Virtual reality in tourism: a state-of-the-art review

Abstract

Purpose Emerging technologies, such as virtual reality (VR), have been influencing both the tourism supply side and tourists alike. The purpose of this study is to analyse VR research in tourism and to provide a comprehensive state-of-the-art review. As the technological connotation of the term VR has been changing and encompasses various VR systems with different capabilities, this paper aims to provide a systematic and structured overview. The overall objective of this paper is to contribute to a thorough understanding of VR research in tourism. Design/methodology/approach This paper comprehensively reviews and analyses existing literature on VR in tourism, published from 1994 to February 2018. Using a wide variety of sources, these papers were examined so as to give a state-of-the-art literature review and to deepen one’s understanding of the diverse applications of VR in a tourism context. This paper also presents a novel classification of different VR systems according to the level of immersion and depicts their respective technological capabilities. Findings The advent of new VR hardware necessitates a distinction for different VR systems applied in the tourism sector. Research conducted during the past three years has been focussing on the application of head-mounted displays, which reflects the temporal development of VR technology. Regardless of the VR system, most studies examine VR as a marketing tool for promotion and communication purposes during the pre-travel phase, focussing on behavioural aspects. Advances in technology will yield new opportunities and application possibilities for the tourism industry. Originality/value The key contribution of this paper lies in its structural approach, which differentiates between non-, semi- and fully immersive VR systems in tourism, as well as the proposition of respective definitions. The concluding part of the paper proposes practical implications for tourism businesses together with directions for future studies.

Virtual reality and tourism marketing: conceptualizing a framework on presence, emotion, and intention

“…prototyping) and conceptualizing (Hjalager, 2010). Gaps in literature remain around the various dimensions surrounding consumer behaviour and experience using VR (Beck et al, 2019;Flavián et al, 2019;Wei, 2019); prompting calls for research in the area to be more substantive and theory-based (Hjalager, 2010;Huang et al, 2016;Yung & Khoo-Lattimore, 2017).…”

“…Presence is widely accepted to be the psychological sense of 'being there' in an environment (in the case of VR, a mediated virtual environment), whilst physically being situated in another (Beck et al, 2019;Nash et al, 2000;Schuemie et al, 2001;Schultze, 2010;Slater et al, 1994;Tussyadiah et al, 2018). Ultimately, when a sense of presence in a virtual environment (VE) is high enough, the user achieves a perceptual illusion of non-mediation (Bartle, 2007;Lombard & Ditton, 1997).…”

Immersive Technologies in Marketing: State of the Art and a Software Architecture Proposal

“…In [44] a study of the state of the art on the application of Virtual Reality technologies in the tourism sector is carried out, where the concepts of immversive marketing begin to be explored. Among the main contributions of this research we can indicate:…”

“…The "arrival at destination" stage refers to the different services, products, events and other situations that may be in the context of the tourist and hotel service [44]. In this sense, immersive technology seeks to expand and improve the experience with these services, products and events, adding more information and allowing travelers to have a sensory experience.…”

Cyber Security Applications in the Modern Tourism Industry

“…A number of studies addressed the challenges and cyber risks in the hospitality industry, notably the study of (Beck et al, 2019), where the researcher divided these challenges into five sections; identity theft and fraud, data violations and theft especially credit cards, in addition to cyber-attacks on Hotel Wi-Fi networks, and access to personal information for guests. Other sections of threats tackle the lack of audit courses in the field of hotel security, especially in tourist facilities in the Middle East and South Asia.…”