BEYOND THE SCREEN: HOW VIRTUAL REALITY SHAPES SUSTAINABLE BEHAVIOURS IN ECOTOURISM THROUGH USES AND GRATIFICATIONS THEORY

This study examines the relationships between ascribed responsibility, uses and gratifications, behavioural involvement, and visit intentions among Sicilian tourists using virtual reality (VR) to explore Romanian rural ecotourism destinations. Utilizing the Uses and Gratifications theory, it investigates how VR content's informativeness, playfulness, and social interactivity impact user engagement and behavioural intentions. Findings reveal that higher ascribed responsibility enhances gratifications from VR experiences, which increases behavioural involvement, essential for ecotourism. However, ascribed responsibility alone does not directly influence visit intentions, indicating the role of additional factors. A significant contribution of this research is the identification of a serial mediation model where uses and gratifications and behavioural involvement totally mediate the ascribed responsibility-visit intention relationship. This model highlights the complex interplay between cognitive, affective, and behavioural responses, demonstrating that ascribed responsibility enhances uses and gratifications, leading to increased behavioural involvement and, ultimately, visit intentions. The study extends the Uses and Gratifications theory into VR and ecotourism, emphasizing environmental responsibility in media engagement. Practical implications include strategies for tourism marketers to foster environmental responsibility and for VR developers to create engaging, informative, and interactive experiences. Policymakers can use these insights to promote sustainable tourism through supportive VR content development.