A Study on Memorable Tourism Experiences Formed by Flow of Multi-User VR

Tourism is increasingly transitioning into the metaverse era, with virtual reality (VR) emerging as a foundational technology for delivering immersive tourism experiences. As VR evolves beyond single-user applications, it is giving rise to multi-user environments that enable shared and interactive immersive experiences among multiple participants. While the benefits and applications of VR have been widely discussed in tourism research, previous studies have largely overlooked the subjective experiences of VR tourists, and empirical evidence concerning participants in multi-user VR environments remains limited. To advance the theoretical understanding of user experience and satisfaction in multi-user VR tourism, this study examines the relationships among flow, memorable tourism experiences, and tourist satisfaction. The study employs an empirical research design to analyse the formation of user experiences within socially interactive VR environments, where multiple participants simultaneously engage in shared virtual tourism activities. The analysis investigates the role of flow in shaping memorable tourism experiences and its subsequent impact on tourist satisfaction in multi-user VR environments. Empirical data were collected from participants in multi-user VR experiences at public events held on Jeju Island, Republic of Korea. The results indicate that flow has a positive effect on both memorable tourism experiences and tourist satisfaction. In addition, memorable tourism experiences positively influence tourist satisfaction and mediate the relationship between flow and satisfaction. These findings clarify the experiential mechanism linking flow, memorable tourism experiences, and tourist satisfaction in multi-user VR tourism. Furthermore, this study provides empirical evidence of the relationship between technological features and user experience in the development of multi-user VR. The findings also offer practical implications for the design of user-centred multi-user VR tourism experiences in emerging metaverse environments.