Emerging technologies like virtual reality (VR) are rapidly innovating the tourism sector, particularly in customer engagement through destination marketing campaigns [1]. Aside from their established role in shaping travel intentions, these technologies could transform real-life travel experiences by introducing the tourists to an extensive VR marketing videos and interactive experiences of the target destination. This study which is conducted with 417 participants and only 402 participants met of this study, aims to investigate the effect of VR on destination selection as well as the identification of consumer expectations which can aid in the rapid development of tourism in a post-pandemic era. Several sources report that VR applications within tourism marketing are intended to build a compelling, positive image of destinations and promote it to global audiences. This study emphasizes the capacity of VR to not only attract potential tourists but also change the attitude of tourists regarding certain destinations through experiential pre-travel marketing, enabling the tourist to ‘travel’ and explore firsthand the potential of the destination. Results also stress the need for tourism stakeholders to design future-looking VR scenarios, advancing the technology as a strategic planning tool to inform tourist regarding resorts, hotels and other information needed to know to increase tourist confidence in visiting the target locations. Travel agencies can utilize VR to rebuild confidence, influence travel decisions, and adapt to changing consumer demands.