Adoption of virtual tours for tourism promotion in Tegal Regency: a technology acceptance model analysis

Abstract

Tegal Regency has various tourist attractions that have the potential to be increased as a stimulus for the district's economy. So that this potential can have an optimal positive impact, the tourist destination should be promoted to the general public to increase tourism visits. This effort can be carried out by utilizing existing technological developments through virtual tour (VT), but their implementation requires careful consideration. This study explored how perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEU), attitude, behavioral intention (BI), and tourism promotion (TP) relate to each other within the context of virtual tourism. Data were collected from 126 participants via an an online survey developed using the technology acceptance model (TAM) framework. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method was employed for analyzing the data. The result revealed significant relationships between PU and ease of use, user attitudes (AT), and BIs. Furthermore, BI, PU, and PEU were all considerable predictors of TP. However, no significant relationship was found between user AT and BIs.