This study aimed to analyze the effectiveness of virtual reality technologies among millennial travel behavioral intention and engagement towards tourism destinations providing an insight into technological and sustainable capacity and capability building for Malaysian destination marketers. The research framework integrates the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the stimulus–organism–response (SOR) to conduct an empirical analysis of 263 valid participants using a partial-least-squares-based structural equation modeling approach, identifying several positive consequences. Expanding the millennial's travel panorama through virtual reality technologies at tourism destinations can significantly help the marketers position themselves uniquely and attract more potential customers in the future.
TopIntroduction
Tourism, as a global sector, has two mandates: economic expansion and sustainable development. These goals, which are consistent with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (UN, 2015), have economic, social, and environmental components. In the digital era, technological innovation is critical for simplifying destination administration and supporting sustainable practices (Gretzel et al., 2020). Malaysia's established tourist industry has the ability to harness new technology for long-term success. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted worldwide tourism, forcing harsh precautions such as physical distance and travel restrictions, resulting in a decrease in activity (GNFI, 2020). In response, the industry shifted to technology-driven solutions. Virtual Reality (VR), together with Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR), offers an exciting potential to reinvent visitor interaction and destination marketing, providing new solutions in the face of bigger problems (Wang et al., 2023).
Malaysia's early use of VR technology in tourism illustrates its understanding of the technology's revolutionary potential. A recent study by Hassan et al. (2023) highlights the positive impact of VR on tourist interest in Malaysian cultural heritage sites. While the pandemic's impacts persist, VR continues to demonstrate its adaptability in industries such as amusement parks, cruise lines, museums, and destination marketing (Morgan et al., 2023). This embrace of innovation demonstrates Malaysia's commitment to using technology to drive tourism growth, improve tourist interaction, and protect its natural treasures. Although previous studies have looked at how VR affects travel plans (Liu et al., 2018), the intricate sensory impressions provided by VR experiences demand more investigation. VR utilizes immersive, multi-sensory experiences to change customer views of locations, making it a strong marketing tool (Huang et al., 2022). Its key components - visualization, immersion, and interaction - provide a dynamic platform for exhibiting locales and creating unique experiences that go beyond traditional media (Choi et al., 2023). Malaysia is committed to sustainable tourism. Recognizing the environmental impact of traditional travel, the government explores new solutions to reduce its footprint. Virtual reality has the ability to replicate destination experiences without the requirement for actual travel. By replacing certain physical travels with interesting VR tours, Malaysia can reduce overtourism (Lee & Gretzel, 2023). Furthermore, including educational components about environmental protection into VR experiences might raise tourists' environmental consciousness, resulting in a healthy interaction between tourism and nature (Chen et al., 2022). Malaysia's tourist resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic was dependent on its capacity to adopt disruptive technology like VR. VR provided a safe alternative to traditional travel, allowing for virtual excursions while also protecting public health during epidemics (Kim et al., 2022).