Virtual Reality in Tourism: Examine Experience Gap

Virtual Reality (VR) is changing the way tourists interact with tourism destinations. This study examines how tourists’ expectations of a VR tour influence their actual VR tour experiences. The study also investigates three types of VR quality and their impact on actual VR experience. An experiment was conducted among young Australian participants who wore a VR headset to experience a virtual reality video tour of a heritage tourism site in China. The results demonstrate that higher expectations lead to more favorable VR tour experiences. VR image quality significantly enhances the actual VR experience. Participants’ gender, however, showed no significant impact on VR experience or VR quality perceptions. The findings highlight the importance of managing expectations and enhancing visual quality in generating positive VR tour experience, offering both theoretical and practical significance.