Description
Abstract
Travelers are actively seeking meaning in life (Wilson & Harris, 2006). They are becoming more aware of the positive effects bring by traveling, including escape the steady living environment of daily life (Khoo-Lattimore & Prayag, 2018) and even gaining a sense of power (Jordan & Gibson, 2005; Wilson & Little, 2008). The idea behind biophilia is that people depend on the natural world to preserve their well-being and health (Kellert & Calabrese, 2015). Travelers can explore more freely in nature and acquire greater tolerance for nature in order to develop personally (Yu & Gu, 2022).
According to Lehto et al. (2017), people in scenic locations with natural backgrounds can experience some feeling of restoration. Based on Attention Restoration Theory, travelers can immerse and engage in restorative travel to release mental tension and arouse pleasant emotions that called arousal (Lin & Hsieh, 2022; Oh et al., 2007). In addition, researches have demonstrated that the natural environment is closely related to green behavior. For example, biophilia would impact the green behaviors of tourists (Li et al., 2023) and tourists’ arousal could encourage ecologically friendly behavior (Russell & Ashkanasy, 2021). Studies have shown that biological design is beneficial to personal health, and people with health awareness pay attention to health (Hao & Chenyue, 2021) and are motivated to engage in health actions (Yadav & Pathak, 2016). Therefore, tourists with health consciousness will not only naturally restore energy by observing the natural environment, but also do so because of the related health benefits.
One of the most significant advances in visual technology in recent years is virtual reality (VR). This technology creates a virtual environment by simulating genuine scenes and immersing users in it (Manis & Choi, 2019). Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the influence of tourists’ arousal and restoration in a pro-natural virtual environment on pro-environmental behavior by using VR technology.
The first study objective is to further listen to the voices of tourists and understand how VR technology can trigger the psychological perception and restoration. Secondly, it adds supporting evidence of previous studies on the relationship between biophilia, arousal and restoration. Recovery help tourists develop sustainably (Kim et al., 2015), so the eco-tourism demonstrates a more sustainable future. In order to create a more humane environmental development and find out what the tourists can do with their characteristics, the third objective in this study is to better understand on how tourists interact with the environment.
To fill the gaps, this study explores the relationship between biophilia, arousal, restoration, health consciousness and pro-environment behavior and builds a theoretical model. Figure 1 depicts the research model where the corresponding hypotheses are proposed. The VR video about Guilin created by the blogger named 360 panoramic video technology and used in this study was from BiliBili, one of China’s most famous video websites (Figure 2).
In this empirical study, tourists would watch the VR video firstly and then use a questionnaire survey with testing conducted using a 7-point Likert scale. The questionnaire is broken down into six sections: biophilia (Lee, 2019; Mousapour, 2023), arousal (Shen et al., 2023), restoration (Wong et al., 2023), pro-environmental behavior (Lee et al., 2021), health consciousness (Nanu & Rahman, 2023) and socio-demographic questions about the respondents’ gender, age, education level, and economic situation. The study site for this research was Guilin in China where possessed the typical traits of eco-tourism, and a convenience sample approach was used to guarantee the accuracy of the research findings.
Based on the research design, 453 visitors in Guilin provided valid data using a questionnaire survey which examined from December 1, 2023 to January 15, 2024. Smart-PLS software was utilized to further examine the path association of variables. The results showed that biophilia positively affected arousal, restoration, and pro-environment behavior. Arousal also positively affected the restoration of tourists. Tourists with a high level of health consciousness were more likely to promote the relationship between biophilia, restoration and pro-environment behavior.
This research advances the development of knowledge regarding the pro-environment behavior of tourists and improves the field of study concerning biophilia, arousal, and restoration, health consciousness as well as pro-environmental behavior from the viewpoint of VR technology. In addition, this research can offer a direction for eco-tourism destinations looking to enhance their environmental design and marketing tactics, with the goal of drawing in more travelers and offering them superior experiences and services. Lastly, this study offers empirical evidence supporting the influence of VR technology on pro-environment behavior that is a fresh perspective on the subject of environmentally conscious travel.
Figure 1. Research model
Figure 2. Screenshots of VR material of Guilin
Source. Video (VR material): https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1uh411277R/?share_source=copy_web&vd_source=5cfeb909f2a39938459efc4d7b236da2.
Note. Due to space limitations, only one plots (picture) in the VR video of Guilin is shown here.
Keywords: VR technology; biophilia; arousal; restoration; pro-environmental behavior
Reference
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