An investigation of the influence of virtual reality on tourists’ pro-environmental behaviour

ORCID

Abstract

This thesis explores the influence of virtual reality (VR) on tourists’ pro-environmental behaviour (TPEB) within tourism and hospitality. While VR is gaining popularity as a marketing and educational tool, its potential to shape sustainable tourist behaviour remains under-researched. This study addresses that gap by examining how VR can support and enhance TPEB through an investigation of its current uses (RO1), perceptions (RO2), barriers to adoption (RO3), and future opportunities (RO4). A multi-staged qualitative research design was adopted, combining qualitative and computational approaches. Data collection was carried out in two phases: in the first phase, 31 tourism managers were interviewed to explore practical insights, and in the second phase, five experts from tourism and academia were interviewed to validate and refine the findings. The analysis was conducted in four stages (i) Thematic Analysis, (ii) TISM, (iii) MICMAC Analysis, and (iv) a Machine Learning–based Systematic Literature Review (ML-SLR) using BERTopic. The empirical findings revealed a total of 39 themes across the four research objectives, seven for RO1 (current uses of VR), eight for RO2 (perceptions of VR), ten for RO3 (barriers to VR adoption), and fourteen for RO4 (opportunities of VR to promote TPEB). In parallel, the machine learning–based systematic literature review (ML-SLR) identified 27 themes, six for RO1, seven for RO2, six for RO3, and eight for RO4, providing a theoretical foundation that complemented and validated the empirical results. Theoretically, the study proposes VR as a destination choice process across the tourist journey—before, during, and after the trip. TISM and MICMAC helped uncover the interrelationships among behavioural, technological, and organisational factors. Methodologically, the research contributes by integrating thematic analysis with structured modelling tools. Practically, it offers actionable guidance for tourism operators, VR developers, and policymakers to design emotionally engaging and educational interventions that promote sustainability. This research concludes that VR, when used strategically, can help convert environmental awareness into meaningful behavioural change, offering both conceptual and practical value for sustainable tourism.

Awarding Institution(s)

University of Plymouth

Supervisor

Sheela Agarwal, Hanne Knight

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Date

2026

Embargo Period

2027-04-07

Deposit Date

April 2026

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

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This item is under embargo until 07 April 2027

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