Ari Apriyansa, Etin Solihatin, Mohamad Syarif Sumantri
Digital technology is evolving very rapidly during the 21st century and requires vocational education, such as tourism, to keep developing. Part of the greatest challenge in learning about Geotourism is that students have fewer chances to visit tourist places due to financial, time, and accessibility constraints. This will limit their understanding of the 3A concept (Attraction, Accessibility, Amenities) on which tourism business growth hinges. To address this issue, the present study developed and validated an Integrated Virtual Reality-Based Geotourism Learning Model to enhance the particular competencies of Universitas Negeri Jakarta D-4 Travel Business Study Program’s vocational students. The study employed a Research and Development (R&D) approach through combining Borg and Gall’s model and the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Waterfall model. The procedure employed involved needs analysis, model development, 360° Virtual Reality media production, subject matter expert validation (content, media, instructional design, and language), and piloting with lecturers and students. Subject matter expert validation recorded an overall feasibility rating over 88% (“very good”). Student and lecturer feedback also confirmed high efficacy (89.24%) and effectiveness (87.57%). Learning outcomes improved significantly, with mean scores improving from 61.99 (pre-test) to 85.00 (post-test). The total N-Gain value was 0.623 in the medium–high category, and most of the students were found to have moderate to high improvement. Paired t-test results also found significant differences (p < 0.001). The findings indicate that Virtual Reality-based Geotourism Learning Model is highly valid, applicable, and effective to develop the vocational students’ tourism competencies. The study has theoretical implications for the design of digital learning and practical recommendations for enhancing vocational tourism education in Indonesia and elsewhere. © 2026 by the authors.
Doctoral Program of Educational Technology Department, Doctoral Program of Early Childhood Education Department, Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia
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