The effect of applying film-induced tourism to virtual reality tours of cultural heritage sites

Abstract

Despite various efforts to provide visually immersive experiences and various information about virtual cultural heritage sites, few studies have investigated how to effectively provide media related to cultural heritage sites in virtual reality or to measure the effectiveness of the virtual tourism experience in improving the affect and visit intention to the actual tourist destination. In this study, we examined the effects of a video-based virtual tour, applied via film-induced tourism, on post-VR attitude and behavioral visit intention to a cultural heritage site compared with those of a basic virtual tour. We also aimed to determine how to effectively provide broadcast content as a storytelling medium in a virtual reality tour, considering characteristics of a cultural heritage site. Through the experiment, we proved that video-based virtual experience is more effective in improving visitors' positive attitude and visit intention than the basic virtual tour, which was nevertheless effective as well. We also derived design implications for the utilization of location-based broadcast video clips.