Sciences
Department
Recreation, Tourism & Therapeutic Recreation
Campus
Winona
First Advisor/Mentor
Hyunseo (Violet) Yoon
Start Date
4-24-2025 10:00 AM
End Date
4-24-2025 11:00 AM
Presentation Type
Poster Session
Format of Presentation or Performance
In-Person
Session
1b=10am-11am
Poster Number
22
The Impacts of Virtual Tourism on Tourist Destinations
New technologies, including virtual reality (VR), offer exciting new opportunities for tourism, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. While these technologies provide tourism experiences for those who are not comfortable with or able to physically travel, they may have adverse effects on tourist destinations by reducing the number of physical visitors. To assess this, the study will include questions to analyze whether VR experiences increase or decrease the incentive to physically travel to a given destination. This question will be answered through a laboratory experiment involving exposure to a virtual tour, either with a VR headset or a tablet PC, followed by a survey about participants' willingness and likelihood of traveling to the destination. There will also be a follow-up survey with open-ended questions asking participants to explain their responses to the previous survey. Data collection has been ongoing since March 2025. Any adult who can watch 360-degree videos without health issues is eligible to participate in this study. The quantitative data will be analyzed statistically, and the qualitative data will be analyzed using content analysis. The outcome of this study is expected to expand our knowledge of the effects of virtual tourism on destinations and how these technologies can be used to influence travel intentions.
