Abstract:
At the end of 2019, a new crisis emerged in the world - COVID-19 - which literally devastated the tourism industry
worldwide. In order to try to minimise the spread of COVID-19, the government implemented a strict national
lockdown, but this unfortunately had a negative impact on many sectors within the tourism industry. In the light
of this, many scholars argued that technology such as virtual reality (VR), would contribute to the recovery of
tourism. This article considers this phenomenon by filling a gap in the literature regarding the role of VR in the
tourism industry in the global South by focusing on South Africa. The key question that arises, namely can VR
save tourism in South Africa in the wake of COVID-19? To address this question, the study uses three
methodological approaches: case studies, a conceptual research method and open-ended interviews. The results
from the study showed that VR offers tourism numerous benefits, but at the same time poses a threat to the
industry. Despite this, the study concludes that VR cannot save the tourism industry in South Africa currently as
it faces certain critical obstacles in this context.