Enhancing tourism with virtual reality: a study on adoption drivers and user willingness

Purpose This study aims to empirically investigate the factors driving tourists’ willingness to use virtual reality (VR) tourism systems by applying the Artificial Intelligence Device Use Acceptance (AIDUA) model to examine cognitive, affective and social evaluations of immersive VR experiences. Design/methodology/approach Data collection consisted of 557 active VR tourism consumers through purposive sampling and was analyzed with Structural Equation Modeling. Findings The social influence, hedonic motivation and anthropomorphism have significant effects on tourists’ intention to use VR, with performance expectancy, effort expectancy and emotional engagement being mediators between them. Immersion, interactivity and technical expertise strengthen the use through enhanced user experience and reduced perceived complexity. Research limitations/implications The study emphasizes tourism stakeholders’ urgency to build high-emotional engagement, accessible and immersive VR experiences with social positivity. By overcoming usability barriers and leveraging hedonic motivation, VR tourism can become a sustainable and accessible alternative to traditional tourism. Originality/value This study applies the AIDUA framework to the context of immersive VR tourism systems, highlighting the roles of hedonic motivation, anthropomorphism and experiential interface cues in shaping users’ willingness to adopt VR tourism experiences.