The Impact of Virtual Reality and Intelligent Virtual Environments on the Tourist Experience: The Moderating Effect of Cognitive Style

Abstract

Within the Experience Economy framework, this study analyzes how smart technologies impact the tourist experience of a pre-stay virtual tour and how the individual’s cognitive style moderates this relationship. A quasi-experimental design entails a single treatment variable—technology-type—with two levels: 1) virtual tour with virtual reality (VR) and 2) virtual tour with intelligent virtual environment (IVE), using a static virtual tour (featuring neither VR nor AI) as a control group. The results show that a) the virtual tour with VR or IVE exerts a positive and significant effect on the pre-stay tourist experience; b) the individual’s verbal–visual cognitive style exerts a positive and significant impact on the experience; and c) the effect of technology-type on the tourist experience is moderated by the individual’s cognitive style in the case of the virtual tour with VR. However, no such moderating effect occurs in the virtual tour with the IVE.