The use of virtual reality in the tourism sector: the mediating effect of episodic future thinking on consumers' attitudes and intentions

Consumers’ adoption of Virtual Reality is currently growing at a fast pace and the greatest potential of the technology is said to be its ability to deliver new and exciting experiences to the users. Within the tourism industry, VR is up to now being considered as one of the most important technological developments and customers’ applications towards this sector are increasing. Despite the growing knowledge regarding the benefits of virtual communications on various consumer behaviours, few research addresses the impact of such promotional messages on travellers’ attitudes and intentions towards a destination. Moreover, the topic of episodic future thinking within the tourism industry has not yet been approached by researchers. Based on an extant literature review on VR technology and mental imagery in relation to tourism marketing, this work examines the potential mediating role that episodic future thinking might play on consumers’ attitudes towards a destination and their intentions to visit it in the future after being exposed to a virtual communication. Through two studies based on an experimental design, the type of stimulus was not found to significantly affect participants’ attitudes towards the destination and their intentions to visit the latter. Further, the mediating effect of episodic future thinking could not be confirmed. Nevertheless, significant evidence was found regarding the potential influence of VR to influence customers’ attitudes, intentions and their mental imagery, which opens the door for further investigation and research. This paper concludes with an outline of the key implications and limitations that derive from this work.