Abstract
Virtual reality (VR) technologies have been used successfully in tourism marketing. While most conventional VR applications are of an audiovisual nature, the constant evolution of these technologies allows providing enriched multisensory VR content that can further increase the potential of VR applied to the tourism field. To generate insights into the impact of such VR technologies, this manuscript investigates the impact of such multisensory VR setups and gender on the user’s sense of presence, satisfaction, emotions, and attitudes. A user study with a gender-balanced sample (N = 80) was carried where two VR setups (audiovisual vs multisensory) were compared taking into account the user’s gender. Results revealed that the female sample scored significantly higher spatial presence across VR setups and reported more involvement and overall presence in the audiovisual condition. In addition, correlations were found between the pairs Spatial Presence–Emotions, Spatial Presence–Enjoyment, Satisfaction–Involvement, Satisfaction–Enjoyment, and Satisfaction and Usefulness to perceive the destination. Results also suggest that multisensory stimulus can mitigate possible gender differences in passive VR scenarios. We concluded that the capability of the VR system to make users feel physically present in the virtual environment contributes significantly to the development of positive emotions and enjoyment, which can contribute positively to the user’s consumer behaviour towards the touristic products and services.
