虚拟现实对旅游预订意向的影响

段忠诚

摘   要：本研究在對现有文献梳理基础上探讨了VR 运用对旅行预定意愿的影响，在建立理论框架模型基础上，提出了有用性，娱乐性，复杂性，风险和流程经验对旅行预订意图的影响的假设，采用问卷调查方法进行实证检验。本研究共收集436有效样本，然后使用SPSS 21验证假设。结果证实了VR显示增强了VR服务的行为并转发了预定的预订，虚拟服务体验对流量体验和旅行预订意图有直接的积极影响，表明客户的虚拟服务体验将会增长。此外，客户的行为很愿意预订VR体验服务的意图。

关键词：虚拟现实，旅行预订意图，预约，游客体验

The Effect of Virtual Reality to Travel

Booking Intention

Doan Trung Thanh

（Beijing International Studies University，Beijing 100024）

Abstract：This study examines the affect of VR in travel booking intention. The study focuses on  flow experience of customer uses VR on travel booking intention. Data is collected from 436 valid customers via a survey questionnaire， and after that SPSS 21 is used to verify hypotheses. I tested the effects of usefulness， enjoyment， complexity， risk and flow experience to travel booking intention. The result confirm that the VR displays enhanced the behavior of  VR service and forward to intend booking. Virtual service experience had a direct positive effect on flow experience and travel booking intention suggesting that virtual service experience of customers will grow. Moreover， behavior of customer is high willingness to booking intention for VR experience service.

Keywords：Virtual reality， Travel booking intention， Booking， Tourist experience.

1- Introduction

1.1.Research Background

1.1.1.Virtual reality has been a vital study area in travel booking

Modern tourists they are watching videos and images of the destination online （Pankaj Vishwakar et al.， 2020）. Virtual reality technology uses in agency tour as allowing guests to discover places so guests explore the look and feel each part of destination. The websites of tour agencies are used to promote their products and services also attract more and more customers booking tour online. Virtual reality （VR） is the use of computer technology to create a simulated environment （Joe Bardi， 2019）. A virtual world is created that viewers can enter and walk through and where they can handle  virtual objects. Through personal feeling of tourists about destination to  make the best solution for travel booking. （Sandra M.C.L.， et al.， 2020） customers have a virtual experience without physically being in the destination. The core of VR is what customer  see and hear are totally the same as what customer feel in reality （ Xiao Yu， 2011）.

1.1.2.Increasing virtual reality technology application in travel industry

VR has the potential to impact the tourism industry （Pankaj Vishwankarma et al.， 2020）. VR has potential benefits in tourism （Ryan Yung et al.， 2020）. VR provides an opportunity to customer experience destinations beforehand （Myung Ja Kim et al.， 2020）. Covid-19 virus spread out in the world， tourists wonder where  we go， what we do， just stay at home. VR experiences motivate customer to renew or extend customer’s stay in the place （Sarah Hudson et al.， 2019）. VR technology is still at its infancy （ Leung et al.， 2019）.

1.2. Research contribution

1.2.1 Theoretical contribution

First， this study indicates that VR has a positive effect to customer on travel booking intention. A tour company is big tour company or even though small one but if they know who their competition is and how their products， services and they have good marketing strategies to keep them survival and success tour company. Second， this contribution statement to VR have the power to become different consumer behaviour and intend to book tour. Third， VR setting are significant forecast of customer to travel booking intention. This study tests risk and complexity to the VR. Increasing complexity and risk of VR services or VR products， it can bring unsafe vulnerableness for tour companies. Thus VR hospitality developers will design VR is nicer.

1.2.2 Practical contribution

This study focused on VR experience and customers immerge and toward to behavior to make decision on their plan. It purposed at contributing to the literature by underseeking how VR technology experience may positively impact customer （1） feeling of immersive customer using VR; （2） attitude toward to the services are shown in VR; （3） attitude toward to travel booking intention. This paper may suggest to VR tourism providers to enhance VR quality， improve flow experience of customer in VR services.

2- Literature Reviews

2.1. Influences of technology in Customer buying experiences

VR is used in military， sport， mental health， medical training， fashion and education. Customers need amount of information before they make decisions.  And find where they will stay， hotels were present on social media （Veríssimo et al.， 2015） such as Facebook， Twitter， Flick， Trip advisor， Blogger， Website， Linked in and Youtube to enhance customer experiences in hospitality industry. Virtual reality is a medium， a means by which humans can share ideas and experiences （Alan B et al.， 2009）.

2.2. Influences of technology in tourism experiences

Customer’s behavior in VR technology  is the same in the real world （ Michael Siegrist et al.， 2019）. VR is very useful for simulating VR in travel booking. （Yvonne Matthews et al.， 2017 ） virtual environment should think about seriously in non-market and landscape. Network technology will further allow customer to become more associated and more related to each other （Amir et al.， 2014）. Travel 2.0 website provides information for travelers to make trip decision more easily （Alev Elci et al.， 2017）.  Mobile devices （tablets） or smartphones used to make booing online reservation （Rozalia Veronica Rus & Adina Letitia Negrusa， 2014）.

2.3. Factors affecting travel booking intention.

2.3.1. Perceived usefulness

PU directly have an effect on both attitude and behavioral intention （Joseph Bradley， 2009）. Customer perceives VR technology to travel booking  to be useful for their experiences and raise up their performance. H1（+） . The perceived usefulness has a positive relationship with flow experience to use VR technology.

2.3.2. Perceived enjoyment

Perceived enjoyment that is important antecedents for the adoption of VR technology in travel booking （Astrid Dickinger et al.， 2007）. Enjoyment of the customer experience is significant and independent of the environment （Jennifer Brade et al.， 2017）. Customer feel happy or satisfied when they use VR technology that something they like. H2（+）. Perceived enjoyment has a positive relationship with flow experience to use VR in  travel booking intention.

2.3.3. Perceived complexity

Perceived complexity concepts that is useful to articulate of  VR technology， perceived complexity concepts is very useful to figure out what potentially guide design of VR travel booking （Guy A. Boy. 2007）. Potential customer and customer struggle when they want to have a VR experience. H3（-）. Perceived complexity has a negative relationship with flow experience to use VR technology in travel booking intention.

2.3.4. Perceived risk |

（Alexander Schnack et al.， 2019） shoppers perceive risk was joined with the choice. They frighten to lose control and receive risk during use VR technology. Customer and potential customer are too afraid to try new experiences. H4（-）. Perceived risk has a negative relationship with flow experience to use VR in travel booking intention.

2.3.5. Flow experience

（Sang Min Ko and Yong Gu Ji， 2018） showed that flow experience depended on the experimental condition. In terms of game， flow experience computes quality of a playing experience （Kristian Kiili et al.， 2015）. Tourists are fully immersed in felling happy and having beneficial use in VR experience. H5（+）. Flow experience has a positive relationship with booking intention to use VR.

2.3.6.  VR on Booking intention

Customers were not conscious of the high speed they moved in the virtual reality （Jennifer Brade et al.， 2017）. VR has sure emotions toward the destination （Tom Griffin et al.， 2017）.  VR technology will impress customers in their experience to affect behavioral intention. They are guided by behavioral intention and flow experience. Therefore VR condition is a useful tool to booking decision. （Timothy Jung et al.， 2016） experience economy in VR of customer to intend to revisit visitor attraction. Customers will set their intentions allow their to focus on raising their emotion.

2.4. Comments on literature

VR on travel booking intentions has not been analyzed in detail， especially lack empirical tests. Virtual reality will attract large amount of visitors on  tours and later on they will be travel agency’s guest. VR effects on brand attitudes are strong （Leung et al.， 2019）. Findings on how VR affects customers to change their behaviour on travel booking intention and to help tour companies better connect with their consumers. In terms of ad recognition， ad attitude， brand attitude， and purchase intention， destination VR advertising effects than traditional video （Leung et al.， 2019）. How VR advertising when customer tend to use VR to look for number of different destinations have not been investigated.

3 -Methodology

This study used a online survey for collecting data. Data was collected by use of questionnaires in group of students （Chinese and foreigners）， residents and foreigners live in China and people outside of China. The survey contained 27 questions. The survey started from November 27， 2020 to December 6， 2020. A total of 505 samples were received， after removing the invalid questionnaires which contained errors or were incomplete， it remained 436 valid samples to analyze.

4 -Data analysis

4.1. The main effect test

Usefulness positive impact flow experience （β=0.306， p<0.001）， assuming  H1a holds; enjoyment positively affects flow experience （β =0.426， p<0.01）. assuming H2a holds; complexity negatively affects flow experience. The effect is not significant （β=-0.037， p=0.403）， assuming H3a is not valid; the negative effect of risk on flow experience is not significant （β=0.001， p=0.436）， assuming H4a is not valid.

Usefulness positively affects booking intention （β=0.218， p<0.001）， assuming H1b holds; enjoyment positively affects booking intention （β=0.497， p<0.001）， assuming H2b holds; complexity negatively affects booking intention. The effect is not significant （β=-0.059， p=0.173）， assuming H3b is not valid; the negative effect of risk on booking intention is not significant （β=-0.033， p=0.436）， assuming H4b is not valid. Flow experience positively affects booking intention （β=0.549， p<0.001）， assuming H5 holds.

4.2. The mediation effect test of flow experience

The test results show that： （1） The mediating effect of flow experience between usefulness and booking intention： The point estimate of its indirect effect is 0.2387， SE is 0.0366， and the CI interval is [0.1683， 0.3116]. This result shows that Bootstrapping constructs the 95% confidence interval of the indirect effect does not contain zero， indicating that empathy plays a positive mediating role between the usefulness of the independent variable. （2）The mediating effect of flow experience between enjoyment and booking intention： The point estimate of its indirect effect is 0.1929， SE is 0.0333， and the CI interval is [0.1314， 0.2628]. This results show that the indirect effect of Bootstrapping structure is 95% the confidence interval of does not contain zero， indicating that the flow experience plays a positive mediating role between the independent variable enjoyment and the dependent variable’s booking intention. （3） The mediating effect of flow experience between complexity and booking intention： The point estimate of its indirect effect is 0.031， SE is 0.0302， and the CI interval is [-0.0269， 0.0929]. This result shows the indirect effect of Bootstrapping structure 95% the confidence interval contains zero， indicating that the flow experience does not have a negative mediating effect between the complexity of the independent variable and the booking intention in the dependent variable. （4） The mediating effect of flow experience between risk and booking intention： The point estimate of its indirect effect is -0.017， SE is 0.0269， and the CI interval is [-0.071， 0.0354]. This result shows the indirect effect of Bootstrapping structure. The 95% confidence interval contain zero， indicating that the flow experience cannot be a negative mediator between the independent variable risk and the dependent variable’s booking intention.

5 -Conclusion and Discussion

5.1. Conclusion

First， the results display the affects of perceived usefulness， perceived enjoyment which are significant role in foretelling customer will use VR for travel booking intention.  This study found positive relationship between usefulness and enjoyment with flow experience and booking intention of using VR. The result of Table 4-8 showed that which enjoyment and usefulness perceived in the VR travel booking intention are significantly. I conclude that VR is significantly to travel booking intention. Second， the results betoken that perceived usefulness， perceived enjoyment are two relevant antecedents step by step to form a flow experience in the direction of  intention to book travelling， in contrast flow experience， perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment have significant effects on customer intention to book travelling.

5.2. Discussion|

5.2.1. Theoretical implication

First， this research illustrates that perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment as step by step to flow experience which in turn forecast customer booking intention on travelling.  Virtual environment effects negatively perceived hedonic but the hedonic quality is not reduced （Jennifer Brade et al.， 2017）.  Second， the usefulness and enjoyment are important factors of the VR in travel booking intention. Otherwise， tourists perceived risk and complexity in VR tourism will be reduced by familiarizing tourists with unfamiliar places （ Lee & Oh， 2007）. VR devices have grown importantly purchase intention （Jesus Martinez-Navarro et al.， 2019）. Third， the list of measures of enjoyment， usefulness， flow experience guide that they are accepted that this list can be used to check affect to booking intention in hospitality and tourism. Fourth， my demographic result illustrates 70.9 % female to men ratio. It could be as female are interest in learning VR technology. In earlier study （Kristian Kiili et al.， 2015） found gender play in quality measurement game is independent with flow experience. 91.3% of my respondents were undergraduate， graduate and above. It can be considered as a focal point of knowledge which makes a large contribution to tourism and hospitality industry.

5.2.2. Practical management implication

First， the customer perceived usefulness， perceived enjoyment and flow experience before booking intention discovers that a level of perceived usefulness， perceive enjoyment and flow experience were joined with travel booking intention， in spite of there being no perceived complexity and perceived risk joined with purchasing intention in travelling. Usefulness， enjoyment and flow experience of emotional customer will be pushed by VR tourism developers.  Second， the results of this study have connected practical implication for marketing practitioners.  Third， people and companies who provide services to customers， they may encourage fun， pleasurable of VR tourism to increase. Customers try before booking， they have an experience and it will reduce their mistake during real traveling.

5.3. Limitations and further study

First， the samples are not equally distributed. Respondents were almost students and under 35 years old， therefore， young people willing to learn VR application in travel booking but behavior of different customers about age to use VR it should study for future research. Respondents were students and may not generalize to the entire population of hotel guests， resort guests， restaurant guests， tourists，etc. So future research should study different sample， such as tourist， hotel guest， resort guest tend to use VR on tourism industry.  Moreover， the study use a survey questionnaire online so the validity and suitability of respondents maybe problematic. It should do interview in a group after participants use VR in a VR room. Second， this study lacks of compare between ordinary travel booking intention with VR travel booking intention， therefore in the  future research should do relationship between some affects to ordinary travel booking intention with VR travel booking intention to find out which one is stronger influence of customer intend to make a final   purchase decision.

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