Prolonging the influence of a vacation experience on consumers' wellbeing - Is there a role for virtual reality?

Abstract

Through the lens of positive psychology and deploying a longitudinal field study and a lab study with consumers, this research aims to examine the role of Virtual Reality in prolonging the positive effect of a vacation experience on both hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing. The findings detail that wellbeing changes over the course of a vacation and the type of vacation. Scholars have previously outlined that the positive wellbeing outcomes from a vacation often have a limited lasting effect as affirmed by this research. Through the lens of presence theory, this research finds that a related Virtual Reality vacation experience following a vacation has a positive effect on boosting wellbeing and thus prolonging the positive wellbeing effects of a vacation.