Embracing Virtual Reality in Destination Marketing: A Serial Mediation Model to Investigate the Role of Virtual Tourism Experiences in the Formation of Place Attachment

Abstract

Technological innovation is important for destination marketing organisations (DMOs) in achieving sustainable destination development. However, few studies have considered the marketing potential of emerging immersive technologies in promoting local destinations, as well as their impacts on tourists’ place attachment. Drawing upon cue consistency and place attachment theory, this study established a serial mediation model to examine the impact of sensory information acquired from online virtual tourism experiences, such as visual and auditory cues, on tourists’ place attachment formation during the post-trip stage. The PLS-SEM approach was adopted to analyse the data, which were collected from 408 respondents via an online survey. The results showed that tourists’ sensory information significantly influenced their virtual attachment and sense of presence. Furthermore, tourists’ perceived information and image consistency significantly influenced their place attachment. In addition, the serial mediation effect among sensory information, cue consistency, and place attachment was confirmed. The theoretical and managerial implications are also discussed.

1. Introduction

Sustainable destination management is a long-term goal that has attracted considerable attention from both academics and industrial practitioners for decades [1,2]. Since the United Nations put forward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 [3], the achievement of sustainable development has become increasingly important for destinations that seek to gain a competitive advantage within the global tourism market. Several previous studies have already found that economic, social, and environmental elements are essential for destinations’ sustainability [4], and several practical suggestions have also been provided based on an interdisciplinary approach. However, the role of technological innovation in assisting destination marketing organisations (DMOs) to achieve sustainable development appears to be unexplored.

Owing to the proliferation of immersive technologies in the tourism and hospitality industry, virtual reality (VR) and relevant virtual tourism applications are employed by a growing number of DMOs due to their potential to provide vivid content and an immersive experience. For instance, the Palace Museum in China has already established an online virtual platform that provides a virtual panoramic view for potential tourists [5]. In addition, the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) provides a virtual tour application on its official promotion website to promote local destinations and attractions. According to a statistical report [6], the market revenue for VR technologies reached USD 5.1 billion in 2023. Thus, given their tremendous practical impact, it is important to verify the influence of VR technologies on sustainable destination management.

Virtual tourism is defined as the fusion of VR technologies and tourism activities to provide an innovative approach that enables tourists to engage in sightseeing without physically visiting a destination [7]. Online platforms and relevant immersive experiences are essential components of virtual tourism [8]. Moreover, Alyahya and McLean (2022) stated that vivid sensory information furnished by dynamic visual and audio cues through virtual landscape presentations was significantly correlated with consumers’ immersive experience during a virtual tourism activity [9]. During the early stages of virtual tourism research, several studies sought to verify the core characteristics of virtual tourism, which has the potential to be employed as a destination marketing tool [10]. Owing to the prevalence of VR applications and fierce competition within the global tourism market, the identification of the most effective features of VR technologies—and how these features influence consumers’ decision-making processes—has drawn attention from both scholars and industry practitioners. For instance, Fan et al. (2022) pointed out that consumers’ responses to an online virtual tourism platform were determined by their appraisal, value perceptions, and psychological responses regarding the platform’s features [11]. Furthermore, numerous studies have adopted a conceptual framework to reveal the impact of VR technologies on consumers’ experiences and behavioural intentions [11,12,13]. However, previous works preferred to highlight the impact of virtual tourism from a holistic perspective, while neglecting to illustrate its impacts on continuous stages of tourism, such as the pre-trip, onsite, and post-trip stages. In addition, place attachment has been widely acknowledged as the emotional connectiveness between tourists and destinations, determined by previous experience and memories [14]. However, the potential relationships between official virtual tourism platforms and place attachment still remain unexplored, especially for the serial mediation effect of sensory information on place attachment formation during the post-trip stage. This has also been suggested as an important consideration for DMOs that wish to achieve sustainable development through emerging virtual technologies [15,16].

Regarding the abovementioned theoretical and industrial gaps, this study was designed to uncover the influence of virtual tourism platforms on consumers’ perceptions of a destination at different stages of tourism activities. Recalling previous studies, this work considers consumers’ sensory information acquired from a virtual tourism platform during the pre-trip stage, while integrating visual aesthetics (VAs) and entertainment and enjoyment (EAE) [17,18]. Furthermore, tourists’ virtual attachment [19] and sense of presence [12] are employed to illustrate their psychological responses to the virtual tourism platform. Cue consistency theory, which consists of information consistency (INC) and image consistency (IMC) [20,21], is adopted to measure consumers’ appraisal of the consistency between online and actual experiences during the onsite tourism stage. Finally, place attachment is considered as the final outcome of the conceptual model, as it has the potential to contribute to sustainable destination development [2,3]. In order to present a clear picture of the current research landscape, the following questions are put forward in this study:

(i)

How does the sensory experience acquired from a virtual tourism platform during the pre-trip stage influence place attachment, and what mediating effects (if any) exist between these variables?

(ii)

What is the impact of virtual tourism experiences on the onsite tourism experience? In addition, how does tourists’ perceived consistency between the virtual and onsite tourism experiences influence the formation of place attachment?

2. Literature Review

2.1. Place Attachment

Watson (1976) first introduced the concept of topophilia (love of place) in the mid-1970s, describing it as the emotional connection between humans and places, which fosters a specific person–place attachment relationship [22]. Place attachment refers to the positive emotional bond that forms between an individual and an environment, involving the perception of this environment and the unique meaning and value ascribed to it by the individual [23,24,25]. In addition, place attachment has been widely described as a multi-dimensional construct that reflects tourists’ emotional connection with specific destinations [26]. Researchers have explored these dimensions extensively [27,28], examining how the different facets of place attachment influence the emotional and behavioural responses of individuals to their environments.

Place attachment typically refers to the emotional and psychological bonds that individuals or groups form with places that they consider important [28]. At the individual level, this attachment often arises from personal experiences and memories tied to specific environments. At the group level, attachment is shaped through a shared historical culture, spiritual symbols, and collective social values [29]. While place attachment has traditionally been linked to real-world locations, in the context of virtual tourism, current VR technology allows tourists to experience similar attachments to those found in physical spaces, fostering emotional connections to virtual tourism scenes [30]. In addition, tourists’ VR perceptions of destination authenticity and culture have been further verified as significant determinants of place attachment [25,31].

Owing to the significant relationship between place attachment and sustainable destination development [2,3], place attachment has been highlighted as a key issue and has been investigated in many interdisciplinary studies. For instance, Rollero and De Piccoli (2007) explored the relationships among place attachment, place identity, and environmental perceptions, revealing that sociodemographic factors such as an individual’s gender, age, and educational level significantly influence their place attachment and place identity [32]. Additionally, Stylos et al. (2017) identified a moderating effect of place attachment on the relationship between a destination’s image and the intention to revisit it, highlighting its importance in stimulating tourist behaviour [33].

More recently, the place attachment that is formed through virtual tourism has drawn attention from several scholars. For example, Wang et al. (2022) studied the VR-based panoramic video experience of the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan, China, and found a strong positive correlation between virtual tourism involvement and place attachment [34]. Similarly, focusing on the Forbidden City in Beijing, Ji et al. (2023) demonstrated that virtual tourism involvement positively impacts place attachment, place imagination, and experience memory, indicating that virtual environments can evoke meaningful emotional connections that are similar to real-world experiences [31].

Moreover, Melo et al. (2024) conducted a comparative study on the effects of different types of VR devices, including video media, immersive VR, and multi-sensory immersive VR, to assess their influences on destination image, place attachment, and behavioural intentions [35]. Their findings revealed that VR content significantly enhanced the destination image, fostered stronger place attachment, and positively impacted the behavioural intentions of users.

2.2. Sensory Information from Virtual Tourism Platforms

The sensory experience is a vital aspect of virtual tourism research, as the users of virtual tourism platforms rely on sensory inputs such as visual and auditory cues to establish a connection with tourism destinations [36].

2.2.1. Visual Aesthetics

Previous studies have found that the attractiveness of an object is a core determinant of individuals’ perceived visual aesthetics. In addition, visual aesthetics serves to explain how individuals assess objects, events, places, or other entities, with a particular focus on sensory attributes such as symmetry, complexity, and prototypicality [37,38,39]. A key aspect of visual aesthetics is the capacity of different groups to assess the quality or attractiveness of visual objects or images in line with their aesthetic preferences. The process of assessing beauty often involves a significant degree of subjectivity [40].

Li and Yeh (2010) explored the effects of visual aesthetics and website customization, as well as the influence of website characteristics, on customer trust [39]. Their findings demonstrated that visual aesthetics and website characteristics were significantly correlated, with the latter exerting a positive influence on user trust. Bhandari et al. (2019) developed an explanatory model grounded in visual perception theory to explore the relationship between visual aesthetics and user evaluations [40]; their study found a significant relationship between these two constructs. Furthermore, Miniukovich and Figl (2023) explored the relationships among webpages’ visual aesthetics, perceived usability, and credibility, and the results suggested that significant positive correlations exist among these factors [41].

Owing to technological innovation, several studies have attempted to measure the construct of visual aesthetics through emerging technologies. Guo et al. (2019) sought to integrate eye-tracking metrics and electroencephalogram measurements to differentiate between and quantify the visual aesthetics of products [42]. Their findings support the notion that visual aesthetics can be measured through a combination of multi-dimensional physiological perceptions, which implies that this method could be used by designers in future assessments of product aesthetics. Iigaya et al. (2020) applied computer vision tools, human subjective evaluations, and deep convolutional neural networks to analyse the visual features of images and predict their subjective value ratings [43]. Their study demonstrated that human preferences for visual aesthetics can be understood as a form of systematic neural integration, providing insights into the underlying processes that could inform future research on visual aesthetics. In the field of consumer psychology, Lee (2022) explored the influence of the visual aesthetics of wearable devices on the willingness of consumers to pay for them [44]. The positive correlation between visual aesthetics and consumer intention was confirmed. In addition, this paper also uncovered that perceived enjoyment was a crucial determinant during computer–human interactions, which ultimately contributes to consumers’ purchase intentions.

2.2.2. Entertainment and Enjoyment

Entertainment and enjoyment are conceptualised as positive attitudes or experiential states regarding an object or activity. Tamborini et al. (2011) defined these concepts as mechanisms for the fulfilment of both hedonic and non-hedonic intrinsic needs [45]. With the growing adoption of VR and augmented reality (AR) technologies, the entertainment and enjoyment experienced by internet users during virtual tourism are regarded as a distinct form of satisfaction, serving as a primary driver of users’ engagement with virtual environments [46]. Furthermore, the entertainment and enjoyment derived from VR technologies have led to the development of the concept of perceived enjoyment, which Lee et al. (2019) defined as the extent of the pleasure perceived by users when interacting with advanced computer-science-related technologies [47].

In recent years, the increasing demand for cultural entertainment products and activities has resulted in a substantial amount of research on entertainment and enjoyment. Cheng and Huang (2022) explored the intention for the continuous usage of virtual tourism, focusing on the effects of telepresence, universality, vividness, interactivity, and musical congruence on entertainment, enjoyment, arousal, and dominance [48]. Their results indicated that telepresence influences entertainment and enjoyment significantly. In the context of cultural heritage tourism, Han et al. (2021) explored the relationships between entertainment and enjoyment, visual appeal, destination authenticity, and tourist satisfaction, finding that entertainment and enjoyment, along with visual appeal, were significantly and positively correlated with destination authenticity and tourist satisfaction [49].

Regarding the perceived enjoyment that is derived during the interaction with emerging technologies, Alalwan et al. (2018) explored the relationships among perceived enjoyment, perceived usability, innovativeness, trust, and adoption intention in a study on internet adoption in Saudi Arabia [50]. Their findings demonstrated that perceived enjoyment, perceived usability, innovativeness, and trust positively influenced individuals’ adoption intention. Hung et al. (2021) used the theory of planned behaviour and focused on smartphone applications and AR technology in order to investigate the continuous intention of users to use AR applications [51]. Their results revealed that perceived enjoyment, perceived mobility, perceived connectivity, and telepresence were significantly and positively correlated with continuous usage intention. Hoang et al. (2023) conducted a study on the promotion of sustainable tourism development through VR technology, surveying 512 local and international tourists in Vietnam [52]. The results support the notion that positive correlations exist among perceived enjoyment, travel intention, and continuous usage intention.

2.3. Psychological Responses to Virtual Tourism Platforms

2.3.1. Virtual Attachment

Virtual attachment is characterised as a persistent emotional state wherein users experience and derive enjoyment from the sense of presence facilitated by VR or AR technologies through devices such as headphones, head-mounted displays, and other digital products [53]. This emotional state enhances users’ attachment to virtual tourism [54]. In addition, these technologies leverage the emotional transmission mechanism inherent in virtual attachment to fulfil the desires of users for physical tourism, thereby transforming the objects of attachment and deepening their connections to tourism destinations [55]. Wu and Lai (2020) explored the interplay between virtual attachment, a sense of presence, and tourist satisfaction in the context of 360° virtual tourism and video games [12]. Their findings highlighted the significant positive correlations among these constructs, as well as with tourist loyalty. Similarly, Geng et al. (2023) reported significant positive correlations between virtual attachment, user satisfaction, and travel intention [56]. Using stimulus–organism–response theory, Ye et al. (2022) explored how virtual attachment and the sense of presence impacted travel intentions in the post-pandemic era [57]. The results indicated that these two constructs acted as mediators between the characteristics of VR technologies and travel intentions. In addition to these mediating effects, Ghali et al. (2024) pointed out that virtual attachment exerts a mediating influence between consumers’ usage of emerging VR applications and their revisit intentions toward a tourism destination [58].

2.3.2. Sense of Presence

The sense of presence is a distinctive experience that arises within virtual environments and is defined as a fundamental aspect of human consciousness [59]. When individuals become deeply immersed in a virtual world, they perceive themselves to be in an environment that closely mimics reality [60]. This has led researchers to consider the sense of presence as a subjective perception or psychological state [61]. More specifically, it stands for the sense of “being there” that is acquired through subjective imagery within an immersive virtual reality environment. This sensation, similar to a transient emotional state, is influenced by various factors, including immersion, imagination, and the nature of human–computer interaction [62,63]. Regarding virtual tourism areas, the sense of presence is a core concept that is directly shaped by elements such as the media form, media content, and individual user characteristics. From an objective standpoint, it can be conceptualised as the spatial experience of users when they coexist with a virtual environment in a three-dimensional space [64,65].

Since the late 1990s, the concept of the sense of presence has garnered increasing interest among researchers. Baños et al. (2004) identified significant positive correlations between immersion, media content, and the sense of presence [66]. With the ongoing advancements in VR technology, North and North (2016) discovered that, compared to traditional VR environments, users experience an enhanced sense of presence in immersive visualisation environments [67]. Expanding on these findings, and drawing from presence theory and process theory, Wei et al. (2019) explored the impact of VR technology on visitors in entertainment theme parks. Their study revealed that the sense of presence positively affected the sensory experiences of visitors, helped them to revisit their intentions, and fortified their intention to recommend the experience to others [68]. Regarding the abovementioned work, sense of presence was considered to be a significant determinant of consumers’ satisfaction and behaviour in virtual interaction environments.

Recently, Tsai (2022) used 360° virtual tourism videos and survey respondents to explore the relationships among the sense of presence, tourist involvement, and the overall image of virtual tourism [69]. This study found that the sense of presence moderated the causal relationships among the cognitive, affective, and intrinsic images that were perceived during the virtual tourism experience [69]. Similarly, Wu and Lai (2022) explored the influence of virtual tourism platforms and real photographs on consumers’ attitude strength and confidence toward destinations [12]. Their research demonstrated that mental imagery processing had significant positive effects on both the sense of presence and communication effectiveness. Moreover, the sense of presence was revealed to mediate the relationship between mental imagery processing and communication effectiveness, highlighting its central role in enhancing users’ engagement and perceptions in the virtual tourism context [12].

2.4. Cue Consistency Theory

Carroll and Anderson (1982) first introduced cue consistency theory in the early 1980s [70], and researchers have used it to explain how individuals process information to form cognitive attitudes [71]. This theory posits that individuals rely on multiple cues to assess the consistency of a given context, influencing their attitudes and intentions [72]. In virtual tourism research, cue consistency theory has been expanded to include dimensions such as information consistency and image consistency. These dimensions reflect how well the content on social media platforms aligns with the psychological expectations of users. However, when users encounter inconsistent information from multiple sources, negative cues are more likely to shape their attitudes and evaluations [73,74].

Regarding the cues within a technological context, virtual cues have also been defined as significant determinants of consumers’ attitudes and behaviour. For instance, Xu et al. (2013) applied this theory to explore the impact of web catalogue design on internet vendors, discovering that it mediated the relationship between price cues and the popularity of online products, as well as the perceived website quality [75]. Similarly, Chi et al. (2020) explored how cue consistency influenced purchase decisions on sharing platforms, revealing that consistency between guest text and host image cues was positively correlated with the purchase decisions of users [71]. Lee et al. (2017) also applied cue consistency theory to study airline VIP lounge customers, and they found significant positive relationships between image consistency, brand personality, and positive emotions [76]. Positive emotions further mediated the effects of image and functional consistency on customer satisfaction, demonstrating the broad applicability of this theory across various contexts.

3. Research Methodologies

3.1. Research Hypotheses and Model Construction

3.1.1. Sensory Experience, Virtual Attachment, and Sense of Presence

This study divides the sensory experience into two primary dimensions: visual aesthetics and entertainment/enjoyment. Visual aesthetics moves beyond the basic psychological judgement of objects, encompassing the sensory experiences of individuals when assessing the visual appeal of such objects [77]. In modern society, individuals frequently engage in activities for entertainment and enjoyment, which can lead to positive sensory experiences and emotional responses when interacting with specific stimuli offered by media content [78].

Augustin et al. (2012) also stated that visual aesthetics covers both the cognitive and emotional processes involved in examining a specific target [79]. Although visual aesthetics research spans multiple domains—including the visual arts, human appearance, product design, and natural landscapes—few studies have addressed individual perceptions towards visual aesthetics and its influence on tourists in virtual tourism circumstances. Regarding human–computer interaction, Lavie and Tractinsky (2004) assert that the visual aesthetics of online interfaces significantly impacts users’ satisfaction and pleasure [80]; they thus developed a tool to measure users’ perceptions of webpage aesthetics. Entertainment and enjoyment also play a prominent role in virtual tourism. Hedonic motivations increasingly drive user groups to engage in virtual tourism activities via online videos and social media, fostering stronger attachment and promoting continued engagement with virtual tourism platforms [46]. Moreover, perceived enjoyment has been revealed to have a positive effect on the intention of users to continue engaging with these platforms [47]. Thus, VR technology has the potential to influence consumers’ sense of presence, which indirectly influences their satisfaction with and engagement in virtual tourism experiences.

Thus, the following hypotheses are proposed:

H1a. 

Visual aesthetics positively influences virtual attachment.

H1b. 

Visual aesthetics positively influences the sense of presence.

H2a. 

Entertainment and enjoyment positively influence virtual attachment.

H2b. 

Entertainment and enjoyment positively influence the sense of presence.

3.1.2. Virtual Attachment, Sense of Presence, and Cue Consistency

Grassini and Laumann (2020) defined the sense of presence as the subjective psychological perception of being in a virtual environment—a key factor in the exploration of VR technology and immersive virtual settings [81]. Virtual tourism leverages this concept by immersing users in virtual environments, allowing them to form feelings of attachment toward these virtual worlds [82].

When applied to virtual tourism, cue consistency theory proposes that alignment between virtual tourism content and the actual expectations of users can foster positive attitudes and behaviours. This theory posits that users seek to minimise cognitive dissonance through consistency in information and imagery [83]. In virtual environments, the multimodal cues provided by VR devices can influence the sense of presence, with greater realism enhancing users’ feelings of being present [84,85]. Due to the incomplete cues available in virtual environments, users often rely on limited online information to assess the credibility of virtual tourism platforms. In this context, cue consistency theory is crucial, as information that aligns with users’ expectations can strengthen their attachment to virtual environments [86]. Additionally, the research by Geng et al. (2024) indicates that virtual attachment, or the emotional bonds that users develop with virtual reality or virtual tourism experiences, is related to cue consistency [56]. Thus, this study proposes the following hypotheses:

H3. 

Virtual attachment significantly and positively influences information consistency.

H4. 

The sense of presence significantly and positively influences image consistency.

3.1.3. Cue Consistency Theory and Place Attachment

Recalling previous studies, Lee and Jeong (2021) demonstrated a significant positive causal relationship between entertainment and enjoyment, place attachment, and tourist satisfaction [83]. This finding implies that potential relationships exist among the positive emotions that are elicited by consistent cues and tourists’ emotions [72]. Within the tourism context, tourists’ familiarity with and understanding of local destinations significantly contribute to their positive emotional bonds with them [9]. In addition, tourists process information from virtual environments by focusing on public cues that are available on social media or virtual tourism platforms, including media information and images [87]. According to Nasar (1987), cue consistency can lead to positive emotional responses toward tourism destinations through enhanced aesthetic and experiential engagement [88]. Thus, tourists’ perceived consistency between the virtual tourism experience and the onsite experience has the potential to influence place attachment. In addition, the serial mediation effect among sensory information, virtual attachment, sense of presence, cue consistency, and place attachment requires further investigation. Thus, two direct hypotheses and four hypotheses related to the serial mediation effect are proposed, as follows:

H5. 

Information consistency positively influences place attachment.

H6. 

Image consistency positively influences place attachment.

H7a. 

Virtual attachment and information consistency serially mediate the relationship between visual aesthetics and place attachment.

H7b. 

The sense of presence and image consistency serially mediate the relationship between visual aesthetics and place attachment.

H8a. 

Virtual attachment and information consistency serially mediate the relationship between entertainment and enjoyment and place attachment.

H8b. 

The sense of presence and image consistency serially mediate the relationship between entertainment and enjoyment and place attachment.

Regarding the abovementioned hypotheses, this study proposes a conceptual model (Figure 1) to investigate the influence of VR technologies on tourists’ perceptions and attitudes at different stages of tourism so as to provide theoretical insights into the ways in which technological innovation positively contributes to sustainable destination development.

3.2. Research Site and Measurement Design

The online virtual tourism platform provided by the MGTO was selected as the research site. As stated in previous studies, considerable efforts have been made by the Macau Government to change its destination image to that of a multi-dimensional tourism centre [89], such as publishing content about its cultural heritage, as well as leisure activities, on its official website. In addition, virtual tourism applications have been implemented for tourists who seek a holistic understanding of Macau’s local culture and natural attractions. However, the effectiveness of the official virtual tourism platform remains to be investigated. Thus, a questionnaire survey was employed to collect quantitative data in order to verify the internal causal relationships between the emerging virtual tourism platform and tourists’ place attachment.

Regarding the measurement design, two sections were contained in the questionnaire. The first section aimed to measure tourists’ perceptions of the visual aesthetics, entertainment and enjoyment, virtual attachment, sense of presence, cue consistency, and place attachment based on previous studies [12,17,18,19,20,21] (Appendix A). In addition, place attachment was formulated as a second-order factor that consisted of place identity and place dependence, in line with a previous study [15]. The second section aimed to collect the demographics of the respondents who were recruited in this study. In addition, all of the items in the first section were rated on a five-point Likert scale, where 1 indicated “strongly disagree” and 5 indicated “strongly agree”.

3.3. Sampling and Data Analytical Process

A pretest was conducted before the main field survey. As most of the measurement items were constructed in English and the respondents were Chinese, this study applied the back-translation approach in the pretest process [88]. This process relied on 10 experts in tourism and hospitality, aiming to improve the accuracy of the indicators. The back-translation process was designed according to Su and Parham’s study (2002) [90]. After the pretest, a few revisions—such as changing the name of the research site and rearranging the sentence sequence—were made to the original items to enhance the clarity for the recruited Chinese respondents in this study.

During the main field survey process, the target respondents were Chinese tourists who had experience with the virtual platform provided by the MGTO and had recently travelled to Macau. A professional survey company was recruited during this process, and a purposive sampling approach was adopted due to its potential to verify the respondents. All of the respondents were given an online questionnaire that was developed and validated in the pretest stage. In addition, all of the respondents were required to use the virtual tourism platform for at least 5 min before completing the online questionnaire. The data collection period started on 27 November 2023 and ended on 9 January 2024. During this period, a total of 484 questionnaires were collected through the online survey platform. Questionnaires that were finished in a short time (less than 7 min) or contained identical responses throughout were eliminated. After excluding these invalid submissions, 408 valid questionnaires remained, yielding a validity rate of 84.30%. In addition, partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed to examine the validity of the conceptual model and the hypotheses, due to its advantages of predicting complex models in the context of virtual tourism areas [12].

4. Data Results and Analysis

4.1. Demographic Profile (N = 408)

The demographic profile of the respondents is presented in

Table 1. Demographic profile of respondents.

Variables	Characteristics	Frequency	Percentage
Gender	Male	179	43.9%
	Female	229	56.1%
Age	18–25	32	7.8%
	26–35	139	34.1%
	36–45	89	21.8%
	46–55	70	17.2%
	56 and above	78	19.1%

. Among the 408 respondents, 179 were male, representing 43.9% of the total sample, while 229 were female, accounting for 56.1% of the total sample. The largest proportion of respondents fell within the 26-to-35 age group, with 139 individuals, constituting 34.1% of the total sample. Conversely, the smallest proportion was observed in the 18-to-25 age group, comprising only 7.8% of the total sample.

4.2. Measurement Model

Before validating and testing the proposed conceptual model, common-method bias was tested using Harman’s single-factor analysis. The results suggested that common-method bias was not a significant issue, as the single factor only explained 36.51% of the total variance [91]. In addition, the factor loadings for both the latent variables and the second-order factor are presented in

Table 2. Loadings, CR, and AVE of constructs.

Variable	Factor Loadings	Cronbach’s α	Composite Reliability	Average Variance Extracted (AVE)
Visual aesthetics		0.799	0.882	0.713
VAE1	0.839
VAE2	0.843
VAE3	0.850
Entertainment and enjoyment		0.846	0.897	0.684
EAE1	0.847
EAE2	0.810
EAE3	0.807
EAE4	0.843
Virtual attachment		0.847	0.897	0.685
VAT1	0.844
VAT2	0.823
VAT3	0.834
VAT4	0.810
Sense of presence		0.877	0.910	0.670
SOP1	0.826
SOP2	0.822
SOP3	0.811
SOP4	0.814
SOP5	0.819
Information consistency		0.730	0.832	0.553
INC1	0.727
INC2	0.717
INC3	0.767
INC4	0.762
Image consistency		0.823	0.895	0.739
IMC1	0.858
IMC2	0.864
IMC3	0.857
Place attachment		0.925	0.939	0.657
Place identity
PID1	0.830
PID2	0.860
PID3	0.835
PID4	0.844
Place dependence
PDE1	0.821
PDE2	0.852
PDE3	0.828
PDE4	0.853

.

Regarding the convergent validity of the conceptual model, all of the factor loadings in this study ranged from 0.717 to 0.864, exceeding the threshold of 0.5 [92]. In addition, the Cronbach’s alpha values ranged from 0.730 to 0.925, all surpassing the recommended minimum value of 0.7 proposed by Shevlin et al. (2000) [93]. These results indicated that all of the constructs demonstrated a high level of internal consistency and reliability. Furthermore, the composite reliability values were between 0.832 and 0.939, and the average variance extracted (AVE) values were all greater than 0.5 [94,95]. Thus, the convergent validity was confirmed.

Regarding the discriminant validity, the square roots of all AVE values should be greater than the correlation coefficients between these variables and the others in the conceptual model [95]. As shown in

Table 3. Discriminant validity.

Constructs	EAE	IMC	INC	PA	SOP	VAE	VAT
EAE	0.827
IMC	0.433	0.860
INC	0.729	0.706	0.744
PA	0.437	0.564	0.629	0.811
SOP	0.668	0.443	0.538	0.463	0.818
VAE	0.631	0.461	0.531	0.457	0.560	0.844
VAT	0.556	0.413	0.612	0.424	0.473	0.646	0.828

Notes: VAE = visual aesthetics; EAE = entertainment and enjoyment; VAT = visual attachment; SOP = sense of presence; INC = information consistency; IMC = image consistency; PA = place attachment.

, the discriminant validity of the conceptual framework was confirmed.

4.3. Hypothesis Testing

Before the hypothesis testing process, the coefficients of determination (R²) and predictive relevance (Q²) were examined to determine the predictive relevance and explanatory power of the proposed model, and the results are demonstrated in

Table 4. Coefficients of determination and predictive relevance.

Construct	R2	Q2
VAT	0.792	0.538
SOP	0.816	0.541
INC	0.507	0.280
IMC	0.196	0.143
PA	0.775	0.505

Notes: VAT = visual attachment; SOP = sense of presence; INC = information consistency; IMC = image consistency; PA = place attachment.

.

Based on the criteria established by Cameron and Windmeijer (1997), the R² value typically ranges from 0 to 1, with values approaching 1 indicating stronger explanatory power of the model for the observed data [96]. As detailed in Table 4, the R² values for the exogenous variables in this study were within an acceptable range, demonstrating substantial explanatory power. Additionally, this study found that the Q² values for the exogenous variables were 0.538, 0.541, 0.280, 0.143, and 0.505, all exceeding the threshold of 0. This adherence to the standards set by Geisser (1974), Stone (1974), and Shmueli et al. (2019) confirmed that the predictive quality of the model was satisfactory [97,98,99].

Eight direct effects and four serial mediation effects were implemented in the proposed conceptual framework, and the hypothesis testing results are demonstrated in

Table 5. Testing results of direct effects.

Hypotheses	Standardised Path Coefficients	Results
H1a: VAE→VAT	0.437 ***	Supported
H1b: VAE→SOP	0.494 ***	Supported
H2a: EAE→VAT	0.493 ***	Supported
H2b: EAE→SOP	0.494 ***	Supported
H3: VAT→INC	0.712 ***	Supported
H4: SOP→IMC	0.443 ***	Supported
H5: INC→PA	0.238 ***	Supported
H6: IMC→PA	0.696 ***	Supported

Notes: *** p < 0.001; VAE = visual aesthetics; EAE = entertainment and enjoyment; VAT = visual attachment; SOP = sense of presence; INC = information consistency; IMC = image consistency; PA = place attachment.

and

Table 6. Testing results of serial mediation effects.

Hypotheses	95% Confidence Interval		Path Coefficients	Results
	2.5%	97.5%
H7a: VAE→VAT→INC→PA	0.049	0.103	0.074	Supported
H7b: VAE→SOP→IMC→PA	0.107	0.174	0.139	Supported
H8a: EAE→VAT→ INC→ PA	0.057	0.113	0.083	Supported
H8b: EAE→SOP→IMC→PA	0.121	0.187	0.152	Supported

Notes: VAE = visual aesthetics; EAE = entertainment and enjoyment; VAT = visual attachment; SOP = sense of presence; INC = information consistency; IMC = image consistency; PA = place attachment.

. According to Table 5, visual aesthetics positively influenced the respondents’ virtual attachment (β = 0.437, p < 0.001) and sense of presence (β = 0.494, p < 0.001). Thus, H1a and H1b were supported. H2a and H2b were also supported, as entertainment and enjoyment were proven to influence virtual attachment (β = 0.493, p < 0.001) and the sense of presence (β = 0.494, p < 0.001). Furthermore, virtual attachment exerted a significant impact on information consistency (β = 0.712, p < 0.001), and a positive causal relationship was also identified between the sense of presence and image consistency (β = 0.443, p < 0.001). Thus, both H3 and H4 were supported. In addition, both information consistency (β = 0.238, p < 0.001) and image consistency (β = 0.696, p < 0.001) were verified as significant determinants of place attachment.

Regarding the serial mediation effects, this study found that visual aesthetics exerted a significant influence on place attachment through virtual attachment and information consistency. In addition, the sense of presence and image consistency were also identified as serial mediation constructs between visual aesthetics and place attachment. Thus, H7a and H7b were supported. Furthermore, a serial mediation effect was identified between entertainment and enjoyment through the construct of visual attachment and information consistency, supporting H8a. Moreover, H8b was also supported, as the sense of presence and image consistency were also identified as serial mediation constructs between entertainment and enjoyment and place attachment.

5. Conclusions and Discussion

5.1. Conclusions

In summary, this study revealed the significant influence of virtual tourism platforms provided by official DMOs on tourists’ formation of place attachment. In addition, it is among the few studies that have highlighted the crucial influence of consumers’ perceptions of the virtual tourism platform in the pre-trip stage and the cue consistency during the onsite stage on the place attachment that is formed during the post-trip stage. Regarding the pre-trip stage, this study found that both virtual aesthetics and entertainment and enjoyment were crucial determinants of consumers’ perceptions of the virtual tourism platform provided by the official DMO. These results are consistent with the findings of Beck et al. (2019) and Sun et al. (2023) [100,101].

In addition, this study found that both virtual aesthetics and entertainment and enjoyment significantly contribute to tourists’ virtual attachment and sense of presence during the pre-trip stage. In a previous study [11], consumers’ perceptions of a virtual tour were widely acknowledged as crucial antecedents of their behaviour. However, the role of the marketing potential in shaping consumers’ psychological responses—particularly the virtual emotional bond formed with the destination—was neglected. This present study revealed that, among the various determinants encountered, entertainment and enjoyment were the most crucial in shaping consumers’ perceptions of the virtual tourism platform. Hence, publishing appealing promotional information about the destination is crucial in enhancing tourists’ perceived aesthetics, entertainment, and enjoyment during the pre-trip process [18].

This study also found that tourists’ virtual attachment and sense of presence that were formed during the pre-trip process significantly influenced their appraisal of the consistency between online information and the onsite tourism experience. Specifically, this study confirmed that tourists’ virtual attachment significantly influences information consistency, and the sense of presence exerts a positive influence on image consistency. Regarding previous studies, the sense of presence and virtual attachment were widely acknowledged as the core determinants in predicting consumers’ attitudes and actual behaviour [11,12,56]. However, no study has revealed the potential relationship between these two constructs and tourists’ appraisal of online and offline tourism-related information cues. Hence, the results suggest that, as well as maintaining the high quality of the virtual tourism platform, ensuring a satisfactory offline tourism experience is important for the sustainable development of local destinations. Furthermore, the results contribute to our understanding of online–offline consistency in the context of sustainable destination management.

Furthermore, this study empirically verified that both information and image consistency significantly contribute to consumers’ place attachment. In previous studies, place attachment was found to be clearly influenced by the destination image [102] and the destination’s local service attributes [15,23,25]. However, considering tourists’ strong reliance on social media, no studies have highlighted the importance of consumers’ perceptions of online–offline consistency in shaping place attachment. Furthermore, although Usakli et al. (2022) suggested that both tourists’ self-congruity and functional congruity significantly contribute to destination attachment [103], the consistency between the online information that is provided on the virtual tourism platform and the actual tourism experience remains an underexplored area. Thus, this study’s results enhance our understanding of the determinants of place attachment, and the consistency between the online promotional information and the tourist’s actual experience is suggested as a crucial factor in achieving sustainable destination development.

5.2. Theoretical Contributions

Given the rapid development of virtual reality technologies in the tourism sector [10], previous studies have already highlighted its potential impact on travel intentions [48,104], satisfaction [82], and subjective wellbeing [44]. However, few studies have identified the impact of VR technology on tourists’ perceptions and behaviours at different stages of tourism activity. Thus, this study contributes to the current literature by revealing the impact of VR technology on tourists’ perceptions and behaviours at the pre-travel, onsite, and post-travel stages.

In a previous study [7], it was stated that the virtual environment, which was characterised by technological issues and human–computer interactions, was a crucial determinant of consumers’ psychological immersion, as well as their telepresence within the destination. Several studies have already shown that information vividness [48], authentic experiences [19], and sensory stimulation [105] are significant components of consumers’ perceptions of a virtual environment. However, tourists’ perceived aesthetics, which has already been confirmed to be an important element in both real tourism experiences [106] and online experiences [107], has been largely overlooked in the context of virtual tourism. Thus, this study contributes to the current literature by confirming that virtual aesthetics and entertainment and enjoyment are crucial components of travellers’ interactional experiences with virtual tourism platforms during the pre-travel stage. In addition, both factors are highlighted as significant determinants of travellers’ virtual attachment and sense of presence.

This study also identified the significant relationship between consumers’ virtual experiences during the pre-trip stage and their onsite travel experiences. Drawing upon cue consistency and place attachment theory, this study first discovered that consumers’ perceived consistency between the online and actual tourism experiences significantly influences the formation of place attachment. More specifically, this study found that tourists’ virtual attachment significantly influenced information consistency, and tourists’ sense of presence significantly contributed to image consistency. In addition, both information and image consistency were proven to significantly influence place attachment. Regarding the increasing importance of virtual technologies in destination promotion, these findings imply that maintaining consistency between the virtual experience and the onsite experience is crucial for sustainable destination management.

Finally, this study contributes to the current literature by empirically proving the serial mediation effect among sensory information, consistency between the virtual tourism experience and onsite travel experience, and the place attachment that is formed during the post-travel stage. Regarding the absence of theoretical insights into the impact of virtual reality technologies on different stages of tourism activity, this study revealed that sensory information from both the online platform and the onsite experience is crucial in shaping tourists’ place attachment in the post-travel stage. Regarding previous studies, place attachment has been widely acknowledged as one of the ultimate goals of sustainable destination management, as it leads to economic growth [108], as well as destination competitiveness [109]. Thus, the results of this study may provide valuable theoretical insights for future studies that consider the relationship between emerging virtual technologies and sustainable destination management.

5.3. Practical Contributions

Several practical implications are highlighted for both virtual tourism platform designers and local DMOs. Firstly, this study suggests that designers should pay attention to the visual aesthetics, as well as the entertainment elements, of the virtual tourism platform, as both of these positively contribute to consumers’ virtual attachment, as well as their sense of presence. Although the aesthetic assessment has been found to be subjective and industry-dependent [110], online photos that are sharp, clear, and vivid have been suggested as effective materials that contribute to consumers’ sensory information [18,111].

This study’s findings also imply that cooperation between online virtual tourism platform designers and local DMOs is crucial in creating consumer attachment. According to the abovementioned results, tourists’ perceived consistency between online information and the onsite trip experience significantly influences their formation of place attachment. Thus, the establishment of effective local governance polices is suggested as an approach to affirm the online–offline consistency, which contributes to sustainable destination development [16].

With regard to local DMOs, this study confirms that effective virtual tourism platforms are becoming increasingly important in creating tourists’ place attachment within the highly competitive tourism market. Owing to the significant serial mediation relationship between sensory information of virtual tourism platforms and consumers’ place attachment, this study’s findings suggest that implementing multi-sensory stimuli such as vivid visual and audio content is crucial for generating positive emotions in consumers, which may ultimately contribute to their place attachment [112]. In addition, DMOs should implement their unique local attractions on the virtual tourism platform to enhance tourists’ spatial presence during the virtual tourism activities [12]. Recalling Pencarelli’s study (2020) [113], technological innovation has been indicated as an effective approach to achieve a competitive advantage in the tourism industry. Thus, incorporating advanced technologies such as the Metaverse to enhance tourists’ sensory perceptions during the virtual tourism process is a possible approach to achieve sustainable destination management [114].

5.4. Limitations and Future Research Directions

Several limitations of this work should be acknowledged. Firstly, the survey data for this study were exclusively collected from respondents from Mainland China. Thus, the findings cannot be generalised to other locations, where we also intend to measure the impact of virtual technology on tourists’ place attachment. Future studies are strongly encouraged to recruit multinational respondents in order to re-examine the relationship between virtual technology and place attachment. In addition, comparative studies are also encouraged by selecting more virtual tourism platforms from other DMOs to further examine the impact of immersive technology on place attachment formation. Secondly, integrating technological experiments [14] to collect research data via a mixed-methods approach is also suggested, in order to enhance the validity of the results. Finally, a virtual tourism platform based on web technologies was chosen as the research object, and consumers’ sensory perceptions of the virtual platform were also measured in the web context. However, owing to the proliferation of emerging technologies, Metaverse applications have also been established by several tourism organisations in order to provide more realistic virtual experiences to potential tourists. Thus, future studies are also encouraged to examine the impact of Metaverse applications on tourists’ attachment and behavioural intentions regarding tourism destinations.