Exploring the potential of virtual tourism as tourism substitute for people under travel constraints

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To overcome the tremendous impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism industry, new technologies, such as virtual tourism experiences, are being investigated. This study analyzed the interrelationship between virtual and onsite tourism in the context of museum visits to provide implications for virtual tourism development in the post-pandemic era. The study examined people’s simultaneous choices between virtual and onsite tourism using a bivariate dichotomous logit model. Results suggest that cross-category factors significantly influence both virtual and onsite tourism intention. Furthermore, we confirmed a positive correlation between virtual and onsite tourism intention. The results suggest that the interrelation between virtual and onsite tourism is complementary rather than a substitute. Implications were derived for tourism destinations regarding how to develop virtual tourism as either a marketing tool or an alternative product.