What is it about?
Virtual reality is revolutionizing cultural heritage tourism in Macao. By delivering vivid, interactive experiences, VR enhances user immersion, cognitive certainty, and perceived useful, which ultimately translates digital engagement into tangible on-site visitation. This research equips destination managers with actionable strategies to convert virtual interest into real-world travel demand.
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Why is it important?
Grounded in the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) framework, this study explores how VR shapes user behavior. While vivid, interactive VR enhances perceived usefulness, immersion, ease of use, enjoyment, and certainty, the research reveals a surprising twist: high enjoyment and ease of use do not automatically translate into physical travel. By challenging traditional technology adoption models, these findings offer vital post-pandemic marketing insights, proving that developers must foster cognitive certainty and curiosity—not just entertainment—to convert virtual experiences into real-world visits.
Perspectives
Writing this article provided immense fulfillment, largely due to the opportunity to collaborate with esteemed colleagues with whom I share long-standing academic partnerships. Furthermore, synthesizing the research findings inspired critical reflections on Macao's current digital tourism landscape, promoting us to examine whether the government has made optimal investments (i.e., "Tourism+" strategy) in non-immersive VR technologies to elevate its cultural heritage tourism.
Professor W.M. To
Macao Polytechnic University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Does Virtual Reality Foster On-Site Visit Intentions? A Stimulus–Organism–Response Analysis of Cultural Heritage Tourism in Macao, Tourism and Hospitality, June 2026, MDPI AG,
DOI: 10.3390/tourhosp7060169.
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