Smart technologies in the sustainability and transformation of the tourism market

The aim of this study is to identify differences in attitudes toward the use of sustainable technologies in tourism among students from different cultural contexts, specifically China and Azerbaijan. The research sample consisted of third-year students majoring in tourism from China (n = 216) and Azerbaijan (n = 215). The intervention involved viewing a 26-minute VR video about sustainable technologies in tourism. Following the intervention, participants completed a 0questionnaire that assessed the scales of Emotional Engagement, Perceived Ease of Use, Perceived Interactivity, Perceived Entertainment, and Environmentally Responsible Behavior Intention. The questionnaire was validated using Confirmatory Factor Analysis. The responses of the students from China and Azerbaijan were compared using an independent t-test. Chinese students demonstrated higher behavioral intentions to use sustainable technologies in tourism and stronger intentions to engage in environmentally responsible behavior compared to Azerbaijani students. Furthermore, Chinese students rated the ease of use of VR technologies higher, while Azerbaijani students rated the interactivity of VR content higher than Chinese students. No significant differences were found in emotional engagement and perceived entertainment aspects of the VR video between Chinese and Azerbaijani students.