Bridging Realities: Understanding the Factors Influencing Visitor Satisfaction and Authentic Experiences in Virtual Tourism

The viability of virtual tourism (VT) as a feasible alternative or interim solution has been heavily debated considering the growing interest in virtual reality (VR) tourism and its relevance. There is, however, no information on how to keep visitors satisfied with VT, enhance their contentment, and turn good experiences into genuine travel ambitions. This paper presents a conceptual model that blends the uses and gratifications theory with the innovation diffusion theory to understand the drivers of VR tourism. The main objective is to explore the factors related to innovation diffusion and gratification that contribute to tourist satisfaction and authentic experience in VT. The study also attempts to find out how satisfaction and authentic experience affect the desire to go to suggested places. Furthermore, the study looks at the function of connection to nature as a moderator in the link between satisfaction and on-site destination intention. The PLS-SEM analysis was used to evaluate the model on a sample of 285 respondents. The findings show that variables related to innovation diffusion, uses, and gratifications have a considerable impact on visitor satisfaction and authentic experience. Furthermore, as compared to authentic experience, visitor satisfaction has a larger effect on the intention to visit the place. However, as the amount of connection to nature grows, the favourable effect of VT satisfaction on on-site tourist intention increases. This study adds to the uses and gratifications theory and the innovation diffusion theory, giving significant insights for tourism practitioners and management looking to improve visitor satisfaction and authentic experience with VT and other attractions.