Virtual reality tourism: intention to use mediated by perceived usefulness, attitude and desire

Purpose COVID-19 halted global tourism, prompting stakeholders to use virtual reality (VR) tourism to maintain interest. Due to technological advancements and wider internet access globally, VR tourism has become increasingly popular. Guided by the attention-interest-desire-action (AIDA) model and the technology acceptance model (TAM) frameworks, and with the inclusion of personal innovativeness, this study aims to clarify consumer intentions toward engaging with VR tourism by investigating factors such as personal innovativeness, interest, perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), attitude and desire. Design/methodology/approach Data was gathered from 252 participants using a cross-sectional approach, with partial least squares structural equation modeling used to assess the research model. Findings The findings indicate consumers' personal innovativeness strongly influences VR tourism intention, mediated by PU, attitude and desire. VR tourism intention is also significantly impacted by interest in VR tourism and is mediated by PU and PEOU, attitude and desire. PEOU and PU are significantly linked to interest and determine attitude. Attitude, both directly and indirectly, significantly influences VR tourism intention through users' desire, which mediates the relationship. Through multiple group analysis, the path from desire to intention is found to be moderated by age, education and marital status. Practical implications Theoretically, this study pioneers a framework that merges AIDA, TAM and personal innovativeness to advance the understanding of VR tourism adoption dynamics and enrich tourism research. Managerially, it provides valuable guidance on targeting communications and technology toward increasing VR tourism engagement and presents a roadmap for industry practitioners. Originality/value This research addresses the identified gaps in extant literature by combining TAM and AIDA with personal innovativeness to investigate the process of consumers' VR tourism intention, triggered by consumers' personal innovativeness and interest in VR tourism. The study highlights significant managerial insights for both tourism industry practitioners and academic researchers, which can assist with decision-making to promote VR tourism development.