Summary
Based on studies conducted in Hong Kong with 202 participants and another in the United Kingdom with 724 participants, the research identified several positive consequences of the sense of presence in VR experiences: the feeling of being in the virtual environment increases the enjoyment of VR experiences; the heightened feeling of being “there” results in stronger liking and preference in the destination; and, positive attitude change leads to a higher level of visitation intention. The study provides empirical evidence to confirm the effectiveness of VR in shaping consumers’ attitude and behavior.

Innovative VR tools and techniques
● Virtual Travel to the city of Porto (Portugal) through VR (e.g., Google Cardboard and Samsung VR).
● VR can be an effective tool for experiential tourism marketing.
● VR offers an interactive experience and provides rich data to potential tourists seeking destination information.

VR in education
● The sense of presence during VR travel significantly leads to enjoyment of the experience.
● A higher sense of presence during VR experiences leads to stronger interest and liking toward the destinations. User attitude change on the post VR experience.
● Theoretical explanation for the effectiveness of VR in influencing users’ response to marketing stimuli is helpful for destination marketers justifying investment in VR and empirical support for previous conceptual research suggesting the role of VR in marketing and management.
● Experimental studies testing the model with devices with varying levels of immersive capabilities and affordances (e.g., stimulating different types of action and interaction) will better understand how presence occurs.