Barriers to Virtual Reality in Tourism Adoption among Chinese Elderly People: The Moderating Role of Personal Innovativeness

The VR tourism industry has a significant impact on the well-being of the elderly, and aging has become a pressing concern.This study aimed to investigate the factors influencing non-adoption intention to VR tourism among Chinese elderly people.The conceptual framework was established based on IRT theory. The relationships among various variables of usage barrier, perceived price, lack of trust, image barrier, perceived health risk, and resistance, non-adoption intention, and personal innovativeness were examined.The data were collected through online survey questionnaire. The population was the elderly aged 55 and above in China. A total of 465 participants involved in the survey.The statistical technique used in this study was partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), which was performed using Smart-PLS 4.0.The results revealed that usage barrier, perceived price, lack of trust, image barrier, perceived health risk positively influenced resistance to using VR for tourism, which, in turn, positively influenced the non-adoption intention to using VR for tourism , Additionally, personal innovativeness moderated the association between resistance and non-adoption intention to using VR for tourism. This study contributes to VR tourism analyzing IRT theory among Chinese elderly people.This study’s findings provided guidance for the government, relevant tourism enterprises, and VR suppliers.