Virtual Reality in Dark Tourism: Multisensory Virtual Tourism Experiences with Thermal Stimuli

One emerging tourism experience is dark tourism, an emotionally laden experience of visiting a site of death, disaster, and sorrow, and simultaneously learning about historical dark incidents in the past. The emergence of virtual reality can shape virtual dark tourism experiences in virtual realism, which require sensory-themed experiences to enhance the experiences of visitors. This study aims to understand the effect of thermal stimuli on virtual dark tourism experiences by employing cross-modal correspondence and the sensation transference theory. Using a laboratory experiment with 107 participants with three thermal stimuli treatment groups, we deduce that thermal stimuli significantly influence individual emotions, as indicated by two measurements: self-reported and psychophysiological data from wearable devices. This study extends the understanding of cross-modal correspondence in sensory marketing and sensory design experiences in virtual dimensions through sensing, feelings, thinking, and relationships.