Proceedings of the 2025 3rd International Conference on Digital Economy and Management Science (CDEMS 2025)

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The Impact of Virtual Reality Technology on Purchase Intention of Gen-Z Customers in Online Travel Platforms: A Case Study of Chiang Mai Destination

Authors
Andrew Collien1, *, Wantana Areeprayolkij1, *
1Knowledge and Innovation Management Program, College of Arts, Media and Technology, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
*Corresponding author. Email: andrewcollien_a@cmu.ac.th
*Corresponding author. Email: wantana.a@cmu.ac.th
Corresponding Authors
Andrew Collien, Wantana Areeprayolkij
Available Online 26 June 2025.
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6463-770-0_20How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Virtual reality; Chiang Mai destination; Tourism; Online travel agent; Purchase intention; Gen-Z
Abstract

Although virtual reality (VR) technology has emerged over the past two decades, it has gained popularity and widespread use only in some industries, such as gaming. Meanwhile, the travel and tourism industry has high potential market value, yet there remains a growth gap for VR, particularly in the consumer-oriented design of digital platforms. This study explores the impact of VR technology on purchase intention, focusing on Gen-Z travelers through the simulation of main VR features that could be available in online travel platforms. The VR travel value model has been proposed, as well as the effects of VR technology presence on technology awareness, travel destination awareness, traveling intention, and ultimately, purchase intention have been investigated and analyzed in relationships by Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Chiang Mai, Thailand, was selected under the control condition as the unseen target of travel destinations. Participants were allowed to experience VR technology in the controlled experiment, which provided VR headsets to explore virtual sites; subsequently, they completed a structured questionnaire. The findings indicate that VR significantly attracts Gen-Z’s interest in technology-driven travel solutions, increases their familiarity with destinations, and enhances their willingness to visit and purchase travel packages. This study highlights the untapped potential of immersive technologies in travel platforms, particularly for expatriate and domestic travel plans. The implication provides actionable recommendations for destination owners and online travel agencies (OTAs) to engage tech-savvy young travelers effectively.

Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 2025 3rd International Conference on Digital Economy and Management Science (CDEMS 2025)
Series
Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research
Publication Date
26 June 2025
ISBN
978-94-6463-770-0
ISSN
2352-5428
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6463-770-0_20How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Andrew Collien
AU  - Wantana Areeprayolkij
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/06/26
TI  - The Impact of Virtual Reality Technology on Purchase Intention of Gen-Z Customers in Online Travel Platforms: A Case Study of Chiang Mai Destination
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 3rd International Conference on Digital Economy and Management Science (CDEMS 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 159
EP  - 168
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-770-0_20
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-770-0_20
ID  - Collien2025
ER  -