Is Tourism in a State of Disruption or Transformation? A Qualitative Inquiry into Perceptions of Online Tour Experiences

Virtual tourism has attracted attention in this challenging time. Although researchers have argued its capacity, scant literature on meaningful and authentic experiences in virtual tourism is currently available. This research examines the questions of whether online tours offer an authentic experience and how people experience authenticity during an online tour. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 online tour participants. Overall, the respondents perceived their experiences positively and recognized the benefits that a virtual environment had offered. The respondents perceived the online tours as substitutes for real tours, pre-visit experiences, a new genre of travel, or an alternative form of entertainment. As these findings illustrate, online tours have the potential to help the tourism industry not only recover from the disruption but also to serve as an alternative form of entertainment or way to advance the tourism experience for people with diverse demands and needs