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Introduction
Advanced digital technologies accelerate business development (Ardolino et al. 2018). Suh and Prophet (2018) reported that immersive technologies, such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), have become increasingly important for innovative marketing strategies across various sectors, and the utilization of innovative technologies in the tourism industry is seen as a natural step towards seeking breakthroughs (Fan et al. 2022). The usage of immersive technologies in tourism are regarded as a practical approach for sustainable development (Buhalis et al. 2023), and tourism corporations actively participate in constructing digital development to promote tourism competitiveness and performance due to the recession in the last several years caused by COVID-19 (Lu et al. 2022), with the express intentions of improving destination revenue by virtual tourism (Manchanda and Deb 2021), indicating improved economic sustainability (Jiang and Phoong 2023). It was also found that an increasing number of travelers are concerned about the potential benefits of immersive tourism products, which can eliminate environmental damage caused by on-site tourism and maintain sustainability. Talwar et al. (2022) pointed out that virtual tourism is a unique experience that can stimulate tourists’ actual behavior for better satisfaction and is an active opportunity for environmental sustainability (Scurati et al. 2021). In the COVID-19 era defined by traveling restrictions, virtual tourism can be a viable alternative for fulfilling economic, social, and environmental sustainability (El-Said and Aziz 2021). Zhang et al. (2022) reported that museums using virtual technologies received positive emotional feedback from tourists during COVID-19. Some museums are utilizing AR to promote cultural information and enhancing experience marketing (Zhu and Wang 2022). Additionally, from the perspective of customer behavior research, immersive technologies can increase visitor perception (Han et al. 2019), strengthen the sense of authenticity (Atzeni et al. 2022a), and promote the satisfaction of the experience (Trunfio et al. 2018; Trunfio et al. 2022), alongside promoting social sustainability. One of the advantages of cultural heritage tourism is that it improves understanding and appreciation of culture, offering people social welfare, which is one of the criteria for social sustainability (Vallance et al. 2011). Researchers seek to enhance tourists’ satisfaction with sustainable practices using new technologies (Talwar et al. 2022). Although there is some research on the relationship between immersive technologies and environmental and economic sustainability,...