Investigating the role of multisensory virtual reality in inclusive tourism for travelers with mobility impairments

Abstract

Travelers with mobility impairments often face unique challenges in experiencing destinations compared to able-bodied travelers. Inclusive tourism offers a new perspective on understanding these travelers' needs and improving destination accessibility by providing facilities tailored to their requirements. The advancement of immersive technologies, such as multisensory virtual reality, can further enhance inclusivity at tourism destinations by offering technology-based solutions and improving existing tourism services. This study aims to identify the key challenges faced by travelers with mobility impairments and explore the role of multisensory virtual reality in enhancing current tourism practices to achieve inclusiveness at tourism destinations. For this purpose, researchers conducted focus group discussions with 28 respondents with mobility impairments. The findings reveal challenges at each stage of the tourism experience journey: heightened anticipation pre-travel, limited sensory experiences on-site, and physical and emotional fatigue post-travel. Consequently, this study suggests potential roles for multisensory virtual reality, including simulation-based travel planning before travel, a co-experience virtual platform on-site, and an interactive storytelling multisensory virtual platform post-travel. This research contributes to expanding the current Memorable Digital Tourism Experiences framework by incorporating an inclusive context into digital tourism experiences. Practically, the findings can guide tourism destinations and system developers in designing empathetic, accessible, and emotionally resonant multisensory virtual tourism experiences for travelers with mobility impairments.