The effects of Virtual Reality tourism involvement on place attachment and behavioral intentions: Virtual Reality tourism of the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan

The main purpose of this research was to explore the relationships among virtual reality tourism involvement (VRTI), place attachment, and behavioral intentions. Based on involvement theory, VRTI was defined as user experiences of the landscape and activities of tourist attractions in an immersive way beyond time and space with the help of virtual reality (VR) technology at home through the Internet. The VR panoramic video of the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China was the context, and 693 valid questionnaires were analyzed through AMOS 24.0. VRTI (pleasure, sign, and centrality) had significant positive effects on place attachment. Pleasure and sign had significant positive influences on behavioral intentions, while centrality had a significant negative effect. Place identity had a significant positive effect on behavioral intentions, whereas place dependence had no effect. Place dependence had a partial mediating effect between pleasure, centrality, and behavioral intentions, as well as a complete mediating effect between sign and behavioral intentions. Place identity played a partial mediating role between pleasure, centrality, and sign and behavioral intentions. VRTI explores the three-way interaction of "virtual tourism destinations - tourists - real tourism destinations", a novel human-place relationship of emotional attachment. This study expands the research on place attachment and tourist behavioral decisions, enriches the contents by applying involvement theory, proposes management strategies for VR tourism development, and provides new insights for destination marketing