Virtual Reality Technology as a Tool for Promoting Luxor as a Cultural Tourism Destination

Abstract

Nowadays, the tourism industry requires continuous investment into new technologies to keep attracting visitors, highlighting the need for destinations to be innovative. The use of modern technology is becoming a necessity for various destinations to stay competitive, attractive and financially viable. The technology can help increase visitors' information about the destination's history and culture and make them aware of services and attractions available during the trip. VR applications are one of the promising technologies that enhance the users'" cultural heritage visit experience with the digital content developed for the cultural heritage. This research explores the perceived benefits of using virtual reality technology to promote Luxor as a cultural tourism destination. Moreover, the research focused on a quantitative approach by distributing questionnaires among managers and tourism experts as the researcher distributed (330) questionnaires. SPSS (25) was used to analyze the collected data. The results show that Virtual reality offers potential travelers the opportunity to experience adventures, attractions and special events from their homes before visiting. Furthermore, VR is the best tool for providing rich data to potential tourist's seeking Luxor and its attractions. Furthermore, Travel agencies face many challenges in applying VR, such as the high cost of the tools for creating virtual reality ‫‬ ‫‬ ‫‬ and equipment maintenance. The study recommends that The Ministry of Tourism cooperate with other ministries and authorities, e.g., Ministries of Communication, environment, and investment, because of the human and technical facilities to apply virtual reality technology.