Virtual Tourism Experiences and Mental Restoration

Gabby Walters*, Chelsea Gill, Le Diem Quynh Pham, Sebastian Filep

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)
605 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Virtual reality is providing new opportunities for health and well-being, organizational learning, and tourism management. The study reported in this paper aims to examine whether engaging in a virtual reality tourism experience could function as a restorative intervention strategy to enhance mental well-being of employees in the workplace. The study employed a lab-based pre–post experimental design to test the effectiveness of a virtual reality tourism experience, involving a nature-based marine setting, to enhance mental restoration and reduce mental fatigue. The results show that 3 minutes of a virtual tourism experience can lead to enhanced concentration while boosting the mental well-being of employees, while, at the same time, providing destinations with an opportunity to promote “real” experiences.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Hospitality and Tourism Research
Early online date31 Jul 2022
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 31 Jul 2022

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