Title of Paper

Exploring the Tourist Experience in Virtual Tourism

Author Bios (50 Words for each Author)

Hyunseo (Violet) Yoon is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Recreation, Sport, and Tourism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research interests are the tourist experience in the virtual environment and its relationship with the tourist experience in the physical world.

Carla A. Santos is a professor in the Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research focus is the examination of communicative practices as a means of addressing the socio-political and cultural impact of tourism on the world's people and cultures.

Abstract (150 Words)

Advanced technologies allowed us to experience destinations around the world without the physical act of traveling. Although some studies have researched virtual tourism, virtual tourism as a tourism activity has been rarely focused on. Many destinations adopted virtual tourism as an alternative, but it is not clear whether people perceive virtual tourism as an alternative. Thus, this research aims to explore the tourist experience in virtual tourism. A semi-structured interview was conducted after participants experienced virtual tourism in a laboratory. The study found that there is an absence of some stages of the tourist experience in virtual tourism, and this influences the quality of the experience. The tourist experience in virtual tourism was discussed according to existing knowledge about the tourist experience. This study suggested a future direction of virtual tourism.

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Exploring the Tourist Experience in Virtual Tourism

Advanced technologies allowed us to experience destinations around the world without the physical act of traveling. Although some studies have researched virtual tourism, virtual tourism as a tourism activity has been rarely focused on. Many destinations adopted virtual tourism as an alternative, but it is not clear whether people perceive virtual tourism as an alternative. Thus, this research aims to explore the tourist experience in virtual tourism. A semi-structured interview was conducted after participants experienced virtual tourism in a laboratory. The study found that there is an absence of some stages of the tourist experience in virtual tourism, and this influences the quality of the experience. The tourist experience in virtual tourism was discussed according to existing knowledge about the tourist experience. This study suggested a future direction of virtual tourism.