Effects of virtual reality on theme park visitors' experience and behaviors: A presence perspective

Advances in virtual reality (VR) technology exert increasingly influential impacts on tourism. Drawn upon a presence perspective and a process theory, this research aims to explore how VR technology may help enhance theme park visitors' experience and behaviors. Data was collected from 396 theme park visitors who had experienced VR roller coaster over the past twelve months. Results of stepwise regression analysis suggest that users' sense of presence is predominantly driven by their feeling of control, followed by participation, effectiveness, curiosity, vividness, temporal association, and enjoyment provided by VR system. Results of simple linear regression analyses reveal positive impacts of sense of VR presence on visitors' overall theme park experience and intentions to revisit and recommend. Further sensitivity tests are performed using Hayes PROCESS model to accommodate the potential influence of two individual factors (i.e., personal innovativeness and VR familiarity) on the results. Theoretical and managerial implications are presented.