TY - JOUR
T1 - Comparing Virtual Reality Tourism to Real-Life Experience
T2 - Effects of Presence and Engagement on Attitude and Enjoyment
AU - Wagler, Adam
AU - Hanus, Michael D.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, © 2018 Eastern Communication Association.
PY - 2018/10/20
Y1 - 2018/10/20
N2 - With the advent of 360-degree video technology, Virtual reality (VR) headsets can take users to locations in the real world. Despite the increasing number of virtual tourism opportunities using digital VR technology, little research has assessed the effective realism of 360-degree video tourism. This study took users on a guided audio tour of a state Capitol building. Users either took the tour via two-dimensional (2-D) video, immersive 360-degree video using a VR headset, or physically went to the location and walked around the grounds. Users were measured on spatial presence, emotional engagement with the tour, sponsor liking, and tour outreach intentions. Results indicate that users in the two-dimensional viewing condition scored low on all measures relative to the other conditions but that individuals in the physically present and 360-degree video condition had no differences between them. This suggests that 360-degree video tourism may be a strong analogue to a real-world experience.
AB - With the advent of 360-degree video technology, Virtual reality (VR) headsets can take users to locations in the real world. Despite the increasing number of virtual tourism opportunities using digital VR technology, little research has assessed the effective realism of 360-degree video tourism. This study took users on a guided audio tour of a state Capitol building. Users either took the tour via two-dimensional (2-D) video, immersive 360-degree video using a VR headset, or physically went to the location and walked around the grounds. Users were measured on spatial presence, emotional engagement with the tour, sponsor liking, and tour outreach intentions. Results indicate that users in the two-dimensional viewing condition scored low on all measures relative to the other conditions but that individuals in the physically present and 360-degree video condition had no differences between them. This suggests that 360-degree video tourism may be a strong analogue to a real-world experience.
KW - Presence
KW - Virtual Reality
KW - Virtual Tourism
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85054473534&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85054473534&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/08824096.2018.1525350
DO - 10.1080/08824096.2018.1525350
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85054473534
SN - 0882-4096
VL - 35
SP - 456
EP - 464
JO - Communication Research Reports
JF - Communication Research Reports
IS - 5
ER -