There are numerous arguments regarding the attitudes of different tourists and scenic destination managers regarding virtual tourism. However, it remains difficult to understand the public's attitude towards virtual tourism in a crisis situation. In this way, under the influence of COVID-19, this study explores the public sentiment and drivers of virtual tourism using Python and the grounded theory method. The results reveal that tourists' positive sentiment in virtual tourism dominates, with few tourists showing negative or neutral sentiment polarity. Furthermore, there is an obvious law of time decay in the intensity of public sentiment. Especially as the crisis fades, the supplementary effect of virtual tourism on on-site tourism weakens. Moreover, project design, experience quality, travel convenience, travel cost, travel motivation and destination attractiveness are the critical factors affecting tourist sentiment. The findings provide implications for the sustainable development of both destination and virtual tourism in a new world order post-COVID-19.

关于不同游客和景区管理人员对虚拟旅游的态度，存在许多争论。然而，在危机情况下，公众对虚拟旅游的态度仍然难以理解。这样，本研究在 COVID-19 的影响下，使用 Python 和扎根理论方法探索虚拟旅游的公众情绪和驱动因素。结果表明，游客在虚拟旅游中的积极情绪占主导地位，很少有游客表现出消极或中性的情绪极性。此外，舆情强度存在明显的时间衰减规律。特别是随着危机的消退，虚拟旅游对现场旅游的补充作用减弱。此外，项目设计、体验质量、出行便利、出行成本、旅游动机和目的地吸引力是影响旅游情绪的关键因素。这些发现为 COVID-19 后新世界秩序中目的地和虚拟旅游的可持续发展提供了启示。