‘The next best thing to being there’ – participant perceptions of virtual guided tours offered during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT During the COVID-19 pandemic, many tourism providers were unable to offer traditional tourism activities. A temporary solution for some of them was to offer virtual guided tours on Zoom or other streaming platforms. This study investigates how participants experienced these tours by analyzing 3661 TripAdvisor reviews written by participants of virtual guided tours offered from Europe and North America between March 2020 and November 2021. Findings suggest that virtual guided tours were important to participants during the pandemic. The tours were used to stay entertained and socialize and often had a positive impact on the participants during challenging times. Reviewers also identified several other benefits of joining a virtual guided tour rather than a physical one, including covering more ground, paying less, and being able to participate in less physically demanding tours. While most participants viewed virtual guided tours as good but temporary substitutes for physical travel, some wrote that they hoped virtual guided tours would continue after the pandemic was over. This indicates that there is a potential market for virtual guided tours after COVID-19 as well, but that this market is smaller than it was during the pandemic.


Introduction
During the COVID-19 pandemic (hereafter referred to as the pandemic), the world faced, and is still coping with, the effects of an unprecedented global health, social, and economic crisis.The tourism industry was among the hardest hit sectors (UNWTO, 2020).As governments enforced rules on travel and social distancing, tourism businesses faced reduced demand and limited opportunities to supply tourism products, while tourists continued to seek hedonic experiences despite being unable to travel physically (Kwok & Koh, 2021).To survive, the tourism industry had to be open to transformation and new innovative solutions (Fennell, 2021).One such solution was to offer virtual versions of tourism products.Virtual reality producers attempted to create experiences that could replace traditional tourism activities using technologies that allowed participants to travel in artificial virtual worlds (Davies, 2021).Additionally, destinations and tourism providers created experiences based on livestreaming, allowing participants to join them remotely through platforms like Zoom, YouTube, or Facebook Live (See for example Leotta, 2021).It has been argued that experiences like these greatly aided the preservation of the tourism industry, especially at times when residents were required to stay at home (Lu et al., 2022).
Early studies on virtual tourism during the pandemic have suggested that virtual tourism was used as a resiliency buffer (Fennell, 2021), provided immersive experiences with tourism destinations for participants who were staying at home (Lu et al., 2022), helped reduce psychological stress (Yang et al., 2021), and cost less than physical tourism activities (Zhang et al., 2022).It has also been argued that there will be a market for virtual tourism after the pandemic, as these activities are suitable for persons with disabilities, elderly persons with accessibility needs, and sustainability-focused citizens who wish to minimize their environmental impacts (Fennell, 2021).One study also found that virtual tour participants are generally positive toward joining virtual tourism activities after the pandemic is over (Lu et al., 2022).However, few studies have investigated how participants experienced actual virtual tourism activities during the pandemic.
Technology was a key driver of change in the tourism sector even before the pandemic (Neuhofer et al., 2014).However, in a literature review of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and tourism management, Hughes and Moscardo (2019) found that scholars have mainly focused on the implications of ICTs for supply rather than on how these technologies affect tourists and their experiences.Meanwhile, they predicted that ICTs would change how tourists connect with other people in the immediate time and space.The many applications of virtual and remote tourism during the pandemic presented an opportunity to study participants' experiences with tourism activities that depend on these new technologies.Therefore, the main objective of this study was to investigate participants' experiences with virtual guided tours offered during the pandemic from three perspectives: 1) whether participants viewed these tours as full experiences or as temporary substitutes for physical experiences; 2) whether there were perceived benefits of joining a virtual guided tour over a physical tour; 3) whether there will be a market for virtual guided tours after the pandemic.

Theoretical background
Virtual tourism has been described as tourism that uses visualization technology to immerse visitors in a virtual trip (Lee et al., 2013).Many definitions limit the term to experiences in virtual realities (Cho et al., 2002) and/or augmented realities (Lee et al., 2013).However, a more recent definition also includes the live broadcasting or streaming of tourism activities (Lu et al., 2022).Virtual tourism can also be understood more broadly as the ability to move through place and space without the body (Bittarello, 2008).Furthermore, it has been argued that virtual tourism is theoretically available through any type of media, even through printed media such as brochures, as tourists can imagine themselves at the destination and forget where they are physically (Cho & Fesenmaier, 2000).Two concepts often used to understand participant experiences with virtual tourism are presence and telepresence (Yang et al., 2021).Sheridan (1992) defined telepresence as a phenomenon in which a media user loses awareness of the physical environment, convinced that they are present in a virtual environment.Furthermore, the participant's experience level is determined by the fidelity and richness of sensory information, the dexterity of sensory control, and the ability to affect the remote environment.Similarly, Steuer (1992) defined telepresence as the sense of being in an environment by means of a communication medium, and suggests that vividness and interactivity determine one's level of telepresence.Another concept used to assess the authenticity of a virtual experience is the feeling of presence, defined as the extent to which the virtuality of the experience goes unnoticed or as the perceptual illusion of no mediation (Lombard & Ditton, 1997).While telepresence is linked to experience, higher levels of presence is associated with (and predicted by) more intense emotional states (Riva et al., 2007).Some researchers in virtual reality studies argue that the concepts of presence and telepresence are interchangeable (Li et al., 2001).However, Yang et al. (2021) argue that in virtual tourism, telepresence can be defined as a person's perception of a virtual tourist destination visit being equivalent to a real experience.For a sense of presence, on the other hand, the mediated experience generated by virtual tourism is more strongly linked with the realism of a physical tourist destination visit.
There are several views on virtual tourism in the literature.Some researchers argue that virtual tourism is better suited to promote traditional tourism than to replace it (Dewailly, 1999); that being at the actual destination allows tourists to enjoy more holistic experiences (Fennell, 2021); and that although virtual tourism engages vision and hearing, tourists often seek multisensorial bodily experiences that also stimulate smell, taste, and touch (Mura et al., 2017).Others argue that visiting new places is not only about entertainment but also about discovering new facts and gaining knowledge and a better understanding of the world one is travelling in, elements which are also present in the virtual format (Lee et al., 2013).Additionally, recent advancements in virtual reality technology allow virtual tourism providers to offer multisensory experiences with both presence and immersion (Manchanda & Deb, 2022).Furthermore, a study on emotions elicited by virtual and natural conditions found that the experiential profiles of tourists exposed to actual and virtual environments were not significantly different, suggesting that a virtual experience is a reliable model of a real one (Chirico & Gaggioli, 2019).It has also been argued that virtual versions of nature experiences have the potential to be as effective as real-life experiences when seeking to influence conservation behaviours (Hofman et al., 2022), and that virtual tourism may be used as a preservation tool to reduce the pressure of tourism on fragile destinations (Bec et al., 2021).During the pandemic, virtual tourism was used both as a marketing tool to promote destinations and to provide entertaining experiences (Leotta, 2021).Virtual tourism also helped reinforce stay-athome orders by providing interesting activities without physically bringing people to destinations (Lu et al., 2022).However, some argue that virtual experiences are poor imitations of the real thing, and that they may, at best, be used as a resiliency buffer for tourism providers when the flow of tourists stops because of global events such as the pandemic (Fennell, 2021).These somewhat conflicting views on the applicability of virtual tourism in the tourism literature suggest that further research is needed to understand whether participants view their virtual experiences as full experiences in their own right or as temporary substitutes for physical tourism experiences.

Virtual guided tours offered during the pandemic
During the pandemic, lockdowns, travel bans, and social distancing rules forced most tourism companies to temporarily stop offering physical tourism experiences.A temporary solution for some of these companies was to offer livestreamed experiences using Zoom, Facebook Live, YouTube, and other streaming platforms that allowed participants to join experiences remotely (e. g.London Walks, 2022).Initial online searches revealed that most such experiences were not based on advanced virtual reality technology but instead relied on more easily available technologies, such as live or pre-recorded videos, PowerPoint presentations, Google Street views, or current and historic photographs (e. g.See Venice, 2022).As many definitions of virtual tourism limit the term to experiences based on virtual or augmented realities (e.g.Cho et al., 2002;Lee et al., 2013), tours like these have sometimes been classified as remote tourism rather than virtual tourism (Leotta, 2021).However, livestreamed tours have also been included in broader definitions of virtual tourism, as they allow participants to travel without their body (e.g.Lu et al., 2022).For the purpose of this study, the livestreamed tours that were analyzed have been classified as a category of virtual tourism and are referred to as virtual guided tours in this article.This study analyzed virtual guided tours offered by companies based in Europe and North America that were marketed on TripAdvisor.combetween March 2020 and November 2021.Europe and North America were selected as study areas as both continents have high internet usage and had large tourism industries before the pandemic.Additionally, initial online searches for virtual tourism experiences yielded more experiences based on these two continents than in other parts of the world.

Data collection
The main data source for this study was online user-generated content in the form of participant reviews that had been written on TripAdvisor.com.Some researchers are skeptical toward online user-generated content and argue that trusting electronic word of mouth means relying on source-receiver relationships, channel variety, and content presentation (Zeng & Gerritsen, 2014).Moreover, users are in complete control of any opinions they share online and which parts of their experiences they decide to write about.Therefore, the content is not typically a representative sample of the participants of the activities that are studied.As some reviews are brief and others more extensive, another challenge is the lack of uniformity (Cong et al., 2014).In some cases, findings from digital content analyses are combined with other data collections to validate the results and minimize some of these challenges (e.g.Ziegler et al., 2018).Unfortunately, a mixedmethods data collection was not possible in this study due to limited time and resources.However, many researchers have confirmed the usefulness of online user-generated content, and it has been used as the primary source of data in several studies on tourism activities (e. g.Dybsand, 2020;Yu et al., 2017).Moreover, by using online user-generated content, it was possible to compare many case activities and remotely access relatively large amounts of data.As participants were in complete control of which elements of their experience they decided to share online, it was also possible to study which parts were most important to them without author interference.
For this study, data consisting of relevant experiences and reviews was collected by searching for keywords mentioned in reviews.The keywords were virtual experience, virtual reality, virtual guided experience, virtual reality experience, VR experience, virtual reality tour, virtual tour, digital tour, digital guided tour, digital experience, digital guided experience, virtual online, online tour, online experience, online guided experience, online guided tour, livestream, Zoom, tour by Zoom, COVID-19 option, and from home.Four hundred and twenty-two companies were found that offered remote-access virtual experiences during the pandemic: 99 in North America and 323 in Europe.The companies were sorted into groups based on the virtual experience types they offered.Companies offering guided virtual tours was the largest group with 213 companies: 37 in North America and 176 in Europe.This group was selected for further analysis based on participant reviews.The reviews were collected and analyzed manually, and the QDA Miner Lite software was used to store the reviews and codes.This approach was chosen to ensure that reviews using different words to explain similar themes were all included in the analysis.Only the reviews mentioning that the tour was virtual/remote or that the participant had joined the tour from home were included in the analysis.This resulted in 3661 relevant reviews, ranging from one to 430 reviews per company.

Data analysis
A combination of content analysis (Joffe & Yardley, 2004) and thematic analysis (Clarke, 2006) was applied to analyze relevant reviews in two phases.In phase one, content analysis with predefined codes was applied to record basic information, such as star rating, the location of the company that had offered the tour, and whether the experience had been based on a natural or cultural attraction.To make this distinction, cultural attractions were defined as relating to a society's distinctive material, intellectual, spiritual, or emotional features (Richards, 2018), and natural attractions were defined as attractions dependent on natural phenomena (Mehmetoglu, 2007).The codes included in this phase were star rating (1-5), month (January-December), year, continent, country, city, and nature-based/culture-based.In phase two, reviews were analyzed more thoroughly by the application of a thematic analysis with open coding to find other reoccurring themes and patterns.An overview of the main categories and codes used in this phase, including examples of reoccurring themes, is provided in Table 1.

Overview
The 422 companies found in the initial phase of data collection were based in 181 cities in three North American and 25 European countries.As shown in Figure 1, most of the experiences were based in the United Kingdom (UK), followed by the United States of America (USA) and Italy.
The companies were sorted into groups based on activity type.This resulted in seven main groups.Virtual guided tours was the largest group (213 companies/50.2% of all companies found), followed by virtual escape rooms and other games (82 companies/19.4%),virtual classes and workshops (73 companies/17.3%),online food and drink tastings (45 companies/10.7%),online shows and concerts (8 companies/1.9%),remote shopping (1 company/0.2%),and self-guided virtual tours (1 company/0.2%).The majority of the experiences found (97%) were based on cultural attractions in large cities, such as London, New York City, Rome, and Barcelona.The reviews written were mainly positive, with 3508 participants (96%) giving the experience they had joined five out of five stars.As shown in Figure 2, the number of reviews written about virtual experiences varied from month to month and year to year, and this variation appeared to be somewhat linked to the various social distancing measures that were in place at different times.
By the end of March 2020, more than 100 countries had implemented strict social distancing measures as a result of the pandemic (Shortall et al., 2022).The number of reviews found were low in March 2020, but increased quickly in April, May, and June 2020.During the summer of 2020, many travel restrictions were lifted for fully vaccinated visitors, and travel became more accessible (Think Global Health, 2022).The number of reviews found decreased in July, August, and September 2020.During the following fall and winter, COVID-19 cases increased, resulting in stricter measures in many countries (Rasca et al., 2021).The number of reviews found increased during this period.During the spring of 2021, cases were still high worldwide, but several countries decided to gradually loosen restrictions, and in the summer and fall of 2021, travel was accessible again (Think Global Health, 2022).In this period, fewer reviews were found.

New, but positive experiences
Reviews written during the first half of 2020 indicated that most participants had not tried virtual guided tours prior to the pandemic, but that their virtual tour experiences had been better than expected.Participants had been positively surprised, commenting, for example, 'I wasn't sure what to expect from a virtual online tour as I'd never participated in one before … but it was absolutely brilliant!' (Respondent 1, UK).Participants also mentioned that offering virtual guided tours was a good idea, writing, for example, 'What an ingenious idea to create a virtual tour when we are under stay at home orders.' (Respondent 1, USA).Additionally, several participants wrote that they had already booked their next virtual guided tour or wanted to join again.Reviews written later in the pandemic (the second half of 2020 and in 2021) showed that many participants had become regulars at the company they reviewed, writing, for example, 'We have thoroughly enjoyed watching 50 + online tours of London, UK cities and Rome over the past few months.'(Respondent 2, UK).Several participants also mentioned that they had joined a package deal or series of virtual guided tours on related topics.These findings indicate that although most participants had not tried virtual guided tours before the pandemic, many were so positively surprised by their experiences that they decided to keep joining tours throughout the pandemic.

Connections to physical travel
As regular visitors to Venice, we have greatly missed its presence in our lives since the pandemic began.Although we have been unable to visit since February, being there 'virtually' with [guide's name] has been simply splendid.(Respondent 1, Italy) Several participants' experiences with virtual guided tours were connected to physical tourism experiences.Some used virtual guided tours as a way to connect with and relive memories of an enjoyable guided tour or a destination they had visited in the past.Others used them as substitutes for cancelled trips or to prepare for future trips that had been postponed until after the pandemic.Virtual guided tours also allowed participants to experience places they wished they had seen but had not got around to visiting: Due to unforeseen health and physical limitations and of course Covid, it was most likely never going to happen.When I came across [guide's name]'s on-line private tour, I knew that this would be the next best thing to being there … and it did not disappoint!(Respondent 1, France) There were also many participants who used virtual guided tours as a way to stay connected with and support a tour guide or company that they had gone on physical tours with before the pandemic, commenting, for example, 'Having been on many of the actual [tour name] which we thoroughly enjoyed we are now doing some of the virtual tours and find them equally fascinating and informative.'(Respondent 3, UK).

The perceived benefits of virtual guided tours
I discovered that a virtual tour enables you to cover more ground in a shorter space of time, see inside places you normally wouldn't be able to access, view stunning aerial drone footage, and hear interviews with experts who you wouldn't usually have access to.(Respondent 4, UK) Many participants wrote that they had discovered that, in some respects, joining a virtual guided tour was better than joining a physical one.A major benefit was that it was possible to cover more ground because the guide did not have to bring the group physically from site to site.Participants also mentioned the reduced costs compared with physical travel as an important advantage.Additionally, the virtual guided tours often provided access to elements that could not be accessed on traditional tours.For example, guides were able to show participants the inside of buildings in areas where it would normally only be possible to see the outside.The virtual format also allowed guides to better compare the past and the present by showing old and new photographs of the same attractions.Participants also wrote that there were fewer distractions during virtual guided tours than during physical ones, with comments like 'It was BETTER than actually being there as you didn't have to queue up and get trampled on by disrespectful tourists' (Respondent 2, Italy).Additionally, many wrote that it was possible to get a much closer look at the sights, commenting, for example, 'you could zoom in and focus on particular elements of the work, which made it really visually satisfying.' (Respondent 2, USA).Participants also wrote that it was less demanding to join virtual guided tours than physical ones, with comments like 'especially good for winter months when you can pretend you're walking but you stay nice and warm with a coffee … or even a glass of wine!' (Respondent 5, UK).Some also mentioned that they or a loved one were disabled or elderly and would not have been able to join a physical tour.Comments on this included 'During this last year I have aged a lot and realize it may not be possible to join a tour on foot but these tours have offered so much.' (Respondent 6, UK) and 'Loving these virtual talks as my son is physically and mentally impaired and couldn't do the walk in normal times' (Respondent 7, UK).

Elements that made virtual guided tours better or worse
Although most reviews were positive, there were also negative ones, and participants indicated that certain elements were crucial in turning virtual guided tours into positive experiences.One of these key elements was high-quality guiding.Satisfied participants often praised their guides, describing them as professional, thoughtful, well-prepared, amusing, flexible, knowledgeable, technically skilled, good at communicating, or having a good personality.Comments on this included 'The guide was so knowledgeable and provided so many interesting details and gems that are not widely known' (Respondent 3, USA).Participants who were unhappy often blamed their guides, commenting, for example, that they had got facts wrong, had poor presentation skills, were boring, talked too fast, or appeared unengaged.Comments on this included 'Unfortunately our virtual tour guide got a few of the facts wrong, wasn't engaging and gave opinion on too many things' (Respondent 8, UK).Another key factor was the inclusion of interactive elements.Happy participants mentioned quizzes, polls, the group deciding where the guide would go next, Q&A sessions, live/on location videos of the destination, interviews with locals, relevant quotes from poems or other texts, and possibilities for participants to interact with the guide and each other.Some guides also sent follow-up e-mails with additional resources after the tour or e-mails with instructions on how to make the most of the tour beforehand.Comments on this included 'We were asked to wear a beret or scarf or other French attire as we sip French wine and eat French snacks' (Respondent 2, France).Similarly, unhappy participants often mentioned that the tour was not interactive enough, commenting, for example, 'Having some interactive games is a must in a virtual event to get people talking.There weren't any activities that made people talk to each other' (Respondent 3, France).Other key aspects to ensure positive experiences included correct information about how to join the tour (both on how to use the virtual platform and on the time zone of the tour), ensuring that participants did not distract each other, managing any technical difficulties efficiently, and using high-quality visual or auditory aids (e.g.videos, maps, music, sound effects, photographs, and street views) to create an atmosphere that was as authentic as possible.This final element was crucial, and happy participants wrote, for example, 'The background, pictures and music so well put together for a beautiful colorful virtual tour' (Respondent 4, USA).Unhappy participants wrote, for example, 'I would highly suggest getting better video before doing any new tours' (Respondent 9, UK).

Bringing people together
Reviews indicated that participants used virtual guided tours not only for entertainment but also as a way of socializing during the pandemic.Many appreciated the opportunity to meet and interact with others, commenting, for example, 'We may not be walking side-by-side one another but, by seeing each other's expressions and reactions and hearing each other's questions, a camaraderie develops nonetheless' (Respondent 5, USA).Participants who joined several virtual guided tours with the same company also felt a sense of community with other participants who did the same, commenting, for example, 'The evening sessions have developed into a convivial community of fellow travelers, with lively amusing and informed interaction' (Respondent 10, UK).To some participants, this went even further, and virtual guided tours appeared to have become a social lifeline: It was quite depressing.I missed my friends and being a part of get-togethers, so much.In virtually joining [guide's name], I felt connected to the rest of the world in a weird but very nice way, especially when [guide's name] read out two of my own ghost stories, on two different occasions.You wouldn't believe the boost it gave me.It made me feel like I was still a part of the world.(Respondent 11, UK) Virtual guided tours were also used to connect with old friends, family, coworkers, or spouses that participants could not physically meet during lockdowns and travel bans.This way of socializing through virtual guided tours also appeared very important to several participants: This was a really important booking for me, as I live far from my mother and I wanted an event to reminisce about our special times together in Paris, that we haven't been able to do, and to spend a moment 'together' despite the distance for her birthday.(Respondent 4,France) Escaping reality, feeling present, and having an increased desire to visit the destination During the strictest social distancing measures, virtual guided tours became a way of escaping reality for many participants.Comments on this included 'It gave us all the possibility to virtually leave our living room for an hour and dream about traveling again.' (Respondent 5, France) and 'it's an excellent 'getaway' during COVID-19 lockdown.Who says you can't 'travel' at this time?' (Respondent 12, UK).Participants also wrote that they felt absorbed or immersed in the experience, commenting, for example, 'My wife and I didn't expect a virtual tour to be so immersive!' (Respondent 1, Czech Republic).Moreover, the virtual guided tours made many participants feel as if they were present at the destination rather than following a virtual guided tour.Some wrote that this was thanks to high quality guiding, with comments such as 'Our tour guides [guides' names] were so engaging and informative that we really felt that we were there with them' (Respondent 2, Czech Republic).Others wrote that it was because of the way visual aids had been used during the tour, commenting, for example, 'The mix of maps, photographs (historic and current) plus recent videos at different locations made me feel that I was in London rather than the west coast of Canada.' (Respondent 12, UK).Several participants also wrote that the virtual guided tours had made them want to visit the destination even more, and that they wanted to meet their virtual guides in person.Comments on this included 'I have a page full of notes!I don't know why though, because when I make it to Ireland, I will be sure to book his 5 d tour so that he can share his tour in person!' (Respondent 1, Ireland).

The future of virtual guided tours
Most reviews indicated that virtual guided tours were seen as good but temporary substitutes for actual travel during the pandemic, with comments such as 'Can't wait to do an actual walking tour but as a Zoom alternative this tour was the next best thing' (Respondent 9, USA) and 'Look forward to physical tours starting up, but virtual tours still fun.' (Respondent 13, UK).However, there were also participants who wrote that they hoped virtual guided tours would continue after the pandemic, as they were good alternatives for people who were unable to visit the destination.Comments on this included 'Not only in time of lockdown, but these virtual tours are a great way to travel from your couch, to learn, to socialize … And for reduced costs' (Respondent 1, Spain) and 'It's nice to see how far-flung the attendees are for these presentations, and there seems to be a general hope that virtual tours will continue after lockdown finishes!' (Respondent 14, UK).Some participants wrote comments like the ones above, but more participants indicated that they viewed virtual tours as temporary substitutes.However, the comments that were found indicated that there might be a (smaller) market for virtual tours after the pandemic.Tourism companies appeared to have picked up on this, as evidenced by this review written in November 2021, during a time when physical guided tours were also available: Despite unlocking for some I am still very grateful for the [company name]'s virtual tours and so enjoyed [guide's name]'s Secrets and Spies 'walk' today.Both the geography and the stories were compelling and made me book for two others in the series!Keep up the good work!(Respondent 15, UK) cultural attractions in large cities was more challenging, as lockdowns and social distancing measures were generally strictest in areas with large populations.Meanwhile, previous studies suggest virtual nature experiences can be as effective as real-life experiences in terms of influencing conservation behaviours and may be used to reduce the pressure from tourism on fragile destinations (e.g.Bec et al., 2021).This suggests that although virtual nature experiences may not have reached their full potential during the pandemic, offering more such experiences may be beneficial in helping protect fragile natural attractions in the future.
Moreover, findings suggest that virtual guided tours were especially important to participants who were disabled or elderly, as these tours were less physically demanding to join than physical tours.Participants also mentioned the reduced costs when compared with physical travel as a key benefit of joining a virtual guided tour.These findings suggest that tourism providers and destinations may continue to use virtual guided tours after the pandemic is over, both as marketing tools and as full experiences offered to select participants.Moreover, virtual guided tours can make a big difference to participants who cannot join physical tours, whether it is due to physical limitations or the high financial costs of visiting physical tourist destinations.Therefore, tour companies and destinations that wish to offer virtual guided tours in the future should consider focusing on these groups of participants.

Limitations and suggestions for further research
This case study based on online user-generated content provides an overview of virtual experiences in Europe and North America marketed on TripAdvisor.comduring the pandemic and insights into how 3661 participants experienced their virtual guided tours.However, as participants decide whether to post a review and are in complete control of what they share on TripAdvisor, the participants who wrote reviews are not necessarily representative of all participants who joined the tours, and there might also be additional elements to their experiences that they decided not to mention in their reviews.To better understand participant perceptions of virtual guided tours, future studies applying other methods, such as interviews, focus groups, and surveys with participants and operators, may wish to triangulate the themes and outcomes identified here.Additionally, future studies on other forms of virtual experiences offered during the pandemic, such as online food and drink tastings, online escape rooms, and online classes and workshops, may provide further insights into how participants have used virtual experiences to get through this challenging time.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Figure 2 .
Figure2.Reviews about virtual guided tours, sorted by month and year.

Table 1 .
Categories, codes, and examples of themes identified during the thematic analysis.Review of participant's first ever virtual guided tour o Participant did not know what to expect Comparisons with physical tours with the same company .Links to future experiences o Using virtual guided tour as preparation for a future trip o Virtual guided tour made participant want to join the physical version of the tour in the future Friends and family from different parts of the world connecting through a virtual guided tour o Using virtual guided tours to socialize with other travellers . New to virtual tours o .Advantages o Accessible for participants with mobility issues o Possible to cover more elements during one tour o Fewer distracting elements .Disadvantages o More challenging for the tour guide o Fewer senses involved .Bringing people together o .Visual or auditory aids o Maps o On-site/live video o Music (Continued )
. Entertaining o Did not want it to end o Never bored o Time flew by Figure 1.The 10 countries with the most virtual experiences.