IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i11p8725-d1158216.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An Exploratory Study about the Effect of COVID-19 on the Intention to Adopt Virtual Reality in the Tourism Sector

Author

Listed:
  • Nuno Sousa

    (Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science (INESC TEC), 4200-465 Porto, Portugal)

  • Filipa Jorge

    (Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies (GOVCOPP), Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism (DEGEIT), University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal)

  • Mário Sérgio Teixeira

    (Centre for Transdisciplinary Development Studies (CETRAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
    Department of Economy, Sociology and Management, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal)

  • Nieves Losada

    (Centre for Transdisciplinary Development Studies (CETRAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
    Department of Economy, Sociology and Management, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal)

  • Miguel Melo

    (Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science (INESC TEC), 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
    Department of Engineering, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal)

  • Maximino Bessa

    (Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science (INESC TEC), 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
    Department of Engineering, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal)

Abstract

During the health crisis caused by COVID-19, virtual reality (VR) proved to be useful for the tourism industry, allowing this industry to continue working despite the restrictions imposed. However, it remains to be seen if the impact of this sanitary crisis in the tourism industry influenced managers’ intention to adopt this technology in the post-pandemic period. To fill this gap, a qualitative methodological approach was adopted, using the MAXQDA20 software and interviews with managers of tourism enterprises. The results show that the willingness to invest in technology, the perception of VR as a business strategy, and the perception of the impact of the pandemic are factors that regulate the intention of companies to adopt VR. In addition, prior experience with VR and the perception of technical support are also important for its adoption. Thus, it was concluded that VR can be a valuable sustainable strategy for tourism companies to address the challenges imposed by the pandemic. However, adopting the technology depends on factors such as financial availability, business strategy, and previous experience with VR. Furthermore, tourism companies must also receive adequate technical support to ensure its correct implementation.

Suggested Citation

  • Nuno Sousa & Filipa Jorge & Mário Sérgio Teixeira & Nieves Losada & Miguel Melo & Maximino Bessa, 2023. "An Exploratory Study about the Effect of COVID-19 on the Intention to Adopt Virtual Reality in the Tourism Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-13, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:11:p:8725-:d:1158216
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/11/8725/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/11/8725/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Libertad Moreno-Luna & Rafael Robina-Ramírez & Marcelo Sánchez-Oro Sánchez & José Castro-Serrano, 2021. "Tourism and Sustainability in Times of COVID-19: The Case of Spain," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-21, February.
    2. Han, Sang-Lin & An, Myounga & Han, Jerry J. & Lee, Jiyoung, 2020. "Telepresence, time distortion, and consumer traits of virtual reality shopping," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 311-320.
    3. Margarida Rodrigues & Mário Franco & Nuno Sousa & Rui Silva, 2021. "Reviewing COVID-19 Literature on Business Management: What It Portends for Future Research?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-21, May.
    4. Alok Raj & Anand Jeyaraj, 2023. "Antecedents and consequents of industry 4.0 adoption using technology, organization and environment (TOE) framework: A meta-analysis," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 322(1), pages 101-124, March.
    5. Ionica Oncioiu & Iustin Priescu, 2022. "The Use of Virtual Reality in Tourism Destinations as a Tool to Develop Tourist Behavior Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-15, April.
    6. Schiopu, Andreea Fortuna & Hornoiu, Remus Ion & Padurean, Ana Mihaela & Nica, Ana-Maria, 2022. "Constrained and virtually traveling? Exploring the effect of travel constraints on intention to use virtual reality in tourism," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    7. Talwar, Shalini & Kaur, Puneet & Escobar, Octavio & Lan, Sai, 2022. "Virtual reality tourism to satisfy wanderlust without wandering: An unconventional innovation to promote sustainability," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 128-143.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mingge Tian & Hongmei Zhang & Yuangang Zhang & Yingying Li & Gemma Cànoves, 2024. "Analyzing the Progress in Chinese Tourism Research over the Past Decade: A Visual Exploration of Keywords and Delphi Surveys," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-29, June.
    2. Raminta Vaitiekuniene & Kristina Sutiene & Bohdan Kovalov & Rytis Krusinskas, 2024. "Does the Financial and Innovation Performance of European and Asian–Oceanian Companies Coincide with the Targets of the Green Deal?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-18, February.
    3. Hui Zhang & Zancai Xia & Jiaxi Wang, 2024. "Spatiotemporal Changes in China’s Tourism Industry Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-31, April.
    4. Mihaela-Iuliana Desculțu Grigore & Amalia Niță & Ionuț-Adrian Drăguleasa & Mirela Mazilu, 2024. "Geotourism, a New Perspective of Post-COVID-19-Pandemic Relaunch through Travel Agencies—Case Study: Bucegi Natural Park, Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-52, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yuen, Kum Fai & Koh, Le Yi & Tan, Luan Yi Hazel & Wang, Xueqin, 2023. "The determinants of virtual reality adoption for marine conservation," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    2. Jafar, Rana Muhammad Sohail & Ahmad, Wasim & Sun, Yanming, 2023. "Unfolding the impacts of metaverse aspects on telepresence, product knowledge, and purchase intentions in the metaverse stores," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    3. Hoang, Sinh Duc & Dey, Sandeep Kumar & Tučková, Zuzana & Pham, Tien Phat, 2023. "Harnessing the power of virtual reality: Enhancing telepresence and inspiring sustainable travel intentions in the tourism industry," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    4. Mkedder, Nadjim & Jain, Varsha & Salunke, Parth, 2024. "Determinants of virtual reality stores influencing purchase intention: An interpretive structural modeling approach," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    5. Zhang, Yunen & Shao, Wei & Quach, Sara & Thaichon, Park & Li, Qianmin, 2024. "Examining the moderating effects of shopping orientation, product knowledge and involvement on the effectiveness of Virtual Reality (VR) retail environment," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    6. Fernando Rebola & Luís Loures & Paulo Ferreira & Ana Loures, 2022. "Inland or Coastal: That’s the Question! Different Impacts of COVID-19 on the Tourism Sector in Portugal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-9, December.
    7. Gokhan Ozkaya & Ayse Demirhan, 2022. "Multi-Criteria Analysis of Sustainable Travel and Tourism Competitiveness in Europe and Eurasia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-26, November.
    8. Xi, Nannan & Hamari, Juho, 2021. "Shopping in virtual reality: A literature review and future agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 37-58.
    9. Kostyk, Alena & Sheng, Jie, 2023. "VR in customer-centered marketing: Purpose-driven design," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 225-236.
    10. Lambillotte, Laetitia & Magrofuoco, Nathan & Poncin, Ingrid & Vanderdonckt, Jean, 2022. "Enhancing playful customer experience with personalization," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    11. Gong, Taeshik & Park, JungKun, 2023. "Effects of augmented reality technology characteristics on customer citizenship behavior," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    12. Conceição Gomes & Cátia Malheiros & Filipa Campos & Luís Lima Santos, 2022. "COVID-19’s Impact on the Restaurant Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-21, September.
    13. Alzayat, Ayman & Lee, Seung Hwan (Mark), 2021. "Virtual products as an extension of my body: Exploring hedonic and utilitarian shopping value in a virtual reality retail environment," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 348-363.
    14. Jolanta Stec-Rusiecka & Agata Warminska, 2021. "The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Taking up Socially Responsible Actions," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(4B), pages 788-798.
    15. Katarzyna Bilińska & Barbara Pabian & Aleksander Pabian & Beata Reformat, 2023. "Development Trends and Potential in the Field of Virtual Tourism after the COVID-19 Pandemic: Generation Z Example," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-13, January.
    16. Petr, Christine & Caudan, Paul, 2024. "Ethical marketing framework for metaverse simulated experiences of tourism (SET): An exploration of consumers’ aspirations and fears," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    17. Endo, Hideaki & Goto, Mika, 2024. "The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the management of private railway companies in Japan: Profitability and business model analyses," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 32-49.
    18. Verónica Baena & Julio Cerviño, 2024. "Tourism in the Era of Social Responsibility and Sustainability: Understanding International Tourists’ Destination Choices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-20, September.
    19. wael AL-khatib, Ayman, 2023. "Drivers of generative artificial intelligence to fostering exploitative and exploratory innovation: A TOE framework," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    20. Huang, Jianping & Zhao, Ping & Wan, Xiaoang, 2021. "From brain variations to individual differences in the color–flavor incongruency effect: A combined virtual reality and resting-state fMRI study," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 604-612.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:11:p:8725-:d:1158216. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.