Virtual reality can influence consumer behavior in powerful ways, but in the domain of tourism marketing, less is known about the psychological process. One possibility is that VR has stronger impact on mental imagery than traditional channels, creating vivid simulations of what it would be like to visit destinations. This process might create hedonic expectations of future happiness, which should increase the willingness to actually seek out the destination in real life. The results from a laboratory experiment provided support to this hypothesis. Participants were randomly assigned to view a nature destination either in traditional still images or virtual reality, and then reported their initial responses before making an actual consumer choice. VR exposure led to higher levels of mental imagery and happiness predictions, which in turn was associated with stronger travel intentions and purchasing decisions. However, VR effects on consumer choice were moderated by previous experience with the destination.

虚拟现实可以以强有力的方式影响消费者行为，但在旅游营销领域，人们对心理过程知之甚少。一种可能性是，与传统渠道相比，VR 对心理意象的影响更大，可以生动地模拟访问目的地的情况。这个过程可能会产生对未来幸福的享乐期望，这应该会增加在现实生活中实际寻找目的地的意愿。实验室实验的结果为这一假设提供了支持。参与者被随机分配以传统静止图像或虚拟现实观看自然目的地，然后在做出实际消费者选择之前报告他们的初步反应。VR 曝光导致更高水平的心理意象和幸福预测，这反过来又与更强烈的旅行意图和购买决定有关。然而，VR 对消费者选择的影响受到之前对目的地的体验的影响。