‘Reality’ influencing ‘Actuality’: the role of augmented and virtual reality on ecotourism travel intention

ABSTRACTThis study aims to understand the role of AR/VR technology in facilitating responsible travel at natural heritage sites. A theory-based approach was used in this study. A qualitative study was done through semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 12 participants to develop the conceptual model. Participants who visited a natural heritage site were selected for this study through snowball sampling. This study identifies the AR/VR content, medium quality, feelings towards the AR/VR, and planned behaviour as significant factors influencing the behavioural intention towards ecotourism. Several core themes and sub-themes were found that were found aligned with the existing theories. Three main theoretical backgrounds emerged from the present study: telepresence theory, feelings-as-information, and theory of planned behaviour. This study contributes to ecotourism literature as the evidence demonstrates that telepresence and feelings substantially boost the foundation of ecotourism. This study highlights several possible implications that will help in the inclination towards responsible behaviour of tourists and also gives direction for future research in this field.KEYWORDS: Augmented realityecotourismnatural heritage sitesresponsible behavioursustainabilityvirtual reality Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Data availability statementThe data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available because that could compromise the privacy of research participants.