Virtual Reality and Wine Tourism: An Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) experiences can be utilized as differentiating promotional tools to increase immersion and illicit emotions for the purpose of impacting the development of wine tourism and wine sales. Wine tourism is a continuously growing industry that plays an important role in the development of rural areas. However, wine regions, such as the Riverland wine region in South Australia, face difficulties in differentiating themselves and motivating tourists to visit. For the purpose of this study, a Riverland wine region VR experience was created to showcase what the region has to offer with the goal of promoting national and international tourism (particularly from China and the USA). This study explores the role of a VR experience on behavioral outcomes such as desire to visit the region as well as desire to purchase products produced in the region (such as wine). Moreover, it explores elements of a VR experience that play a role in influencing perceptions of immersion as well as behavioral outcomes. Focus groups were conducted in both USA (4 focus groups) and China (4 focus groups) in order to explore factors that play a role in the creation of a VR experience that can positively influence behavioral outcomes in a tourism context. A second quantitative stage was also conducted in Australia. Data was analyzed using Leximancer (qualitative data) and SPSS (quantitative data). Sensory engagement, perceived quality of the VR experience, presence of an authority figure (such as a tour guide), perceptions of authenticity of the experience and perceived control within the experience were all found to play an important role in influencing perceptions of immersion in the VR experience as well as desire to visit and purchase products produced in the region. The outcomes of the study indicate that virtual reality is a successful new approach in influencing tourism.