WHAT DRIVES GEN-Z TO VISIT TOURIST DESTINATIONS USING VIRTUAL REALITY? THE STIMULUS-ORGANISM-RESPONSE APPROACH

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic significantly impacted tourism globally due to international travel restrictions. One of the technological advancements, Virtual Reality (VR), offers the pre-travel experience as an alternative method to alter human existence in tourism destinations. VR has been applied in tourism and hospitality to promote tourist experiences, especially for Gen-Z, a generation born in the technology era. This paper investigates the determinant factors of VR experience impact on Gen-Z's visit intention to Indonesian tourism destinations during the Covid-19 pandemic. This study presents a Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) framework to provide a sequential process of the interaction between antecedents and consequences. The model was examined using 199 respondents and employed Smart PLS 3 for empirical analysis to assess the relationship. This study result confirmed that Gen-Z visit intention was derived from their satisfaction as a part of the response stage in the SOR model. Their satisfaction was affected by telepresence, focused attention, and temporal distortion, influenced by the sense and quality of information. This study contributes to digital tourism literature, particularly in VR studies amidst the pandemic. Furthermore, for the managerial implication, this study will give insight for tourism marketers and local or national governments to understand consumer behaviour through the technology approach in order to thrive back in business.