The Tourist Experience and the Use of Virtual Reality in Destination Marketing

Today, physical and virtual spaces are increasingly intertwined, transforming how tourists perceive, interact with and ultimately choose their travel destinations. This evolution significantly influences tourist behaviour across all stages of the customer journey. Virtual reality emerges as a powerful tool in an experiential destination’s marketing, offering immersive pre-visit experiences that allow potential tourists to explore a destination’s atmosphere and anticipate emotional responses before arrival. By integrating VR into marketing strategies, destinations can influence both the information search and decision-making phases of the tourist journey, effectively bridging the gap between real and virtual perceptions. This chapter explores how virtual reality can enhance the tourist experience by serving as a strategic instrument in destination marketing. To achieve this, a non-systematic literature review was conducted. This method allowed a flexible yet objective and rigorous analysis of existing research on key topics including tourist experience, the tourist customer journey, virtual reality and virtual experiential marketing. The chapter proposes a holistic model integrating virtual reality into the tourist experience and customer journey. Based on the findings, the chapter offers informed recommendations for tourism marketers and stakeholders seeking to leverage immersive technologies to better engage with prospective travellers and enrich their overall experience.