Investigating metaverse marketing for travel and tourism

Abstract

The metaverse, defined as an interoperated persistent network of shared virtual environments, engenders perception of holistic presence for audiences through avatar embodiment as well as psychological and physiological immersion in synchronous interaction with other agents and objects. Metaverse tours is a newly emerged phenomenon requiring deepened understanding in the travel and tourism industry. The current study, applying pertinent concepts of enactive cognition and positive psychology, proposes and verifies a theoretical framework. As the research result suggests, concomitant effect exercised by perception of holistic presence containing subdimensions of spatial-presence, social-presence, and self-presence alongside holistic happiness comprising hedonia and eudaimonia serves to reinforce actual visit intention towards a tourism destination in the metaverse context. The current study contributes to explicating an effective avenue conducive to bringing out optimal impact of metaverse tours for travel and tourism marketing.