Does virtual help real? Investigating how virtual tours affect learning, satisfaction, museum liking, and willingness to visit

Assuming the disruptive role played by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in enhancing museums’ appeal and attracting new audiences, this paper focuses on how virtual tours (VTs) can be used as an information tool outside of a museum and their effects on users’ learning and satisfaction as well as the museum liking and the intention to visit it. Two experiments were designed. The first experiment was conducted to compare the impact of a text-based tool (a written guide) with the impact of an immersive tool (a virtual tour) on these variables, and to investigate the mediating role of the flow experience. A second study was designed to explore the moderation role of museum reputation, comparing a well-known museum with a less known one. As for the first experiment, both multivariate and post-hoc univariate models show that the VT increases visitors’ satisfaction, but does not significantly increase learning levels, museum liking, and willingness to visit. The relationship between VT use and satisfaction is mediated by the flow experience. The differential multivariate effects of VTs strengthen the internal validity of the emerging relationship with satisfaction and the missing relationships with more distal psychological variables. Taken together, the results orient practitioners towards reconsidering the use of traditional written tools and evaluating the quality of VR-based experiences.