<p>Grounded in the Technology Acceptance Model 3 (TAM3), this study examines how virtual reality (VR) panoramic video experiences influence behavioral intention (BI) and travel destination decision-making (TDDM) among Chinese middle-aged and older tourists aged 45 and above. Specifically, the study investigates the roles of perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived immersion, perceived enjoyment, technology anxiety, social influence, and skepticism in shaping VR-related acceptance and downstream travel decision tendencies. A lab-based VR experience experiment and structured questionnaire survey were conducted with 183 valid participants, and the proposed model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that perceived immersion significantly enhances perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and behavioral intention, while perceived enjoyment positively influences perceived ease of use. Technology anxiety negatively affects perceived ease of use. In addition, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness both positively predict behavioral intention, and social influence exerts a significant but relatively modest positive effect on behavioral intention. Behavioral intention, in turn, significantly promotes travel destination decision-making, whereas skepticism significantly and negatively affects travel destination decision-making but does not significantly influence perceived usefulness. These findings suggest that VR panoramic videos can serve as an effective pre-travel decision-support tool for middle-aged and older tourists. The study extends prior VR tourism research by incorporating downstream travel destination decision-making into a TAM3-based framework and by providing empirical evidence from a middle-aged and older user group in China.</p>