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1 – 10 of 629Christos Pantelidis, M. Claudia tom Dieck, Timothy Hyungsoo Jung, Paul Smith and Amanda Miller
The purpose of this study is to explore from a place attachment (PA) theory perspective the extent to which and how, a fully immersive virtual reality (VR) experience enhances…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore from a place attachment (PA) theory perspective the extent to which and how, a fully immersive virtual reality (VR) experience enhances tourists’ attachment level on-site at a rural destination.
Design/methodology/approach
This study applied an exploratory mixed method approach. Respondents were tourists visiting the Lake District National Park who were asked to try a VR experience. In Study 1, interviews were conducted to explore new themes and to develop an enhanced PA framework in VR. Study 1 confirmed existing variables from the literature and highlighted new variables (themes) to be included in the new framework on how PA is formed. In Study 2, surveys were conducted, and the proposed framework analyzed using structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). To fully understand how VR had an impact on enhancing PA, the moderating effect of tourists’ pre-existing PA was considered.
Findings
The findings revealed “Accessibility”, “Memories” and “Increased Place Knowledge” as new themes (variables) and confirmed that these and established variables “Aesthetics” and “Presence” enhance PA, leading to increased loyalty. Significant moderating effects of existing PA were found.
Practical implications
VR serves as a complementary and substitutional tool for tourism. Tailored VR experiences for diverse tourist needs may enhance destination marketing and competitiveness. For tourists with low PA, destinations should focus on promoting activities and highlights to enhance engagement and the experiential understanding of the destination. For tourists with high PA, VR experiences should focus on providing a comprehensive view of the destination and unveiling new places. In both cases, the VR experience leads to deeper engagement with the destination and an increase in PA.
Originality/value
Research on the impact of VR on tourists’ PA is limited. To address this gap, this study’s theoretical contribution lies in developing and testing a PA framework within a VR and tourism context. This also includes the validation of new measurement items developed in relation to the new themes.
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Man Lai Cheung, Wilson K.S. Leung, Man Kit Chang, Randy Y.M. Wong and Sin Yan Tse
Despite the promising development and marketing potential of the metaverse, our understanding of how realistic metaverse environments impact user engagement and behaviours remains…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the promising development and marketing potential of the metaverse, our understanding of how realistic metaverse environments impact user engagement and behaviours remains limited. This study investigates the role of perceived realism in influencing user engagement, thereby affecting external search behaviour and visit intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
We surveyed 270 active metaverse users to test the research model. The data were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).
Findings
The results of our study show that three dimensions of realism – avatar involvement, perceptual pervasiveness and social realism – significantly enhance user engagement, which in turn influences external search behaviour and visit intention. In contrast, simulation realism and freedom of choice have minimal effects on absorption and dedication.
Research limitations/implications
This study highlights the role of perceived realism in enhancing user engagement with the metaverse and its impact on physical world behaviours. It contributes to metaverse literature by demonstrating that engagement within the metaverse significantly influences physical world behaviours, including visit intentions and external search behaviours.
Practical implications
This study offers practical guidance for developers to enhance user engagement in metaverse environments. Specifically, our findings advocate for visual and audio quality enhancements, greater persuasiveness of virtual spaces, improved avatar representativeness and a closer alignment of metaverse activities with real-life events.
Originality/value
This study advances the theoretical understanding of perceived realism by examining how its dimensions – such as visual and audio quality, avatar representativeness and alignment with real-life events – impact user engagement in the metaverse. It also explores how this engagement influences offline behaviours, thus bridging the gap between virtual and real-world interactions.
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Darko Dimitrovski, Veljko Marinković, Aleksandar Djordjevic and Erose Sthapit
This study aims to develop and test a model of the wellness spa hotel experience. The model proposes that experiencescape dimensions (sensory, functional, social, natural and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to develop and test a model of the wellness spa hotel experience. The model proposes that experiencescape dimensions (sensory, functional, social, natural and hospitality culture) are important antecedents of guest satisfaction with a wellness spa hotel experience. The study also tests the relationship between satisfaction, wellness-induced well-being, experience co-creation and word-of-mouth (WOM).
Design/methodology/approach
Data was collected in the post-pandemic period, during September–November 2022 from 567 domestic guests who had stayed in a wellness spa hotel in Serbia.
Findings
Besides the social experience scape dimension, all other dimensions of experiencescape (sensory, functional, natural and hospitality culture) were found to be positive drivers of guest satisfaction with a wellness spa hotel experience. The relationship between satisfaction, wellness-induced well-being, experience co-creation and WOM was also supported.
Originality/value
This study emphasises the role of experiencescape in concurrence with the antecedents in cultivating guest satisfaction with a wellness spa hotel experience, which further influences wellness-induced well-being, experience co-creation and WOM.
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Erose Sthapit, Brian Garrod, Dafnis N. Coudounaris, Siamak Seyfi, Ibrahim Cifci and Tan Vo-Thanh
Based on stimulus-organism-response theory, this study aims to develop and tests a model of memorable heritage tourism experience (MHTE). The model proposes that experiencescape…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on stimulus-organism-response theory, this study aims to develop and tests a model of memorable heritage tourism experience (MHTE). The model proposes that experiencescape, experience co-creation, education and photography are important antecedents of MHTE, which is then a driver of place attachment.
Design/methodology/approach
Data for this study were collected using a Web-based questionnaire of people aged 18 years and over who had a heritage tourism experience during the previous three months (February–April 2023). The survey was distributed in May 2023 using Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). A survey link was posted on MTurk, which remained active for the first week of May 2023. Out of the 283 responses received, 272 were valid responses from individuals who met the participation criteria.
Findings
Experiencescape, experience co-creation, education and photography were found to be positive drivers of the MHTE, with a positive relationship between MHTE and place attachment.
Originality/value
Many studies linked to memorable tourism experience (MTE) mainly replicate Kim, Ritchie, & McCormick’s (2012) MTE scale, regardless of the specific study context. This study offers an alternative framework through which alternative antecedents and outcomes of tourists’ MTE can be identified.
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Fanglin Li, Ray Sastri, Bless Kofi Edziah and Arbi Setiyawan
Tourism is an essential industry in Indonesia, and understanding its inter-sectoral and inter-regional connections is critical for policy development. This study examines the…
Abstract
Purpose
Tourism is an essential industry in Indonesia, and understanding its inter-sectoral and inter-regional connections is critical for policy development. This study examines the economic impact of regional tourism in Indonesia and the connections between different tourism-related regions and industries.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a non-survey method to estimate the inter-regional input-output table (IRIOT) in 2019, backward and forward linkage to identify the role of tourism in the economy, and the structural path analysis (SPA) to identify the inter-sectoral and inter-regional flow of tourism effect. The benchmark IRIOT 2016 published by Badan Pusat Statistik (BPS) serves as the primary data source.
Findings
The findings indicate that tourism has a relatively high impact on the overall national economy and plays an essential role in nine provinces. However, this study uses four provinces to represent Indonesian tourism: Jakarta, Jawa Timur, Bali, and Kepulauan Riau. The SPA result captures that Kepulauan Riau Province has the highest tourism multiplier effect and Jawa Timur has the highest coverage value. Moreover, the manufacturing sector receives the most benefit from the tourism effect, followed by trade, construction, agriculture, transportation, and electricity-gas. From a spatial perspective, tourism connections are not solely based on geographical proximity. Instead, they are established through an intricate supply chain network of manufactured goods. This emphasizes the significance of considering supply chain dynamics when investigating inter-regional relationships in the tourism sector.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the literature by estimating the IRIOT in 2019, disaggregating tourism activities from related economic sectors, constructing tourism-extended IRIOT, and identifying the critical path of tourism effect in numerous provinces with different economic structures. This novel approach offers valuable insights into the full spectrum of tourism’s economic impact, which has not been previously explored in this depth. This study is useful for policymaking, investment insight, and disaster mitigation.
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Long Hong Pham, Erisher Woyo, Trang Huong Pham and Dao Thi Xuan Truong
Widespread technology adoption in tourism enables tourists to be active content creators, thus, influencing destination brands through co-creation. This study examines value…
Abstract
Purpose
Widespread technology adoption in tourism enables tourists to be active content creators, thus, influencing destination brands through co-creation. This study examines value co-creation, social commerce information sharing, and destination brand equity.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative approach was applied to analyse data collected from a global online survey. Hypotheses were tested using PLS-SEM analysis.
Findings
Results show that destination brand equity is positively influenced by value co-creation. Additionally, social commerce information sharing mediates the relationship between value co-creation and destination brand equity.
Practical implications
The article adds new insights to tourism marketing by investigating value co-creation, social commerce information sharing and destination brand equity. It also offers interesting implications for destination managers to improve Vietnam as a destination brand.
Originality/value
This paper is among the first to test the mediating role of social commerce on value co-creation and destination brand equity.
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Fabiola Sfodera, Lisa Nicole Cain and Alessio Di Leo
This study examines the role of technology as a driver of sustainable tourism perceptions among Generation Z.
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the role of technology as a driver of sustainable tourism perceptions among Generation Z.
Design/methodology/approach
The work considers the perspective of locals in Pakistan and uses a multi-method, multiphase embedded research design approach.
Findings
The research findings demonstrated that technology has a positive correlation with the environmental, socio-cultural and economic dimensions of sustainable tourism perception among Generation Z. Therefore, technology could be considered a dimension of sustainable tourism perception for locals, but perceptions differ significantly depending on the size of the city of the participant. The results of the experimental design phase that utilized picture stimuli demonstrated a linear relationship between technology and sustainability and enhanced their definition and implementation for developing countries.
Originality/value
This research diverges from most past research on these topics by focusing on Generation Z, for whom digital media and technology play a crucial role and for whom these technologies are positively correlated with sustainability and its overall perception. Implications for policies and practices for emerging country governments are provided.
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Erose Sthapit, Peter Bjork, Dafnis N. Coudounaris, Jano Jiménez-Barreto and Tan Vo-Thanh
This study proposed and tested a new conceptual model of memorable volunteer tourism experiences (MVTEs) by examining the effects of novelty, meaningfulness, experience…
Abstract
Purpose
This study proposed and tested a new conceptual model of memorable volunteer tourism experiences (MVTEs) by examining the effects of novelty, meaningfulness, experience co-creation and experience intensification on MVTEs. It also examined the relationships among MVTEs, psychological resilience (PR) and behavioural intention (BI), including that between novelty and BI.
Design/methodology/approach
The study modelled the proposed relationships by analysing data from an online survey using Amazon Mechanical Turk. In total, 241 responses were used in the data analysis.
Findings
This study extended the MVTE construct and included four key antecedents that influence tourists' MVTEs. The study also documented the predictive capability of MVTEs for PR and BI.
Practical implications
Volunteer tourism organisations should offer new and diverse activities for volunteer tourists, such as nature conservation, wildlife protection and construction.
Originality/value
This is the first study to examine the antecedents and outcomes of MVTEs using the stimuli–organism–response theory.
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Wilson K.S. Leung, Sally P.M. Law, Man Lai Cheung, Man Kit Chang, Chung-Yin Lai and Na Liu
There are two main objectives in this study. First, we aim to develop a set of constructs for health task management support (HTMS) features to evaluate which health-related tasks…
Abstract
Purpose
There are two main objectives in this study. First, we aim to develop a set of constructs for health task management support (HTMS) features to evaluate which health-related tasks are supported by mobile health application (mHealth app) functions. Second, drawing on innovation resistance theory (IRT), we examine the impacts of the newly developed HTMS dimensions on perceived usefulness, alongside other barrier factors contributing to technology anxiety.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a mixed-method research design, this research seeks to develop new measurement scales that reflect how mHealth apps support older adults’ health-related needs based on interviews. Subsequently, data were collected from older adults and exploratory factor analysis was used to confirm the validity of the new scales. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze survey data from 602 older adults.
Findings
The PLS-SEM results indicated that medical management task support, dietary task support, and exercise task support were positively associated with perceived usefulness, while perceived complexity and dispositional resistance to change were identified as antecedents of technology anxiety. Perceived usefulness and technology anxiety were found to positively and negatively influence adoption intention, respectively.
Originality/value
This study enriches the information systems literature by developing a multidimensional construct that delineates how older adults’ health-related needs can be supported by features of mHealth apps. Drawing on IRT, we complement the existing literature on resistance to innovation by systematically examining the impact of five types of barriers on technology anxiety.
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