Immersive technologies and tourism imaginaries among university students: Comparative perspectives for sustainable tourism education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v15i5.51101Keywords:
Virtual Reality, Tourism Imaginaries, Higher Education, Educational Innovation, University Students.Abstract
This article aims to analyze the influence of virtual reality (VR) on the construction of tourist imaginaries in students of higher education institutions. This is done through a comparison between public and private universities in central Mexico. The study follows a quantitative methodology in which a 20-item Likert-type instrument was applied to an intentional sample of 159 students enrolled in tourism programs from six different higher education institutions. The items were classified into four categories: cognitive perception, immersive experience, technological adoption, and influence on the construction of tourism imaginaries. The results show a predominant positive perception of VR among the university community studied, as it is viewed as a tool that facilitates the assimilation of knowledge in spatial, experiential, and visualization aspects of international tourist destinations. These findings confirm that VR not only acts as a didactic resource in the classroom but also as a mediating agent in the reconfiguration and construction of tourism imaginaries. However, structural issues related to technological infrastructure, teacher training, and outdated curricula were identified. It is concluded that unequal access to technology among future tourism professionals generates gaps in their training and in the construction of tourism references. This suggests that VR should be integrated as a key tool in articulating curricular innovation, technological integration, and the symbolic production of the tourism phenomenon.
References
Anderete Schwal, M. (2021). Años luz de distancia educativa: las desigualdades tecnológicas entre escuelas públicas y privadas. Dialnet, Revista de Educación Superior.
Area, M. (2012). La alfabetización en la sociedad digital. Octaedro.
Burdea, G. C., & Coiffet, P. (2003). Virtual reality technology (2nd ed.). Wiley.
Cabero-Almenara, J., & Llorente-Cejudo, M. C. (2020). Tecnologías emergentes para la educación: posibilidades y retos. Revista de Educación a Distancia, 20(62), 1–17. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/8663054.pdf
Carrizal Alonso, A. M., Gayosso Mexia, S., & Testón Franco, N. (2024). La realidad virtual y realidad aumentada: Herramientas disruptivas en la enseñanza del turismo. SENPAI, 1(6), 3–12. https://senpai.org.mx/index.php/senpai/article/view/32
Carrizal Alonso, A. M., Testón Franco, N., Gayosso Mexia, S., Onofre Sánchez, J. E., & Rosas Candelas, C. A. (2025). Competencias digitales para la formación turística sostenible: Un enfoque pedagógico y tecnológico. Xombätsi, 4(11), 33–65.
CEPAL. (2022). La educación en tiempos de la pandemia de COVID-19: desigualdades y desafíos en América Latina. Naciones Unidas.
Davis, F. D. (1989). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. MIS Quarterly, 13(3), 319–340. https://doi.org/10.2307/249008
Frontiers in Education. (2025). Digital learning in the 21st century: trends, challenges, and innovations in technology integration. Frontiers. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/education/articles/10.3389/feduc.2025.1562391/full
Gretzel, U., Sigala, M., Xiang, Z., & Koo, C. (2015). Smart tourism: Foundations and developments. Electronic Markets, 25(3), 179–188. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12525-015-0196-8
Hernández R., & Mendoza, C. (2018). Metodología de la investigación: las rutas cuantitativa, cualitativa y mixta. McGraw-Hill.
Hiernaux, D. (2002). Turismo e imaginarios. En D. Hiernaux & J. Lindón (Eds.), La construcción social de los territorios (pp. 87–102). Anthropos.
Islas Gonzalez, L. Y., & Gordillo Benavente, L. de J. (2025). Impacto del contenido en plataformas digitales para la atracción del turismo de Tulancingo de Bravo, Hidalgo, México. RIDE Revista Iberoamericana Para La Investigación Y El Desarrollo Educativo, 16(31). https://doi.org/10.23913/ride.v16i31.2750
Jonassen, D. H. (1999). Designing constructivist learning environments. Routledge.
López Ramírez, E., Martínez Iñiguez, J. E., & Ponce Ceballos, S. (2021). Tendencias globales de la educación superior en el contexto mexicano. SciELO Cuba. Vivanco http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0257-43142020000100010
Makransky, G., & Petersen, G. B. (2019). Immersive virtual reality and learning: A meta-analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 31(4), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-019-09481-2
Mendoza Rojas, J. (2022). La educación superior en México: expansión, diversificación y financiamiento en el período 2006-2021. PUEES-UNAM Ojeda Orta, M. E., & Rubio Arriaga, Z. (2024). Educación y aprendizaje en un mundo de diferencias. AIIES, A.C. ISBN 978-607-8946-33-4. https://www.puees.unam.mx/mendoza-rojas/index.php?seccion=6
Pantelidis, V. S. (2010). Reasons to use virtual reality in education. VR in the Schools, 1(1), 9–20.
Pereira, A. S. et al. (2018). Metodologia da pesquisa científica. [Free ebook]. Santa Maria. Editora da UFSM.
Radianti, J., Majchrzak, T. A., Fromm, J., & Wohlgenannt, I. (2020). A systematic review of immersive virtual reality applications for higher education. Education and Information Technologies, 25(6), 4959–4977. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-020-10291-3
Rosas, C., López, A., Favila, J., & Hernández, MR. (2019). Conflictos de valoración y uso del patrimonio religioso con fines turísticos en el centro histórico de la ciudad de Toluca, México. Teoría y Praxis(27), 75–105. Recuperado de https://teoriaypraxis.uqroo.mx/doctos/numero27/75-105_rosas.pdf
Rosas Candelas, C. A., Gayosso Mexia, S., Rodríguez Martínez, J. S., Ramos Sánchez, P. A., & Carrizal Alonso, A. M. (2026). La gamificación como herramienta estratégica del turismo regenerativo en la promoción de destinos turísticos. Revista Interdisciplinaria de Ciencias de la Educación, Salud y Sociología, 1(2), 57–71. https://doi.org/10.66136/zsq91b71
Salinas, J. (2011). Innovación docente y uso de las TIC en la enseñanza universitaria. Universidad de las Islas Baleares.
Slater, M., & Wilbur, S. (1997). A framework for immersive virtual environments (FIVE). Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 6(6), 603–616.
Sideraki, A., & Drigas, A. (2023). Development of social skills for people with ASD through intervention with digital technologies and virtual reality (VR) tools. Research, Society and Development, 12(5), e11512541407. https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v12i5.41407
UNESCO. (2021). Reimaginar juntos nuestros futuros: Un nuevo contrato social para la educación. UNESCO.
Venkatesh, V., Morris, M. G., Davis, G. B., & Davis, F. D. (2003). User acceptance of information technology: Toward a unified view. MIS Quarterly, 27(3), 425–478.
Vivanco Saraguro, A. A. (2021). Contexto sociocultural en la educación de jóvenes y adultos: Experiencias de estudiantes de un programa de bachillerato acelerado. Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar. https://repositorio.uasb.edu.ec/handle/10644/8165
Zamudio Vega, L. S. (2019). Los imaginarios en la percepción de los lugares turísticos. Universidad de Alcalá.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Carlos Antonio Rosas Candelas, Liliana Guadarrama Hernández, Talia Leticia Berdeja Hernández
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
1) Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
2) Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
3) Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
