An analysis of the consumer profile and the willingness to pay in immersive virtual tourism

An analysis of the consumer profile and the willingness to pay in immersive virtual tourism Juan F. Prados-Castillo a , Miguel ´ Angel Solano-S´ anchez b , Jos´ e María Martín Martín c , Francisco Liebana-Cabanillas d,e,* a University of Granada, Marketing and Market Research Department, Melilla, Spain b Department of Applied Economics, Faculty of Social and Legal Sciences, Melilla Campus, University of Granada, 52005, Melilla, Spain c Department of International and Spanish Economy, University of Granada, 18071, Granada, Spain d University of Granada, Marketing and Market Research Department, Granada, Spain e Andalusian Institute for Research and Innovation in Tourism of the Universities of Granada, Malaga and Seville, Spain ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Willingness to pay Artificial neural network User profile Consumer behaviour Digital natives Experience paradox ABSTRACT This study aims to determine the associations between socio-demographic profiles, respondents’ self-assessed technology proficiency, willingness to carry out different immersive virtual tourism experiences, and willingness to pay for these kinds of activities compared to real-life experiences. The theoretical framework of the Technology Acceptance Model identifies the perceived usefulness and ease of use of a new technology as key acceptance factors. An Artificial Neural Network was applied to the information obtained through the questionnaires. The study discovered that two factors, virtual tourism engagement and perceived usefulness, significantly impact willingness to pay. Previous video game experience enhances ease-of-use perception. While previous experience with video games increases perceived ease of use, it is revealed that a high degree of experience with technology, which is somewhat in line with the profile of digital natives, may reduce willingness to pay, in line with the experience paradox theory. This knowledge can guide the development of new market segments and marketing strategies, including pricing policies and the promotion of tourist destinations. The growth of technology and tourist capabilities has led to virtual tourism, which can act as a complementary, substitute, or marketing tool. This emerging form of tourism experiences an acceptance curve, where willingness to pay has yet to be explored. This study on the experience paradox and digital natives’ impact offers originality, shedding light on the factors affecting willingness to pay in virtual tourism. 1. Introduction Virtual reality (VR) and metaverse reality are collective, interactive, parallel realities that combine all virtual worlds, allowing users to interact with digital objects and connect with other users using digital avatars (Dwivedi et al., 2022). Users can experience a virtual world through augmented, virtual, or mixed reality (Hollensen et al., 2022). In hospitality, VR can enhance the guest experience before, during, and after travel (Azuma, 1997). For instance, guests can interact with tourism services virtually before visiting and have a more authentic experience during a real visit and virtually after leaving. As has traditionally been the case with other technologies, the tourism sector has shown great interest in augmented reality (AR), the metaverse and their potential to generate tourism experiences, and their opportunity to impact business strategies (Beck et al., 2019; Julianto et al., 2022). Studies on willingness to pay remain limited in the case of user perceptions of virtual tourism (Huang, 2021; Kim et al., 2022). Some studies have shown interest in the usefulness of VR as a tool applicable to tourism businesses’ marketing strategies (Hao et al., 2024; Yung et al., 2021). Therefore, there is a research gap in terms of analysing and understanding the factors that influence users’ desire to consume virtual tourism experiences and their willingness to pay for them. Hence, we explore the variables that may affect the desire and willingness to pay. The main objective of this work is to gain a deeper understanding of this phenomenon to, among other benefits, help companies develop effective strategies adapted to an increasingly changing environment. To * Corresponding author. University of Granada, Marketing and Market Research Department, Granada, Spain. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (J.F. Prados-Castillo), [email protected] (M.´ A. Solano-S´ anchez), [email protected] (J.M. Martín Martín), [email protected] (F. Liebana-Cabanillas). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Destination Marketing & Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jdmm https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2024.100929 Received 21 January 2024; Received in revised form 12 August 2024; Accepted 12 August 2024 Journal of Destination Marketing & Management 33 (2024) 100929 Available online 31 August 2024 2212-571X/© 2024 Published by Elsevier Ltd. i An update to this article is included at the end Corrigendum to ‘An analysis of the consumer profile and the willingness to pay in immersive virtual tourism’ [J. Destin. Market. Manag., Volume 33 (2024) 100929] Juan F. Prados-Castillo a , Miguel ´ Angel Solano-S´ anchez b , Jos´ e María Martín Martín c , Francisco Liebana-Cabanillas d,e,* a University of Granada, Marketing and Market Research Department, Melilla, Spain b Department of Applied Economics, Faculty of Social and Legal Sciences, Melilla Campus, University of Granada, 52005, Melilla, Spain c Department of International and Spanish Economy, University of Granada, 18071, Granada, Spain d University of Granada, Marketing and Market Research Department, Granada, Spain e Andalusian Institute for Research and Innovation in Tourism of the Universities of Granada, Malaga and Seville, Spain The authors regret to inform that author b (Miguel ´ Angel SolanoS´ anchez) had an affiliation change on 1st February, from University of Granada to the University of Cordoba. Thus, we the authors request an affiliation change of the author b (Miguel ´ Angel Solano-S´ anchez) from: b Department of Applied Economics, Faculty of Social and Legal Sciences, Melilla Campus, University of Granada, 52005, Melilla, Spain. To b Department of Applied Economics, University of Cordoba, 14071, Cordoba, Spain. If possible, please also add second affiliation “e” to author b (Miguel ´ Angel Solano-S´ anchez), finally appear as: b Department of Applied Economics, University of Cordoba, 14071, Cordoba, Spain e Andalusian Institute for Research and Innovation in Tourism of the Universities of Granada, Malaga and Seville, Spain. The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused. DOI of original article: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2024.100929. * Corresponding author. University of Granada, Marketing and Market Research Department, Granada, Andalusian Institute for Research and Innovation in Tourism of the Universities of Granada, Malaga and Seville, Spain. E-mail address: [email protected] (F. Liebana-Cabanillas). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Destination Marketing & Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jdmm https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2024.100944 Journal of Destination Marketing & Management 35 (2025) 100944 Available online 5 October 2024 2212-571X/© 2024 Published by Elsevier Ltd.