Will the Interest Triggered by Virtual Reality (VR) Turn into Intention to Travel (VR vs. Corporeal)? The Moderating Effects of Customer Segmentation

Abstract

Under the new normal of COVID-19, interest in e-production/e-services has, increasingly, included Virtual Reality (VR) tourism. However, the relationship between the perceived need for VR tourism and the stimulation of intention to corporeal tourism is, yet, vague, where corporeal tourism refers to visiting actual tourism destinations. To investigate the preferred intention of particular tourist modes (VR vs. corporeal), an integrated framework was proposed, by merging key elements from the attention, interest, desire, and action (AIDA) model and the technology-acceptance model (TAM). A sample of 657 respondents was collected, during February 2022, and hypotheses were tested using a partial least square structural equation model (PLS-SEM). The findings showed that interest in VR tourism had a strong hierarchical effect on the behavioral intention to a particular tourist mode, mediated by perceived usefulness or ease of use, attitude, and desire. Interest was significantly linked to two key constructures of TAM, whilst both determined attitude. Attitude significantly influenced the preference intention toward a particular tourism mode, directly and indirectly with users’ desires, as a crucial mediator in the relationship. The individual characteristics moderate the paths, from evaluation to attitude and attitude to the mediator of desire to intention. This study contributes to both theories as well as practices in tourism management and marketing.