Virtual Reality’s Impact on Tourist Attitudes in Islamic Religious Tourism: Exploring Emotional Attachment and VR Presence

This study explores the integration of immersive technologies, specifically virtual reality (VR), to enhance tourist experiences in the rapidly expanding religious tourism sector. Despite VR’s potential, limited research has examined its impact on religious tourism. This study addresses this gap by...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Eman Alkhalifah, Ramy Hammady, Mahmoud Abdelrahman, Alyaa Darwish, Ella Cranmer, Ons Al-Shamaileh, Aikaterini Bourazeri, Timothy Jung
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-01-01
Series:Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/hbe2/8818559
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849333989796478976
author Eman Alkhalifah
Ramy Hammady
Mahmoud Abdelrahman
Alyaa Darwish
Ella Cranmer
Ons Al-Shamaileh
Aikaterini Bourazeri
Timothy Jung
author_facet Eman Alkhalifah
Ramy Hammady
Mahmoud Abdelrahman
Alyaa Darwish
Ella Cranmer
Ons Al-Shamaileh
Aikaterini Bourazeri
Timothy Jung
author_sort Eman Alkhalifah
collection DOAJ
description This study explores the integration of immersive technologies, specifically virtual reality (VR), to enhance tourist experiences in the rapidly expanding religious tourism sector. Despite VR’s potential, limited research has examined its impact on religious tourism. This study addresses this gap by investigating the role of emotional attachment in influencing VR presence during pre-, on-site, and postexperiences of VR-mediated religious tourism. A quantitative survey was conducted with 201 respondents who participated in VR religious tourism activities. The empirical analysis, conducted using SPSS and AMOS structural equation modeling (SEM), assessed how VR-mediated religious tourism impacts VR presence and tourist attitudes before actual visits. The findings enhance the understanding of VR’s role in shaping Islamic religious tourists’ attitudes and behaviors, revealing the positive influence of VR across different stages of the visit. The study also highlights the significant role of emotional attachment in enhancing previsit intentions, demonstrating its impact on visit intention and emotional connection. This research underscores VR’s potential to improve value creation, influence attitude changes, and enhance user experiences in religious tourism. By extending the existing literature, this study offers new insights into how VR can be effectively utilized to boost tourist engagement and satisfaction in the religious tourism sector.
format Article
id doaj-art-2f760a3f90274acda15f4e5ad5036593
institution Kabale University
issn 2578-1863
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies
spelling doaj-art-2f760a3f90274acda15f4e5ad50365932025-08-20T03:45:41ZengWileyHuman Behavior and Emerging Technologies2578-18632025-01-01202510.1155/hbe2/8818559Virtual Reality’s Impact on Tourist Attitudes in Islamic Religious Tourism: Exploring Emotional Attachment and VR PresenceEman Alkhalifah0Ramy Hammady1Mahmoud Abdelrahman2Alyaa Darwish3Ella Cranmer4Ons Al-Shamaileh5Aikaterini Bourazeri6Timothy Jung7College of Art and DesignWinchester School of ArtBusiness SchoolNewcastle Business SchoolBusiness SchoolCollege of Interdisciplinary StudiesSchool of Computer Science and Electronic EngineeringBusiness SchoolThis study explores the integration of immersive technologies, specifically virtual reality (VR), to enhance tourist experiences in the rapidly expanding religious tourism sector. Despite VR’s potential, limited research has examined its impact on religious tourism. This study addresses this gap by investigating the role of emotional attachment in influencing VR presence during pre-, on-site, and postexperiences of VR-mediated religious tourism. A quantitative survey was conducted with 201 respondents who participated in VR religious tourism activities. The empirical analysis, conducted using SPSS and AMOS structural equation modeling (SEM), assessed how VR-mediated religious tourism impacts VR presence and tourist attitudes before actual visits. The findings enhance the understanding of VR’s role in shaping Islamic religious tourists’ attitudes and behaviors, revealing the positive influence of VR across different stages of the visit. The study also highlights the significant role of emotional attachment in enhancing previsit intentions, demonstrating its impact on visit intention and emotional connection. This research underscores VR’s potential to improve value creation, influence attitude changes, and enhance user experiences in religious tourism. By extending the existing literature, this study offers new insights into how VR can be effectively utilized to boost tourist engagement and satisfaction in the religious tourism sector.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/hbe2/8818559
spellingShingle Eman Alkhalifah
Ramy Hammady
Mahmoud Abdelrahman
Alyaa Darwish
Ella Cranmer
Ons Al-Shamaileh
Aikaterini Bourazeri
Timothy Jung
Virtual Reality’s Impact on Tourist Attitudes in Islamic Religious Tourism: Exploring Emotional Attachment and VR Presence
Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies
title Virtual Reality’s Impact on Tourist Attitudes in Islamic Religious Tourism: Exploring Emotional Attachment and VR Presence
title_full Virtual Reality’s Impact on Tourist Attitudes in Islamic Religious Tourism: Exploring Emotional Attachment and VR Presence
title_fullStr Virtual Reality’s Impact on Tourist Attitudes in Islamic Religious Tourism: Exploring Emotional Attachment and VR Presence
title_full_unstemmed Virtual Reality’s Impact on Tourist Attitudes in Islamic Religious Tourism: Exploring Emotional Attachment and VR Presence
title_short Virtual Reality’s Impact on Tourist Attitudes in Islamic Religious Tourism: Exploring Emotional Attachment and VR Presence
title_sort virtual reality s impact on tourist attitudes in islamic religious tourism exploring emotional attachment and vr presence
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/hbe2/8818559
work_keys_str_mv AT emanalkhalifah virtualrealitysimpactontouristattitudesinislamicreligioustourismexploringemotionalattachmentandvrpresence
AT ramyhammady virtualrealitysimpactontouristattitudesinislamicreligioustourismexploringemotionalattachmentandvrpresence
AT mahmoudabdelrahman virtualrealitysimpactontouristattitudesinislamicreligioustourismexploringemotionalattachmentandvrpresence
AT alyaadarwish virtualrealitysimpactontouristattitudesinislamicreligioustourismexploringemotionalattachmentandvrpresence
AT ellacranmer virtualrealitysimpactontouristattitudesinislamicreligioustourismexploringemotionalattachmentandvrpresence
AT onsalshamaileh virtualrealitysimpactontouristattitudesinislamicreligioustourismexploringemotionalattachmentandvrpresence
AT aikaterinibourazeri virtualrealitysimpactontouristattitudesinislamicreligioustourismexploringemotionalattachmentandvrpresence
AT timothyjung virtualrealitysimpactontouristattitudesinislamicreligioustourismexploringemotionalattachmentandvrpresence