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Austria 360°: An Exploratory Study of User Experience on

Tourism Virtual Reality Application

Bachelor Thesis for Obtaining the Degree

Bachelor of Business Administration in

Tourism and Hospitality Management

Submitted to Daniel Leung

Dennis Pregesbauer

1311011

Vienna,17 June 2016

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Affidavit

I hereby affirm that this Bachelor’s Thesis represents my own written work and that I

have used no sources and aids other than those indicated. All passages quoted from

publications or paraphrased from these sources are properly cited and attributed.

The thesis was not submitted in the same or in a substantially similar version, not

even partially, to another examination board and was not published elsewhere.

Date Signature

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Abstract

This thesis was aimed at gaining an insight into the fast developing world of virtual

reality. As the technology we are using in our daily and professional lives are

changing so rapidly, it affects the operation and best practices in various industries

and particularly the tourism industry because the exploitation of virtual reality in the

tourism industry is constantly growing.

For this thesis, looking into the historical development of virtual reality as well as the

differences for the provider and user of this technology are key points. Moreover,

overseeing some case studies of big player in the tourism and hospitality industry

will also be included in this thesis. The empirical part of this thesis primarily purports

to tackle the question of "how users like and dislike the experience of Austria 360°?”

- the virtual reality app developed by the Austrian National Tourist Office (ANTO) for

triggering users’ travel inspiration.

To achieve this objective, the post-use survey responses collected by the ANTO at

the ITB 2016 were used. Using the methods of descriptive analysis, multiple

correspondence analysis and sentiment analysis, this study is excepted to provide

the ANTO with insights of users’ satisfaction with Austria 360°, difference in users’

perceptions and satisfaction with Austria 360° across gender, age group, nationality

and region. This study is also expected to help the ANTO in understanding what they

could and should improve their virtual reality app in terms of information quality,

system quality and user experience.

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Table of Contents

1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 7

1.1 History of Virtual Reality ....................................................................... 7

1.2 Virtual experience & Technology-enhanced experience (users’

perspective) ..................................................................................................... 8

1.3 Virtual experience & Technology-enhanced experience (providers’

perspective) ..................................................................................................... 9

1.4 Application of Virtual Reality in Tourism and Hospitality ...................... 11

1.5 The application of Austria 360° ............................................................ 13

1.6 Research question and Research objectives ......................................... 13

2 LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................... 14

2.1 Difference between Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality .................. 14

2.1 Industry cases of VR applications in Tourism and Hospitality ................ 15

2.1.1 Case 1: Hilton Hotels & Resorts .......................................................... 15

2.1.2 Case 2: Destination Canada ................................................................ 16

2.1.3 Case 3: Rock Tourism .......................................................................... 17

2.1.4 Case 4: Visit Albuquerque ................................................................... 19

2.1.5 Case 5: Future Outlook for Virtual Reality .......................................... 20

2.2 Introduction to TAM model ................................................................. 21

3 The virtual reality experience of Austria 360° ..................................... 22

4 Research methodology ...................................................................... 24

4.1.1 Presentation of Austria 360° ............................................................... 24

4.1.2 Data collection .................................................................................... 25

4.1.3 Data analysis ....................................................................................... 26

5 Research findings .............................................................................. 28

5.1 Descriptive analysis method ................................................................... 28

5.2 Multiple correspondence analysis .......................................................... 33

5.3 Sentiment Analysis .................................................................................. 38

6 Conclusion ......................................................................................... 40

7 Bibliography ...................................................................................... 43

8 Appendices ........................................................................................ 48

8.1 Appendix 1 Sentiment Analysis (Full Table) .......................................... 48

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List of Tables

Table 1 Variables for evaluation ................................................................................. 27

Table 3 Case Processing Summary 1 ........................................................................... 29

Table 4 Chi Square Test for Gender and Rating .......................................................... 30

Table 5 Chi Square Test for Age and Rating ................................................................ 31

Table 6 Chi Square Test for Nationality*Rating .......................................................... 31

Table 7 Chi Square Test for Region*Rating ................................................................. 32

Table 8 Case Processing Summary 2 ........................................................................... 33

Table 9 Sentiment Analysis Feedback ......................................................................... 39

List of Figures

Figure 1 Example of the Experience-Feedback-Sheet at ITB 2016 ............................. 25

Figure 2 Plot for Gender and Rating ........................................................................... 34

Figure 3 Plot for Age and Rating ................................................................................. 35

Figure 4 Plot for Nationality and Rating ...................................................................... 37

Figure 5 Plot for Region and Rating ............................................................................ 38

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List of Abbreviations

ANTO = Austrian National Tourist Office

DMO = Destination Management Organization

HMD = Head Mounted Displays

ITB = Internationale Tourismus Börse

MICE = Meeting, Incentive, Congress, Events

TAM = Technology Acceptance Model

TRI = Technology Readiness Model

VFR = Visiting Friends and Relatives

VR = Virtual Reality

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1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 History of Virtual Reality

In recent years the world has benefited from the overall development of information

technologies, in all different kind of areas beginning with the ease of online booking

for vacations and more. A factor for that was the stormy development of more

powerful microprocessors and faster computers to the market. All those machines

are equipped with better technologies and to more affordable prices. Therefore,

using computer for different activities became a habit for our society (Mazuryk &

Gervautz 1996). Back in 1965, Gordon E. Moore, former director at Fairchild

Semiconductor and co-founder of Intel Cooperation, forecasted that the density of

components for information technologies integrated would continue to double

every two years as the price will fall too and have a great impact on different

industries in general. This observation was called “Moore’s Law” (Computer History

Museum 2016; Schaller 1997). With the stance of today’s information technology

and the fast development of this sector, people all over the globe are influenced in

many aspects of their daily lives. Not only that progress is changing the way we live

and the way we work, borders to other dimensions are also crossed slowly (Mazuryk

& Gervautz 1996). The technology, which is meant by that is called virtual reality.

There are several approaches to define virtual reality. In this thesis, virtual reality is

defined as a technology; which allows a user to interact, experience, feel or touch a

computer simulated environment – also called virtual environment – whether that

environment is a replication of the real world or an imaginary one in the past,

present or future (Guttentag 2010; Mandal 2013). Started off in the 1960s, when

Morton Heilig approached and tried to encounter the world of virtual reality with

building a multi-sensory simulator called “Sensorama”. Although it had all the

qualities of virtual reality, it was not interactive at all. To redress this, Ivan

Sutherland later introduced the “Ultimate Display”, an artificial world constructed,

where people could interact with the machine and this technology came a long way

until today (Mazuryk & Gervautz 1996). Since then, virtual reality made a myriad

development and slowly applies in the tourism industry.

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1.2 Virtual experience & Technology-enhanced experience (users’

perspective)

In pace with the rapid development of information technologies, tourism is globally

changing in different facets and specifically the evolution of virtual experiences. The

steady progress of new inventions and expansions fundamentally transforms the

way how tourist’s experience are created (Baggio, Sigala, Inversini & Pesonen 2014).

The terminus experience can be explained as “a continuous process of doing and

undergoing a process that provides meaning to the individual” (Boswijk, Thijssen &

Peeled 2007, p. 28). If we talk about it in touristic aspect, we can describe it as “the

culmination of a given experience” formed by tourists “when they are visiting and

spending time in a given tourists’ location” (Boswijk, Thijssen & Peeled 2007, p. 28;

Zátori 2013). As mentioned above, information technologies are changing the tourist

experience via acting as creator and initiator of tourist experiences (Williams &

Hobson 1995). But this is good, as different studies found out that vacationer are

striving for more exclusive and unforgettable experiences – for this case in the

tourism sector virtual reality would be a perfect example for an inspirational tool

(Baggio, Sigala , Inversini & Pesonen 2014).

Considering virtual reality in the tourism sector, we have to be aware that one

individual – the user or tourist – has to have the acceptance and willingness to

interact with a synthetic experience in a touristic aspect (Guttentag 2010). The

reason is due to the fact that virtual reality is an interactive and immerse world

(Mazuryk & Gervautz 1996). The virtual setting can provide a virtual landscape with

almost unlimited interactions for the users, as long as the technology is available and

offered to them (Guttentag 2010). In the past, a mixture of the best of both, a

physical park with virtual reality rides was common in the theme park context. One

example would be the Star Tours Ride in Disney World Orlando, America, which is a

3D motion simulated space flight from the movie of Star Wars (Star Tours 2016;

Williams & Hobson 1995). But as technology is continuously evolving, the market is

slowly conquered by the VOID, or called also a virtual theme park. Situated in the

federal state of Utah, America, this invention should revolutionize the way of virtual

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reality. For this virtual experience, the user has to wear equipment which consist of

three body parts – a helmet, a pair of virtual glasses and an interactive jacket - which

are all fully interactive with the surrounding of the room. So depending on which

type of virtual environment the user is choosing, it has different effects on all of the

five senses of the human body (Gruber 2015). This is just one representation of the

different levels of immersion, when it comes to the technology of virtual reality. A

more detailed explanation of the various levels will follow later on in this thesis.

Some people will argue, virtual reality can serve as a substitute of having a trip to a

destination physically. There are, however, still some irreplaceable reasons why

people do travel in real life. First, to those whose travel purposes are visiting friends,

family and relatives (VFR), relaxation as well as business travels for networking

connections, virtual reality may not be able to accurately simulate every aspect of

these real-life experiences. On the one hand, the world of virtual environments

could offer lower costs, no queues, no transportation issues with traveling to the

destination, greater safety, no language barriers and so on and still guarantee the

experience. On the other hand, it is a replicated environment and an experience,

whereas virtual reality tourism should not be seen as a substitute for the tourism

industry but more than a tool which could provide tourists a more realistic

expectation, what to anticipate on their vacation (Guttentag 2010).

1.3 Virtual experience & Technology-enhanced experience

(providers’ perspective)

Seeing the world of virtual reality from a user’s perspective is not the only important

viewpoint. The provider’s one should also be explored, as no experience can be

brought to the user, if no provider offers the virtual environment and technology.

Especially as there are certain levels of immersion. Before talking about the three

different levels, the expression immersion has to be defined more clearly.

The term immersion is used in the context with virtual reality to describe the

sensation of being inside a particular environment, in this case a virtual one, where

the interaction in this world allows the user to discover and experience almost

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everything in their imagination (Virtual Reality Society 2016). As the virtual

environment passes on the impression of the immersion, a user’s willingness to

interact or not depends heavily on the resolution, quality and consistency of the

technology.

In general, virtual reality systems are classified into three levels of immersion

(Mazuryk & Gervautz 1996). The first level is called non-immersive or desktop virtual

reality systems. This kind of system has the lowest level of immersion. A desktop

virtual reality system can be described as, using the computer for a virtual

environment through one or more computer screens without any other sensory

output than the screens. Followed by the first level, the second level refers to the

semi-immersive or fish tank virtual reality systems, which are improved versions of

the desktop virtual reality. This system supports head coupled perspective tracking

and therefore gives users the feeling of “of being there”, thanks to motion parallax

effects. However, they use conventional screens from the computer but do not

support sensory output. Last but not least, the third level is the immersive systems.

There are two ways to use this technology and both interact with head mounted

displays (HMD). In brief, the user can use either a computer screen as primary

medium for the interaction or a smartphone in combination with either Oculus Rift

Glasses – referring here only to this provider of virtual reality as it is later on

important for the empirical study of this thesis – or a cardboard for entering the

virtual environment. Sometimes this system can also be used in combination with a

physical room, which is fully interactive as the computer generated environment

corresponds to the user’s position and orientation – an example would be the virtual

theme park, the VOID. Either one option gives you the feeling of totally being there.

They are considered as the ultimate version of virtual reality systems and at this

point the latest technology there is, as the user totally immerses in a virtual

environment with the help of a HMD (Guttentag 2010; Mandal 2013; Mazuryk &

Gervautz 1996; Mulder & Van Liere 2003).

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1.4 Application of Virtual Reality in Tourism and Hospitality

With this background knowledge in mind, looking at the potential of virtual reality in

the tourism field as a tool from a provider’s viewpoint is essential. In the case of

virtual reality from a user’s perspective, virtual reality can possibly be an instrument

for experiencing new exciting things. In the field of the bringer, it can work in fields

like planning and management; the Meeting, Incentive, Conferencing, Exhibitions

(MICE) sector as well as marketing. Using synthetic environments for tourism

planning can be helpful in cases like, building a new road through a cultural heritage

site as the artificial environment allows you to perceive it in an unlimited number of

perspectives and so plan it accordingly. In the past, a lot of people have never

thought about attending a meeting or congress in a virtual way. Instead of traveling

to a congress which might be on the other side of the globe, virtual events can

benefit both exhibitors and attendees. During the event, delivering the content from

a conference in a virtual way, the provider truly benefits as broadening the brand

community and raising the awareness for the brand, while getting more insight from

the attendees as they can track them, about their online behavior and what kind of

meetings they are attending. From the attendee perspective, saving the time as well

as the money for booking the trip to the event is a positive aspect for them

(Guttentag 2010; Pearlman & Gates 2010). Another key point and also the most

important one for this thesis is virtual reality in terms of marketing.

Different from the other two examples, virtual reality in combination with marketing

has the chance to provide an extensive experience already in advance before

purchasing the tourism product. As suggested before, virtual reality can operate as a

tool for experiencing a destination beforehand. In terms of the provider’s point of

view, it might achieve two outcomes, first persuasive powers for marketing a

destination and second working as an inspirational tool for future travel planning

(Guttentag 2010; Huang, Backman, Backman & Moore 2013; Tussyadiah, Wang & Jia

2016;). There are two important studies, which take a closer look at the virtual

reality in this aspect. A study conducted by Tussyadiah, Wang and Jia (2016)

researches the influential power of virtual reality imagery and videos in tourism,

based towards popular sightseeing destinations. Split up into three different phases

for this analysis, the participants had the possibility to explore metropolises like

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Paris, Tokyo, Berlin and many more with different virtual reality frameworks. Two

semi-immersive technologies of virtual reality were used in the above study, which

were the Oculus Rift Glasses – a HMD system technology patented by Samsung – as

well as the cardboards – boxes made out of stiff and thick paper which can be used

in combination with a smartphone to recreate virtual environments (Kickstarter

2016; Merriam Webster 2016;). The conclusion of that study suggests that the

destination has to be created in a recognizable way for the user in order to boost the

persuasive power of virtual reality. In the terms of the video content, the

researchers also recognize the importance of offering appealing and enjoyable

images and videos, as some users urged about getting lost in the virtual

environment. Furthermore, the provision of additional information, for instance an

audio guide in the virtual environment, would strengthen the overall performance of

the Virtual reality experience (Tussyadiah, Wang & Jia 2016).

Another study conducted by a research team from Africa, is also helpful. The focus

of that research was to evaluate the behavioral intention of virtual tourists in a

cybernetic basecamp in Maasai, Kenya, using the platform Second Life. In as much as

the crucial point was to provide information about the Maasai tribe, identically it

was to raise awareness about the destination and promote it from a destination

marketing organization point of view. In order to achieve a good outcome, the

research focused on six different levels – perceived usefulness, enjoyment,

emotions, involvement, the flow of the setting and behavioral intentions – in the

virtual environment including beginner and advanced users in Second Life. Using a

computer-generated setting in the travel decision making, the final outcome of this

study indicates that virtual reality experience can increase the user’s intention about

visiting a destination in real life in the near future. Nevertheless, using such a device

as an inspirational tool from a destination management organization (DMO) point of

view, certain criteria like an enjoyable experience and positive reactions, while

interacting with the virtual environment are necessities. For the most part, DMOs

should consider looking more into detail at this developing technology, whilst it can

provide an enhancing experience, as well as an awareness for a future trip to the

destination for the user (Huang, Backman, Backman & Moore 2013).

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1.5 The application of Austria 360°

The Austrian National Tourist Office (ANTO) is responsible to encourage tourists for

a holiday in Austria. Operating since 1955, the central aim besides brining tourists to

Austria, is to assure and magnify the country’s competitiveness in cooperation with

all the important tourism players in Austria. Furthermore, the ANTO is developing

the brand “Vacation in Austria” as an emotional element for tourists while their stay.

Last but not least, they are also establishing their brand on potential international

markets with innovative and modern marketing campaigns. For these kind of

activities, the ANTO is funded by the Federal Ministry of Science, Research and

Economy as well as the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber and additionally

receives contributions for marketing services from the Austrian tourism trade

partnership – included in this group are mainly provincial tourist boards (The

Austrian National Tourist Office 1995).

One of the latest innovative projects developed by the ANTO, is the virtual reality

application – or shortly app – Austria 360°. This application will solely work on

smartphones with an Android operating system, downloaded from the Google Play

Store or the Oculus App Store. As a matter of fact, that the technological

development in this field is advancing so fast, the ANTO had the idea to introduce

this app to the owner of smartphones to visit Austria in a virtual way. After having

downloaded the app the users can use the semi-immersive level of virtual reality

technology – in this case an Oculus Rift device if available – to view the different

360° videos of Austria. To put it in another way, the app can be used in terms of

marketing to promote Austria as a vacation destination.

1.6 Research question and Research objectives

For the purpose of investigating the aspect of the usage experience with the

smartphone application Austria 360° in combination with the virtual reality glasses

from Oculus, the current research addresses the user’s likes and dislikes about it. To

be specific, the objectives of this study are threefold: (1) to examine the overall

users’ satisfaction with Austria 360°; (2) to examine the users’ usage experience

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across three demographic variables which are gender, age group and nationality; (3)

to provide the ANTO with more insights on how to improve the Austria 360° from

information quality, system quality and the user experience perspectives.

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Difference between Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality

Augmented reality and virtual reality are types of innovative technologies, which are

often mentioned over the past years. Even though people sometimes used these

two terminologies interchangeably, it is important to define and differentiate them

as they refer to two different types of technologies. According to Milgram,

Takemura, Utsumi and Kishino (1994) who agreed and stated to consider both

concepts, augmented and virtual reality as one. Yet, in this thesis, the standpoint of

Burdea and Coiffet (2003) is employed and they claim augmented reality is not

“virtual reality in its strictest sense”. Another viewpoint which can be consulted here

is the following one, defined by Azuma and Milgram (1997;1994), augmented reality

allows a user to interact with virtual computer graphic objects overlaid upon the real

world. To be more precise, Azuma (1997) stated that augmented reality generally

constrains these three characteristics: (1) Combining reality and virtuality, (2)

interactive in real time with (3) objects in 3D. In contrast to virtual reality, users of

augmented reality are not fully immersed in the virtual environment and only use

for instance, a smartphone to portray different computer graphics over the real

world. Meaning that the virtual environment works in a different way of interaction.

In brief, the participants interact in the real world with computer objects when they

use augmented reality, whereas the users are totally absorbed in a synthetic world

when they use virtual reality. The participant can freely navigate and move around

to explore the virtual environment. While using a HMD like Oculus Rift Glasses, the

user is totally immersed in the respective world and are not interacting with the real

world anymore. Also really important, the boundaries of imagination, creation or

physical reality are set no limits, as the virtual environment can be created as the

participants want it (Guttentag 2010; Mazuryk & Gervautz 1996; Milgram & Kishino

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1994). Considering all the content mentioned above, one can summarize that virtual

reality is a fully immersive computer generated or interactive environment

compared to augmented reality, as it can be described as an augmented natural

environment combined with virtual objects (Guttentag 2010; Milgram, Takemura,

Utsumi & Kishino 1995).

2.1 Industry cases of VR applications in Tourism and Hospitality

2.1.1 Case 1: Hilton Hotels & Resorts

Hilton Hotels & Resorts is a big player in the tourism industry and was one of the

most recent companies who joined the trend of using 360° videos for marketing

purposes. Compared to virtual reality applications, they used 360° videos which

were recorded with the same technology as virtual reality experiences are made.

Users can watch the videos via their smartphones or tablets, but there is no

interaction between users and devices. In other words, they are not virtual reality

applications but only utilize the handhelds for showing users the 360° videos which

are interactive ones as the user can direct the viewpoint by moving the device.

The main aim of implementing this campaign was to increase the direct bookings

with this 360° video experience. With the help of Opera Mediaworks and OMD, the

advertising agency of Hilton, they developed those kind of 360° videos at one of

their resorts in Barbados. Using such a magnificent destination and putting it

together with the latest innovations of technology, they made some stunning videos.

Besides broadcasting the campaign on different social networks and other

smartphone apps, the 360° experience was always shown as pre-rolls on YouTube or

as other kind of video advertisements on different platforms.

Although this promotion is designed to increase the direct bookings, there are

several disadvantages for that kind of advertisement. First, making the user to watch

a commercial before the 360° video is a risky technique. Since more pre-rolls are

shown before presenting the actual video the user wants to see, most of the people

are skipping the advertisement – as it is possible to skip it after 5 seconds on

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YouTube – and so most of the consumers didn’t even get to see the 360° virtual

experience. Thus, it is hard to say, if the advertisement was as effective as expected.

Probably, if people were really interested in the destination of Barbados and

watched the whole advertisement and afterwards interacted with the 360° video, it

may possibly impose a positive effect on the booking rate of Hilton Resorts.

Nevertheless, it is always hard to analyze those kind of campaigns right during their

launch. After the advertisement is ending, which is excepted to be the end of 2016

according to the Hilton brand, the promotion agency OMD will definitely have a

closer look at the numbers and interaction rates with the 360° video and then Hilton

group can analyze if their direct bookings increased during the promotion of this

virtual interaction (Ting 2016; King 2016).

2.1.2 Case 2: Destination Canada

Will the future of traveling be using a drone and a virtual reality glass to experience

the destinations a traveler wants to see? As the technology becomes more advanced

and continue to be progressing, the above phenomenon might happen in the

coming future. For example, using a drone to explore the Mount Everest would be

really nice, as there is no threat of getting lost in the mountains or maybe even

suffer major injuries.

Destination Canada, the tourism board of Canada, did realize this concept for

creating several virtual reality videos. Using drones installed with a GoPro camera,

they generated some breathtaking videos at Nimmo Bay, which is a location for

hiking, fishing and other adventures in Canada. Once done, the video can be viewed

with an Oculus Rift Glasses or on YouTube, so that users have the opportunity to

jump right into the landscape of Nimmo Bay and experience it in the virtual way.

But again, there are some downsides to this virtual tourism experience. The high

dropout rate while watching the video is the first problem, as the awareness of

watching 360° videos is still not so high with users. So maybe as a result, when

comparing the actual views of the videos with the production costs might raise some

questions, as if it is valuable enough to produce such videos for only a small amount

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of viewers, as this technology is still really new and so pretty expensive. Moreover,

the fun of experiencing something on its own while getting involved with locals is

the allure of traveling and a virtual reality cannot yet be accomplished by this

technology. Nevertheless, the videos are pretty impressive and when the targeted

viewers enjoy the videos and might think about going there in the long term, the aim

of the videos is accomplished (Burks 2015; The Canadian Press 2015).

2.1.3 Case 3: Rock Tourism

Imagine walking along the beach, smelling the sea at one of the beautiful Marriott

Resorts in Hawaii or walking around the pool area at one of the many Thomas Cook

destinations around the world while being at work or home. You think that is not

possible, well then you haven’t heard about the ‘Travel brilliantly’ marketing

campaign by Marriott or didn’t receive a brochure with a Google cardboard from the

travel agency Thomas Cook. Both of them are two big players in the tourism

industry. But in general, they are always ahead of the competitors when it comes to

the newest developments for the tourism industry. Right now, the trend is to use

virtual reality in all its different aspects.

For instance, Marriott started to support the five senses of the human body with the

help of 4D virtual reality tele-porter capsule. Producing 360° videos from their resort

destinations is not something unusual in the tourism industry right now, but building

a whole pod which is totally interactive is new. In cooperation between Marriott

Brand and the agency Relevant, who call themselves the first experience agency,

they build those kind of ‘Travel Brilliantly’ tele-porter capsules using the latest

technology of virtual reality, motion sensors and a rumbling platform. The

participants have to use an Oculus Rift glass for seeing the virtual environment, in

that case a sandy beach in Hawaii and step afterwards in the fully immerse

container. While watching the 360° video, the motion sensors simulates a walk on

the beach by moving the rumbling platform. Overall the campaign was a successful

one. People participated in this virtual experience generally shared good reviews on

their website.

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The travel agency Thomas Cook had a different approach to integrate virtual reality.

As almost every person owns a smartphone now, Thomas Cook produced the 360°

videos in some of their top destinations and included Google cardboards for the

receiver of the brochures. Mailing around 5,000 different copies, the recipients have

the possibility to use their smartphone in combination with a programed app and

the included cardboard to dive into the virtual reality videos. When being lucky to be

one of the recipients of the brochure, they would have the possibility to see some

stunning destinations of the travel agency Thomas Cook.

Comparing the two different campaigns, one could say, they are completely

different but having the same aim, raising the awareness of virtual reality as a tool in

the tourism industry. While the Marriott promotion was an amazing idea to include

the other senses as well, one could argue that it is only a one-time opportunity for

people who experienced it. As it is not available on a regular basis. Moreover, only

making the videos available on Oculus Rift Glasses – so only people who actually

bought the device which is a really small number – and not video platforms, who

support the 360° video technology after the campaign, is a big downside. In contrast,

the Thomas Cook initiative with the cardboards and brochures was a good idea, as it

is available to users who don’t have the Oculus Rift device. Although it is easier for

the recipients to experience the 360° videos as they get a cardboard, the downside

of tis campaign was that only a small number of people received such a brochure. As

the prices of those kind of cardboards are still very high for the provider they only

produced a small sample. On top of that fact, making the recipient download

another app on their smartphone might not be a smart move, as smartphone users

always or most of the time struggle with storage problems on their phones. All in all,

both campaigns have their positive and negative sides, but once again it shows the

effect of virtual reality in the tourism industry and how effective this technology can

be already used or will be used in the future (Allen 2015; Munshower 2015; Parker

2015).

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2.1.4 Case 4: Visit Albuquerque

Finding new ways to attract people to a certain destination is not as easy as it

sounds. Providing potential future tourists an overview of what people are able to

do at a certain destination is always a good way though. The Albuquerque Visitors

and Convention Bureau, or newly renamed Visit Albuquerque, started their new

campaign ‘Visit Albuquerque Viewfinder’. Announced at their last annual meeting,

the DMO wants to showcase the local people and places of Albuquerque via a 360°

immersive video. Seeing the future potential of virtual reality, Visit Albuquerque

thought about expanding their tourism marketing also to this kind of marketing.

Compared to the already explained big players like Hilton or Marriott above, this

project is something completely new and never has been done before.

Not using virtual reality glasses or cardboards to see the landscape and people of

Albuquerque, this 360° videos will be watched with the help of a ‘normal’

viewfinder. The marketing team behind Visit Albuquerque wanted to show

something new and fancy but in a traditional way what most tourists would

associate with traveling. Working together with a start-up from San Francisco

Owlized, the user has the opportunity to interact with the videos over a technically

modified viewfinder. Shooting all different kind of outdoor virtual reality videos and

activities in Albuquerque, these 360° videos will be afterwards included into these

viewfinders. Through the technological advancement, the viewfinders are so

customized, as the people turning the viewfinder in a certain direction the

respective 360° video will adapt to the viewpoint. Sounds pretty amazing and

especially in the time of digital marketing, the DMO hopes to attract some new

tourists to the destination. To show the different videos, Visit Albuquerque will be

touring throughout the United States at different trade shows as well as offering

some small booths with a viewfinder in malls, airports and plazas in different cities.

Not only that Visit Albuquerque has a completely new name, also using the

technology of 360° videos in combination with viewfinders has never been done

before.

Thinking about the whole campaign of ‘Visit Albuquerque Viewfinder’, one has to

say it is a really nice way of putting something traditionally used by tourists – the

viewfinder – in combination with one of the latest technological developments, the

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360° videos. Although the modified viewfinders are not that easy to manufacture for

the DMO, as well as transporting them to the different trade shows and other spots

they want to show the videos the campaign is going to be expensive. Still, the overall

value of this campaign will definitely have its positive impacts on the destination of

Albuquerque (Cardillio 2016; Dyer 2016).

2.1.5 Case 5: Future Outlook for Virtual Reality

Talking all about the different aspects what virtual reality is possible to accomplish,

one aspect should also be mentioned, the future development. There are various

studies which predict and foresee the virtual reality industry to be big by the year

2020.

The company Digi-Capital, who focuses on virtual reality in terms of gaming, foretells

in its most recent study that the augmented and virtual reality business be a 120$

billion market by 2020. While this market is constantly developing now, until 2020

there will be more different services available in terms of virtual reality. Examples

are the selling of hardware, which includes all different kind of gadgets for virtual

reality; enterprise solutions, which are focusing onto different virtual reality

solutions like Holo Lenses for meetings and advertising sales as well as producing

advertisements like the company Blippar is doing, who use augmented reality with

an offline good to make extra content available to the buyer. Nevertheless, the

development is still ongoing there are certain aspects about the future of virtual

reality which are uncertain. Kelly Andresen, vice president and head of branded

content at Gannett said that still one of the biggest challenges is consumer

awareness for the products of virtual reality. As more and more marketers and

publisher are rushing into the virtual reality market and so of course increasing the

overall value of the market, raising the consciousness for the consumers is still a

problem and letting them adopt to the virtual reality hardware is ongoing.

Thinking about the whole development and some of the aspects were virtual reality

is going is pretty astonishing as well as uncertain. Although the development of

virtual reality is increasing fast, the real question is will it be a 120$ billion market by

2020? Possible of course, but still as mentioned by Kelly Andresen, raising the

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awareness for this technology is still one major issue when talking about virtual

reality in general and before not fixing the thinking about virtual reality we will not

see the maybe bright or not so bright future of virtual reality. (Chen 2016; Crook

2015; Digi-Capital 2016).

2.2 Introduction to TAM model

Not only that adopting to new technologies in our daily lives is constantly changing

as mentioned in the beginning, also organizations are embracing new ways how

technologies are effecting the various work developments (Godoe & Johansen

2012). For this reason, introducing the technology acceptance model (TAM) when

talking about virtual reality in a tourism context is possible.

The theoretical frameworks focus on certain aspects when talking about the users’

acceptance for information technologies (Godoe & Johansen 2012). Davis (1989)

proposed the TAM model to forecast an individual’s acceptance of information

technology. More precisely, this model suggests that one’s attitude toward the

acceptance of new technology is influenced by two factors which are the perceived

usefulness and perceived ease of use. For instance, this model can be used to

foresee how information technologies will help people to perform better in their

jobs as well as with the other aspect of how easy are information technologies to

use in terms of computer usage in specific situations. An example for two of those

paradigms can be how a destination management organization uses information

technologies to promote their respective country. In this case, the variable of

perceived usefulness would be the promotion of the destination, how effective it

would be in terms of attracting more tourists to the country. While the ease of use

variable would be, what information technology medium would fit best to promote

the destination, for example a social network like Facebook to communicate the

promotion. Unfortunately, this theoretical framework collides with the technology

readiness index (TRI). It refers to how ready are people to embrace the use of new

technologies in general in their lives. In short, it can be said TAM focuses on a

particular information system while TRI is towards the general technology. As a

result, both of these frameworks somehow were integrated to one model respecting

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each other, the TRAM model (Godoe & Johansen 2012; Chung, Han & Joun 2015;

Huang, Backman, Backman & Moore 2013; Legris, Ingham & Collerette 2003).

Although these constructs focus only on the attitude of pre-used information

technologies, the aspect of attitudes towards technologies in post-use are missing.

For this reason, the proposed integrated model of user satisfaction and technology

acceptance by Wixom and Todd (2005) will be used as a model for this thesis.

Wixom and Todd (2005) proposes to build the bridge between these two concepts

by using it theoretically as the attitude of the pre-used technologies will have an

effect on the post use aspect of information technologies. Thus the empirical part of

the thesis would miss how the users of the 360° videos liked or disliked them when

only using the TRAM model.

In connection with knowing these frameworks and the development of the

technology in general, the ANTO came up with the idea for the virtual reality app

called Austria 360°. Using the advanced technology and magnificent landscape of

Austria, they had a booth at the ITB to present it to the visitors.

3 The virtual reality experience of Austria 360°

For the virtual reality app from the ANTO, users only have one possibility to use it.

Combining the Oculus Rift Glasses – also called virtual reality glasses or VR – with a

Samsung smartphone, gives the user the opportunity to experience the virtual

environment with the HMD device (Samsung 2015). In terms of using the app, this is

the only way, as it was only developed and programed for this interface.

Nevertheless, the videos are not only working on this device, it is also possible to

experience it with other applications. For instance, users can already interact with

the 360° videos on laptops, PCs or smartphones. Here to add, when using a

smartphone for viewing the videos a Google cardboard can be used to enhance the

virtual experience. Moreover, the videos also work on platforms like YouTube or

Facebook– as both social platforms support the 360° video technology just without a

HMD application. But for this thesis considering only the Oculus Rift Glasses in

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combination with the virtual reality app, with its respective findings and data is

necessary.

In cooperation with three different agencies, the ANTO produced 20 different videos

all situated in Austria. For these virtual environments, different events and

landscapes like a sunrise at the Bregenzer Forrest or hiking at the Sölktäler Valley

were filmed. Not only that panoramas are included in the virtual reality app, also

activities like free tour skiing in the Lienzer Dolomites or downhill skiing in the Stubai

Glacial were recorded. As all those different videos include various activities, filming

those virtual environments for the app, the agencies and ANTO used different virtual

reality recording systems.

Taking the provided example of the sunrise in Bregenzer Forrest, this was filmed

with a static camera system to record a time lapse video. For other videos like hiking

at the Sölktäler Valley, one of the agencies used their unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)

or commonly referred to it as drone to record the activity. One remarkable aspect

when filming with a drone, is the fact that the user totally immerses with the virtual

environment and feels like being there as well as seeing it from a higher perspective,

as the drone flies a few meters above the surface. Last but not least, using a helmet

with a range of 6 to 12 Go Pros installed on the helmet, was another technique to

record the various 360° videos.

From a provider’s perspective a variety of different aspects have to be overlooked

while producing these kind of videos. Some examples are, organizing the rights to

film at certain destinations, as well as planning in advance to not be filming while the

destination is crowded by tourist to provide a good surrounding for filming without

disturbances and really portray the feeling of being there for the viewers of the

video. Mentioned some of the obstacles a provider or the ANTO had to overcome,

focusing on a use case how the participants actually interact with the videos and the

virtual reality glasses will be described in the following paragraph.

Explained in the beginning, in combination with the virtual reality glasses and a

Samsung Smartphone, the user has the opportunity to immerse into the virtual

reality environments of Austria. The 360° app will be released to the Google Play

Store and Oculus App Store – at the moment still under review for acceptance to be

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officially introduced in the two App Stores – so users can download the app on their

phones. Once downloaded, the user has to attach the smartphone to the Oculus Rift

Glass. Followed by accessing the branded ANTO interface of the app, including the

logo and slogan of the ANTO “arrive and revive”, the user has the selection of the 20

different videos. Although the number of videos is already determined, not all of

them are finished in production as certain videos can only be filmed, responding to

the season. Right now, most of the videos represent skiing or hiking activities in

Austria. Navigating with the touchpad on the right hand side of the virtual reality

glasses, the user will see a small red curser to navigate between the different videos.

Once found the right 360° video only by clicking it, the respective video will be

downloaded and the user can fully immerse in the video. All videos can be

downloaded and are automatically stored on the smartphone. By turning the head

to the left, right or up and down, the user can see the different sceneries in the

corresponding virtual environment he selected. Adding a Bluetooth headphone to

the Oculus Rift Glasses will enhance the virtual experience, as in some of the videos

sounds – like bird singing or the lapping of rivers – are included. For instance, if the

user selected the Sölktäler Valley video, he will see the hiking route to a small river

in-between the mountains of the Sölktäler Valley. While looking to his left, right, up

or down, he will see the surrounding of the Sölktäler Valley and feels like being

there. In each of the videos the users will always have a different aspect of viewing

the virtual environment, as each video was recorded in a different way.

All in all, one could say immersing with the virtual environments of Austria in the

app is a thrilling experience and might change the user’s intention of visiting Austria

in real life.

4 Research methodology

4.1.1 Presentation of Austria 360°

The virtual reality app Austria 360° was first introduced to a public audience at the

ITB (Internationale Tourismus-Börse) in Berlin this year in March 2016. During the

five days, from the 8th to 12th March, the visitors of the ITB had the chance to

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interact with the Oculus Rift Glasses at the ANTO booth. Presented under this year’s

marketing campaign called #austriantime, the visitors were presented a collection of

three videos from the pool of 360° videos. The videos shown at the ITB were the

hiking tour through the Sölktäler Valley, the sunrise in the Bregenzer Forrest and a

tour around the Hohe Tauern National Park. A team of ANTO employees helped the

visitors to interact with the videos and also explained how the Oculus Rift Glasses

are working and how the videos were filmed. After the participant viewed the video,

they had the voluntary option to fill out a feedback sheet and indicate either they

liked or disliked them.

4.1.2 Data collection

To solicit feedback about post-use experience of the virtual reality app by the

visitors, the ANTO developed an experience feedback sheet for the ITB. On a

voluntary basis, the participants could give their opinion about the virtual

experience after they watched one, two or all of the three videos.

In terms of the target respondents they cannot be defined in certain groups, as the

visitors of the ITB were individuals from the press, media agencies and private

Figure 1 Example of the Experience-Feedback-Sheet at ITB 2016

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people. So defining exactly which individual gave what kind of feedback was quite

hard. As mentioned above, the feedback was on a voluntary basis and so there are a

lot of people who did not indicate all the respective information. Nevertheless, how

the collected information was clustered will be explained later on in this thesis.

Illustrated underneath, is an example of a plain experience feedback sheet from the

ANTO for the ITB.

The individuals participating could rank their experience on a scale from smiley dark

green (representing very good), smiley light green (representing good), smiley

orange (representing average), smiley light red (representing not necessary) and

smiley dark red (representing not satisfied). Whilst indicating the overall experience

of the video, the respondents also had the opportunity to write an open-ended

comment on the experience, in the gray comment bubble. In the last part of the

survey, the participants were asked to indicate their gender, age as well as their

nationality. Knowing the process of data collection for the given feedback at the ITB

2016 in terms of the Austria 360° app, the next sub-section will describe how the

data were analyzed.

4.1.3 Data analysis

For the following part, will deal with the analysis methods more closely. The two

data analysis methods, which are the descriptive analysis and multiple

correspondence analysis, were used to analyzed the received data from the user of

the Austria 360° app. As the data is quantitative, the two mentioned methods are

believed to be appropriate. In addition to the two selected methods, a sentiment

analysis was used to analyze the open-ended comments.

As the descriptive analysis is a method, which alters data into a more

understandable and descriptive form, using this method for the vast amount of

quantitative data is possible (Van den Berg 2014). This method is especially useful

for investigating the frequency of answers. As the provided experience feedback

sheet at the ITB consists of different parts, which have to be filled out by the

participants this method makes it easier to cluster them. Therefore, we are going to

use the Pearson Chi-Square Test to investigate if there is an association between two

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variables – with the support of hypotheses (StarTrek 2016). In this example we will

use the variable of rating – represented by the smileys – as the dependent variable

and the demographic variables like gender, age group, nationality and region as the

independent variables. The reason for this analysis is to examine if there is a relation

between the rating given by those who interacted with the 360° videos and

respondents’ demographic profile.

While, explained above, the descriptive analysis helps to put the data in a more

descriptive form, the multiple correspondence analysis allows the user to find a

relationship between different variables over several categories (Abdi, Williams &

Valentin 2013). As we have a wide range of different participants in terms of age

group, gender, nationality and region, multiple correspondence analysis can visual

their relationship in a multi-dimensional figure and also provide us with a

correspondence analysis plot to see the relationships between the variables better.

The table underneath provides an overview, of how the different participants are

clustered in their variables.

Variable Data collected by the experience feedback sheet

Gender Male Female

Age till 29 years 33 till 44 years 45+ years

Nationality Germany Austria Switzerland

United Kingdom France United States

Romania Croatia Estonia

Luxembourg Greece Georgia

Sri Lanka Israel Russia

Poland Netherlands Lithuania

Australia Armenia

Region Central Europe Western Europe Southeastern Europe

Northern Europe Eastern Europe Southern Europe

North America West Asia Southeastern Asia

Oceania

Rating Satisfaction very good good average

not necessary not satisfied

Table 1 Variables for evaluation

Knowing the numerous variables from the experience feedback sheet and the

methods which are going to be used, it will help to (1) examine the overall users’

satisfaction with Austria 360°; (2) to examine the users’ usage experience across

three demographic variables which are gender, age group and nationality; and last

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but not least (3) to provide the ANTO with more insights on how to improve the

Austria 360° from information quality, system quality and the user experience

perspectives.

5 Research findings

Given the information, of how the data was collected and knowing the different

participants were clustered and divided into certain groups by gender, age group,

nationality and region, taking a closer look at the outcomes from the provided

feedback about the 360° videos from the ANTO at the ITB 2016 is possible. The total

number of contributors for the feedback is 113. Out of that sample, not all the

participants indicated the necessary variables for a representative presentation of all

the data. As some variables like the age or gender were missing in some experience

feedback sheets, the data set only included those complete responses and

consequently the actual number of valid samples is 78. To add here, all the collected

data from the experience feedback sheet were analyzed with the help of the

Statistical Package for Social Science 22. The following sub-sections of the thesis are

going to present these findings. Each of the selected methods will be supported by a

case processing summary table, with the indication of valid and missing cases for

each one of the methods.

5.1 Descriptive analysis method

Knowing the framework of variables which were used and thinking about a method

how to analyze the data properly is necessary. The reason for that, is due to the fact

that the Tourism-Forecasting department of the ANTO already analyzed the

collected data but they did not consider the missing data and took all responses (i.e.,

113) as given. They formed a final percentage out of all the given data for the rating

scale from (1) very good to (5) not necessary. The final result for this analysis was

very good, as 70.2% of the participants indicated it was (1) very good experience

with the 360° videos. Nevertheless, the outcome found by the ANTO was very

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satisfying in terms of presenting them to the top management, only considering the

data from the rating scale for the analysis for this thesis is not enough though.

Therefore, forming the collected data into groups of two variables as the table

underneath displays and forming hypothesis for the Pearson Chi-Square Test is

necessary.

Valid Missing Total

N Percent N Percent N Percent

Gender * Rating 71 91.0% 7 9.0% 78 100.0%

Age * Rating 48 61.5% 30 38.5% 78 100.0%

Nationality * Rating 73 93.6% 5 6.4% 78 100.0%

Region * Rating 73 93.6% 5 6.4% 78 100.0%

Table 2 Case Processing Summary 1

Represented here in the following paragraph are the different hypothesis for the

variables. As this research has the aim to find out, if the user’s satisfaction with

Austria 360° can be examined over the demographic variables listed in the table

above, the following hypotheses were formed:

Gender * Rating

H1a: There is no relationship between gender and rating

H1b: There is a relationship between gender and rating.

Age * Rating

H2a: There is no relationship between age and rating.

H2b: There is a relationship between age and rating.

Nationality * Rating

H3a: There is no relationship between nationality and rating.

H3b: There is a relationship between nationality and rating.

Region * Rating

H4a: There is no relationship between region and rating.

H4b: There is a relationship between region and rating.

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Introducing the different hypothesis for the variables also talking about an analysis

plan for the Pearson Chi-Square table is necessary. Using the Pearson Chi-Square

Test of Independence, we compared the P-value to the significance level of Alpha,

which is commonly 0.05. If the P-value is less than alpha, we accept the null

hypothesis. Followed by the various explanations, looking at the different Pearson

Chi-Square test tables from each of the mentioned variables above is necessary, to

either accept or reject the null hypothesis. Analyzing the different tables in a more

detailed way and keeping in mind that we reject the null hypotheses for our case

here if it is less than 0.05, we can see that for the first table that gender and rating is

smaller than 0.05. Given this P-value of 0.000 and less than our alpha we defined, we

reject the null hypothesis and say there is a relationship. We also can conclude that

the two variables, of gender and rating, when it comes to the satisfaction with the

interacted 360° videos are dependent. Meaning that the rating of the videos or how

satisfied the person was with the video, is depended on either being male or female.

Chi-Square Tests for Gender * Rating

Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)

Pearson Chi-Square 71.000a 1 .000

Continuity Correctionb 66.280 1 .000

Likelihood Ratio 86.228 1 .000

Fisher's Exact Test

Linear-by-Linear Association 70.000 1 .000

N of Valid Cases 71

a. 0 cells (.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 6.21.

b. Computed only for a 2x2 table

Table 3 Chi Square Test for Gender and Rating

Looking in the row of the Pearson Chi-Square for the second analysis of a

relationship between age and rating we can see a different outcome. As the P-value

in this case is represented by 0.202, we do not reject the null hypothesis for this

case. Saying that there is no relationship between age and ranking in terms of the

satisfaction with the Austria 360° videos (Chi Square = 8.530; df = 6; p = > 0.05).

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Chi-Square Tests for Age * Rating





N of Valid Cases 48

a. 9 cells (75.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .29.

Table 4 Chi Square Test for Age and Rating

Tackling the next hypothesis, if there is a relationship between nationality and

rating, one looks at the P-value and sees that the value is represented by 0.151.

So in this case again we do not reject the null hypothesis. In other words, there is no

significant relationship between nationality and rating in the aspect of the

satisfaction with the Austria 360° videos (Chi Square = 34.555; df = 27; p => 0.05).

Chi-Square Tests for Nationality * Rating





N of Valid Cases 73


Table 5 Chi Square Test for Nationality*Rating

Coming to the final analysis for the Pearson Chi-Square Independence Test, looking

at the table for region and rating we can see again that the P-value is over 0.05 and

represented by the highest of them all with 0.994. So in this case again we would not

reject the null hypothesis and say there is no significant association between region

and ranking in terms of the satisfaction with the Austria 360° videos (Chi Square =

6.408; df = 18; p = > 0.05).

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Chi-Square Tests for Region * Rating




Linear-by-Linear Association .170 1 .680

N of Valid Cases 73


Table 6 Chi Square Test for Region*Rating

To sum it up, one could say that due to the fact of many cells, which have an

expected count less than 5, most of the association between the variables are not

truly proven. Nevertheless, when looking into detail we can see that the outcomes

from this part somehow show that there are certain relationships, which effect the

satisfaction for the 360° videos, when ignoring the part of cells with counts less than

5.

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5.2 Multiple correspondence analysis

Taking a glance at the second method used for the collected data concerning the

satisfaction of the Austria 360° videos and the demographic variables, we are going

to see some graphs which demonstrate the relationship between them. Also it will

help us to have a more visible demonstration of the previously presented Pearson

Chi-Square test. But before illustrating the various graphs the case processing

summary table will be provided again and shows us again the split between active

and inactive cases we have for this analysis sample of 78.

Case Processing Summary

Valid Active Cases 46

Active Cases with Missing Values 32

Supplementary Cases 0

Total 78

Cases Used in Analysis 78

Table 7 Case Processing Summary 2

As we already established the relationships with the variables in the paragraph for

the descriptive analysis part, we are taking the same relationships again here, as the

multiple correspondence analysis is a way to show the results in a graphical way.

Taking the demographic variables like age, gender, nationality as well as region and

comparing them to the variable of rating, we have several plots with the outcomes.

The first plot, which is illustrated underneath represents the relationship of gender

and rating.

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Figure 2 Plot for Gender and Rating

As we have the rating scale with the satisfaction for the Austria 360° defined from

very good to not necessary we can see in this plot the distribution of the satisfaction

with the videos from male and female participants. Thinking back at the result from

the analysis of the Pearson Chi-Square test of independence, we rejected the null

hypothesis and said that there is a significant relationship between the gender and

the rating of the 360°videos. Taking a closer look at the plot diagram we have a

visual support of the hypothesis as well. When gazing at the variable of male and

female we can see that the male data point is located right next to the rating of 1

(very good). Compared to that of the female data point, which is clustered by the

other rating scale 2 (good). So supporting the hypothesis from the Pearson Chi-

Square test of independence, we can definitely say that there is valid evidence

justifying relationship between the rating and gender of the satisfaction with Austria

360° videos, as male respondents are generally more satisfied with the videos than

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female respondents. Continuing with the next plot, we have the graphical

visualization of the variables of age and rating for the Austria 360° videos. As in

terms of the age scale it was clustered into three variables with 1 (29 or below), 2

(30 to 44) and 3 (45 or above). Observing the plot, one can see that in terms of the

rating the age group 1 (29 or below) is located closest to the rating 1 (very good).

The other two age groups 2 (30 to 44) and 3 (45 or above) are correlated to the left

and further away from the rating of 1 (very good) and closer located to the other

ratings or located in between the range of the rating. Beforehand, we accepted the

null hypothesis and said that there is no relationship between age and rating. With

the help of this graphical plot though, we can see that this hypothesis is not

supported by it, as the variable of age group is located in between the ratings from

(1) very good to (5) not necessary. Although it has not a major effect on it, there is a

trend to see.

Figure 3 Plot for Age and Rating

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Tackling the next relationship between nationality and rating we will have the graph

displayed underneath. When looking at the provided table of all the variables for the

nationality in the data analysis part of this thesis, we can see that the data set

consists of 20 nationalities. Although we do not reject the null hypothesis and said

there is no relationship between nationality and rating, we have a clearly visible

outcome with the plot underneath. Positive feedback for the 360° videos came from

nationalities like Austria and Poland. This is due to the geographical closeness of

Poland and for the case of Austria, it was definitely something new to explore

Austria in a virtual way for the inhabitants of the country. When looking more to the

other rating options of the satisfaction with the videos, one could see that countries

like United Kingdom, Germany and Switzerland, which we consider as the

neighboring countries of Austria, were not that much satisfied with the 360° videos.

In addition, to the mentioned countries also the participants from the United States

did think that the videos were not necessary at all, and gave the videos a rating of 5.

We also have some outliers like the countries of Sri Lanka, Lithuania, Croatia and

Israel, also represented with the biggest distance, we can see in terms of the rating

and nationality we have a clear picture. Although the countries which are the closest

like Poland, Germany and United Kingdom thought the videos were average and

alright, the countries which are furthest away in terms of geographical location and

also with the longest travel distance like United States and Israel though they are not

necessary. This is somehow a backlash for the technology of 360° videos, as it tries

to increase the intention of future tourists to travel to a certain destination but

countries like United States, Germany and Switzerland think it is alright up to not

necessary. Although, it is a setback it may also support the idea that people from the

countries mentioned above, still rather get influenced by traditional marketing

campaigns and do not need the technology of 360° videos to visit a country.

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Figure 4 Plot for Nationality and Rating

Analyzing the last relationship of the variables between region and rating with the

following plot, will be described here. Taking a glance at the table of the various

defined variables, in terms of regions we defined 10 different ones in the data

analysis part. When considering the previous analysis in terms of nationality and

rating, we saw that the nationalities located geographically closer to Austria or

people who came from Austria, gave a better rating, we somehow see the same

trend with a level higher in region and rating. The regions like Central and Western

Europe are the closest located to the rating of 1 (very good). No surprise, as in the

previous case the United States though that the 360° videos are not necessary at all

(rating 5), they are also here located close to this rating, representing North

America. Again we can state that they are not very keen on this kind of technology

and don’t like it as an inspirational tool for their next holiday planning. Furthermore,

38

we have some outliers like Southeastern and West Asia, as well as Northern and

Southeaster Europe. Comparing it to the hypothesis we formed for the descriptive

analysis, we can see that it was disproven here and that the region has influence on

the rating. All in all, concluding this part of the analysis one could say that the

geographical location of the participants in the 360° video from the ANTO had an

effect on the satisfaction and so rating level of the videos.

Figure 5 Plot for Region and Rating

5.3 Sentiment Analysis

Before coming to the conclusion for this thesis one important part is still missing, the

analysis of the open ended feedback from the viewers of the 360° videos. As there

was a variety of different feedback given, using a sentiment analysis for this data

39

was the most appropriate. Clustered into three different groups of feedback (1)

positive, (2) neutral (3) negative the following table underneath shows a small

outlook of the results from all the answers given, represented by sample size 85

(60.7%) to the total number of 140 (100%) which is attached in the appendix of this

thesis.

Answers given by the viewers: Frequency of answers Percentage

great / fantastic / cool / stunning / amazing 54 38,6%

nice / interesting 8 5,7%

new experience 4 2,9%

Quality of the video (pictures) pixelated / low

quality of picture sharpness / quality of video

(pictures) could be better

9 6,4%

made me feel dizzy / feeling of dizziness 8 5,7%

where was I? 2 1,4%

Answers for analysis part 85 60.7%

Total Answers 140 100%

Table 8 Sentiment Analysis Feedback

The given answers were clustered into positive, neutral or negative answers. As the

total number of answers given is 140, only a short stance of the received answers

(85) is provided in the table above. As describing each single one of the given

answers would take a lot of time, only focusing onto the highest frequency of given

answers from the written feedback by the viewers of the 360° videos will be

discussed and was picked as a sample.

For the ranking of (1) positive, we take the first row of the table as this sample has

the highest number of answers, 54 participants (38.6%) indicated they had either a

“great/ fantastic/ cool/ stunning/ amazing” experience with the 360° video. This

really shows that the respective sample who interacted with the videos were really

impressed by them. Concerning the aspect of (2) neutral answer, we should take the

examples of given answers represented by “nice/interesting” or a “new experience”.

When summing up the given answers for these feedback we have a total of 12

people (8.6%) saying that they had a neutral experience with the 360° videos. Last

but not least, the aspect of (3) negative answers are represented by the given

examples of “quality of the video”, “made me feel dizzy / feeling of dizziness” or

“where was I?”. When adding up the number of how often this feedback was given,

40

we can clearly see that 19 people (13.5%) had a rather negative experience with the

360° videos. Although, not respecting all of the given negative feedback, this number

had the highest frequency of negativity in the sample. Looking at some of the given

answers in more detail will definitely give the ANTO a helping hand to increase the

satisfaction in the future for the Austria 360° app and also will be discussed in the

conclusion of this thesis.

6 Conclusion

For the most part, these were the final findings for the thesis, of how the

participants liked or disliked the interaction with the Oculus Rift Glasses and Austria

360° app. As some of the findings were pretty clear, a short revision of what are the

actual outcomes and what the future of virtual reality app and videos for the ANTO

will bring is possible.

As seen that a lot of various players in the tourism industry are already using the

technology of virtual reality for their competitive advantage, it is still a pretty new

and unexplored industry. Although big names like Hilton or Marriott are already

using the various aspects of virtual reality to increase their booking rate or new

business models like the VOID, a virtual theme park are establishing, the aspect of

using this technology in terms of marketing for a DMO is increasing too.

The developed app Austria 360° by the ANTO is a perfect example of how fast

technology can overtake a whole new position in a company. Developed in

cooperation with three agencies and the ANTO, they filmed 360° videos and the

programed an app for the Oculus Rift Glasses and named it Austria 360°. This was all

initiated for the marketing campaign #austriantime for the ANTO, which was

presented at the ITB this year. As the virtual reality technology can help to create a

visual insight or environment of a certain landscape, the produced 360° videos of the

ANTO were shown there for the first time as an inspirational tool for Austria as a

tourism destination. As the ANTO wanted to analyze the attitude towards the video

they asked the viewers after the video to fill out a voluntary feedback sheet. All in

all, the feedback from the viewers was generally positive and satisfied. In the

41

empirical part of this thesis one could see that the collected data was clustered into

demographic variables like gender, age, nationality and region. These variables

afterwards were confronted with the outcomes of the rating from the videos the

viewers gave. Using the methods of descriptive and multiple correspondence

analysis, the outcomes showed that there are certain relationships between the

demographic variables and rating. In terms of gender and the rating of the videos,

the finding was that there is a significant difference in the ratings made by male and

female respondents. For the other variables like age, nationality and region, there

was a different result. Although the defined null hypotheses for each one of the

variables was not rejected and showed that there are not significant relationships

between them, it was hard to accept them, as not all of viewers indicated the

necessary data and some variables were missing for this analysis. Nevertheless, with

the help of the multiple correspondence analysis the various relationships could be

graphically supported and proven to be true. Last but not least, also a sentiment

analysis was conducted to analyze the part of the open ended feedback from the

viewers. On the one hand, the frequency of positive feedback was higher compared

to the neutral or negative one and included answers from the viewers like

“fantastic” or “stunning”. On the other hand, for the neutral and negative feedback,

some of the answers were a criticism to the quality of the videos or that they could

not recognize were the video was located. Especially this part, could help to improve

the Austria 360° app in the future for the ANTO. As some of the other given answers

were inputs like, that music during the videos or smells would be a big improvement.

But not only the aspect of the videos can be improved in by the ANTO, also some of

the technical issues like long loading times and that the Oculus Rift Glasses were not

working properly sometimes were inputs from the viewers.

Although the provided cases and also the sample size was good enough to form

certain hypotheses and also analyze them graphically, it was certainly also a

limitation for this research. For the next time maybe making the feedback a

mandatory one would definitely help. When it comes to further research, the aspect

of how the travel patterns from people who interacted with the 360° videos would

be certainly interesting. Moreover, analyzing the satisfaction of the Austria 360°

application, if the ANTO launches a second version, would undoubtedly be really

helpful to get more insight into this topic.

42

All in all, one could say though that the overall satisfaction over gender, age and

nationality was positive and that people thought of it, as a good representation of

the destination Austria. Of course the part with the missing data from the feedback

the viewers gave, is a negative part for the empirical part of this thesis. Although it is

hard to argue, if all the found relationships between the demographic variables and

the rating are empirically valid, one can say that the tendencies found are visible

enough. Checking if some of the people, who viewed the videos are really coming to

Austria is hard to check, as no personal information is available from the viewers, as

the feedback was on a voluntary basis. However, if the intention of visiting Austria

increased because of the interaction with the Austria 360° app, is hard to find out,

but we might see an increase of arrivals to Austria next year and could imagine that

some of these people wanted to experience the tourism destination also in real life!

43

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Appendices

Appendix 1 Sentiment Analysis (Full Table)

Amount of answers Percentage

The available answers 140 100,0%

great / fantastic / cool / stunning / amazing 54 38,6%

really nice idea / cool idea 12 8,6%

Quality of the video (pictures) pixelated / low quality of picture sharpness / quality of video (pictures) could be better

9 6,4%

nice / interesting 8 5,7%

made me feel dizzy / feeling of dizziness 8 5,7%

very pretty videos (pictures) of the nature 8 5,7%

new experience 4 2,9%

great insight into the nature of Austria 4 2,9%

it is possible to feel the nature / it’s a true to life experience 3 2,1%

the amount of sounds from the nature are missing 3 2,1%

stunning quality of the videos (pictures) / almost real 3 2,1%

the desire to visit Austria is high 3 2,1%

is funny 2 1,4%

where was I? 2 1,4%

more efficient than brochures 2 1,4%

amazed how technology has changed 2 1,4%

continue this way! 2 1,4%

not necessary at all 2 1,4%

somehow confusing 1 ,7%

videos (pictures) of the mountains were the best 1 ,7%

first person perspective would be better if you would change the recording of the video to eye height

1 ,7%

would be nice to include different smells 1 ,7%

almost too much selection of videos and pictures 1 ,7%

good presentation of Austria as a destination 1 ,7%

similarity to the reality is missing 1 ,7%

the button of the VR glass didn’t work 1 ,7%

video could be longer 1 ,7%

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