The Moderating Effect of the Use of Virtual Reality Technologies in the Branding of the Cultural Tourism Sector: An Analysis from the Brand Heritage

Abstract

Brand heritage has become one of the most important emphases for companies as a response to the need to build a more diverse and multicultural society. Such is the case of Latin-American countries that see the importance of heritage as an important source for the development of the tourism market at the country level, specially making use of new information technologies. This is how this research aims to analyze the emotional factors (nostalgic experience, brand awe) that influence brand heritage and its effect on variables such as brand identity and purchase intention for the tourism sector. To achieve this purpose, the research uses a survey applied to 460 individuals who frequently attend cultural events and who have additionally made use of virtual reality platforms. For information processing, the structural equations technique is used. Among the main findings is that there is a direct and positive relationship between emotional factors and brand heritage. Likewise, it is found that there is a direct relationship between brand heritage and brand identity, however, no significance was found with purchase intention. Finally, it was found that the use of platforms such as virtual reality does have a moderating effect both with emotional factors.