VIRTUAL FRONT AND EDUCATIONAL IMPACT: VIRTUAL REALITY EFFECTS IN WAR TOURISM

Abstract

To better understand the factors influencing technological adoption and the benefits it offers for education, this study looks at the use of Virtual Reality (VR) in war tourism. To comprehend how social influence, effort expectations, performance expectancy, and facilitating conditions influence tourists’ educational benefits and ‘ intentions to use VR, this study utilises the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). Using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling, we investigated 495 survey responses. The study shows that the UTAUT factors have a strong influence on both behavioural intentions and the usefulness of educational services, especially those factors that emphasise social acceptance, ease of use, perceived value, and the need for infrastructure and support. It can be seen that the benefits significantly mediate UTAUT constructs and behavioural intentions to adopt VR. Therefore, travellers are more inclined to adopt and use virtual reality (VR) in war tourism if they perceive that it offers significant educational benefits. Implications for management include marketing promotion, user-friendly design, and the need to invest in quality VR educational content.