Abstract

Virtual tourism is emerging as a prominent trend in the digital transformation of the tourism industry, particularly appealing to young, tech-savvy travelers seeking flexible experiences. This study develops and tests an integrated theoretical model combining the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT) to identify factors influencing young travelers’ intention to use virtual tourism in Ho Chi Minh City. A quantitative method was employed through a structured survey of 312 respondents aged 18–35, using a five-point Likert scale. The results from structural equation modeling (SEM) indicate that ‘attitude’ is the strongest predictor of behavioral intention, followed by ‘subjective norms’, ‘perceived behavioral control’, and the two types of usage motivations: ‘informational motivation’ and ‘fun-social motivation’. The integrated TPB–UGT model demonstrates strong explanatory power, with an R² of 0.608 for behavioral intention, confirming the model’s relevance in understanding technology-related tourism behavior. This study contributes theoretically by clarifying the multidimensional structure of virtual tourism usage motivations in a digital context, and by demonstrating the effectiveness of combining the TPB and UGT in tourist behavior research. In terms of practical implications, this research offers empirical evidence from a metropolis in digital transition, thereby informing policy-making for the development of virtual tourism products tailored to the experiential expectations of the younger generations of travelers.