This study performs a science mapping approach based on bibliometric analysis of the metaverse and its associated technology in tourism and hospitality. As an immersive technology, metaverse has penetrated various segments of human life and business activities. This digital transformation phenomenon has also penetrated tourism and hospitality in mixed reality, comprising virtual, augmented and extended reality.
The knowledge structure of the past and future trends in the sector’s metaverse application is analyzed to present the topological and temporal structure by a science mapping approach.
Findings show that current and emerging trends are related to tourism mobilities, cultural and heritage tourism, digital landscape transformation and motivation to adopt virtual reality. At the same time, future trends suggest three themes related to the transformation of the tourism industry through the metaverse: immersive heritage exploration, technology adoption in metaverse tourism.
Metaverse technology will continue impacting tourism services and product offerings. Stakeholders and players in the tourism sector need to adapt to the development of metaverse technology to stay competitive and relevant in today’s digital environment.
Through a science mapping approach, this study offers a crucial temporal and structural understanding of the metaverse in tourism phenomenon.
1. Introduction
Metaverse refers to a 3-dimensional environment where people communicate as avatars beyond the physical world (Koo et al., 2023; Wider et al., 2023). According to Ritterbusch and Teichmann (2023), the Metaverse is a walkable version of the internet, opening doors to new business areas. It is an immersive technology that has led to the development of reality-virtuality metaverse technologies, such as virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, and extended reality (Alegro et al., 2023; Filimonau et al., 2024). Metaverse technologies have transformed and will further change how users experience integrated real and virtual environments (Tom Dieck and Han, 2022). Metaverse has been popularized in the gaming industry, where people communicate and interact within the digital realm (Mohammed et al., 2024). The technology has penetrated many aspects of human life, such as education, entertainment and tourism. The tourism industry has recently applied metaverse technology to provide explicit user experiences.
The tourism industry has benefited from metaverse technologies from several angles. It has transformed the tourism and hospitality industry as people can visit places without physically being there (Buhalis et al., 2023). It provides the extra sensory experience by seamlessly integrating the real and virtual environments (Bretos et al., 2023). People can select destinations and lodgings, tour, make bookings, and attend concerts thousands of miles from where they are staying. Although metaverse technology cannot replace in-person travel, there has been substantial improvement in virtual and augmented reality through immersive technology. These technologies have driven tech-savvy and digital natives to engage in tourism activities through virtual globetrotting. Furthermore, Metaverse, an immersive technology, serves as digital immersion and allows users to have unique experiences, such as dangerous natural phenomena like volcanic eruptions (Buhalis et al., 2023). Metaverse in tourism allows users to experience engagement, social presence, and attachment, leading to visits to real destinations (Zulfiqar et al., 2024). Thus, business owners and marketers can make effective use of metaverse to increase incoming travelers to their destinations.
The current study is motivated by two main reasons. Firstly, the crucial role of metaverse technology in elevating tourism services and products. Metaverse provides personalized travel and immersive experiences and enhances visitor interaction (Chen, 2024). Particularly after COVID-19, the Metaverse provides room for withdrawal to a stable world, offering an antithesis and opportunity for engagement (Gössling and Schweiggart, 2022). Virtual tourism has replaced conventional travel, making it an integral substitute for destination visits through digital exploration during travel constraints (Riesa and Haries, 2022). The metaverse application in tourism and hospitality lays a solid foundation for the evolvement of economic and social interactions in virtual space (Calderón-Fajardo et al., 2024). There have been products such as the National Geographic virtual reality subscription that allows users to experience virtual kayaking through the icebergs in Antarctica and the hidden treasures in Machu Picchu (Gursoy et al., 2022). Another example is Disney’s “theme park metaverse”, which integrates the virtual, physical and digital worlds, allowing guests to interact with Disney’s characters (Wei, 2024). In the food and beverages sector, Wendy’s restaurant opened a virtual reality “Wendy-verse restaurant” where diners can come and play, connect, explore and earn points that can be redeemed at the physical Wendy’s restaurant (Ruggless, 2022).
Second, there are several gaps in the literature on review studies related to Metaverse and tourism. Buhalis et al. (2023) present a review of the impact of Metaverse on tourism experience, management, and marketing. In a generic bibliometric review, Rejeb et al. (2023) indicate that metaverse research has grown significantly across various domains, including tourism and hospitality, in the last decade. Hanaa and Abdul (2024) explore the function of augmented reality (AR) in the industry. This study is the closest to the current scope by presenting three significant gaps. First, the study only focuses on augmented reality, whereas this study brings a macro perspective of the Metaverse in the sector. Second, the study by Hanaa and Abdul (2024) only performs a brief science mapping analysis, which limits the discovery of the knowledge structure on the metaverse topic. Third, the study adopts the Scopus database, whereas this study uses the Web of Science, considered the most robust database.
In another study, Johri et al. (2024) reviewed the Metaverse as a tool for sustainable practices, including sustainable tourism. The technology provides virtual tourism facilities, leading to fewer travelers visiting conservation sites. Fan et al. (2022) analyze tourist experience using AR/VR technology through meta-analysis. Bretos et al. (2023) critically reviewed VR and AR in tourism and the future research agenda in these technologies. Li et al. (2023) performed a bibliometric analysis of user experience in museums through the immersive technology of VR. In comparison, Prados-Castillo et al. (2024) evaluate a bibliometric and systematic review study on metaverse technology in tourism. However, the study lacks comprehensive keywords, with only “metaverse tourism” and “virtual reality tourism” without covering other elements of metaverse technology. The study also did not perform a science mapping analysis. These studies have provided a surface understanding of the Metaverse in tourism and hospitality. However, a pertinent gap in the topic still requires exploration of the knowledge structure through a bibliometric approach. Hence, the following two objectives are proposed:
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To determine current and emerging trends based on bibliographic coupling analysis.
- (2)
To investigate prospective future trends on Metaverse in the tourism and hospitality sector through co-word analysis.
The flow of this paper is structured as follows. This section introduces the literature and discusses the crucial role of metaverse application in tourism and hospitality. Section 2 elucidates the methodology applied using the science mapping approach through bibliometric analysis. Next, section 3 elaborates on the findings and discussion based on the network map and cluster generation. Section 4 presents the implications deduced from the findings of the cluster. Subsequently, section 5 outlines the limitations encountered, and section 6 elaborates on future research avenues. Lastly, section 7 presents the conclusion.
2. Methodology
2.1 Bibliometric approach
Bibliometrics is a novel approach that applies quantitative methods to analyze bibliographic databases through science mapping techniques (Donthu et al., 2021). Bibliometric analysis is considered the third review method, complementing the qualitative approach of systematic review and the quantitative approach of meta-analysis (Zupic and Čater, 2015). The analysis serves as a scientific mapping based on several analyses: citation analysis, co-citation analysis, co-occurrence of keywords, bibliographic coupling and co-authorship analysis (Van Eck and Waltman, 2014). To achieve the objectives stipulated, we performed two network analyses of bibliographic coupling and co-word analysis. Bibliographic coupling assumes that two publications are connected when they cite the same third publication, representing bibliographic strength (Donthu et al., 2021). The higher the bibliographic strength indicates their connection in a similar field theme. The analysis helps researchers uncover the latest developments, providing current and emerging themes (Budler et al., 2021). Meanwhile, co-word analysis or co-occurrence evaluates the themes based on the frequency of keywords extracted from the title, abstract and author keywords (Van Eck and Waltman, 2014; Fauzi, 2023). The analysis assumes that the higher the keywords occurred, the higher their relevance in a particular field of study.
2.2 Research design and data collection procedure
The following search string (Table 1) was employed to classify publications based on relevant keywords. The keywords were applied in the topic search (TS) in the WoS search option to capture publications where the words appeared in the title, abstract, and authors' keywords. We scoped the publications to journals, limiting other types like conference proceedings, books, book chapters, and editorials. The software VOSviewer version 1.6.18 was employed to present the network visualization.
Search string applied in WoS database
| No | Keywords | Justification |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “metaverse*” OR “virtual realit*” OR “augment* realit*” OR “extend* realit*” OR “mix* realit*” | To identify literature related to the Metaverse and its related terminologies |
| 2 | “tourism*” OR “hospitalit*” OR “hotel*” | To identify literature related to tourism and hospitality |
Source(s): Authors’ own creation/own work
3. Findings and discussion
The WoS core collection was searched using the pre-determined search string on the 2nd of April 2024. Initial documents show that 1,344 were retrieved from the database. After limiting to only journal publications, only 863 were included for further analysis. The total citations received were 17,367 and 12,652 (without self-citations). The average citation for each document was 20.12, with an h-index of 62. Figure 1 shows the number of publications and citations within the context of tourism and Metaverse through the WoS graph. The trend shows that cumulative publications and citations are increasing year-to-year, indicating the relevance of metaverse technology in this field.
3.1 Bibliographic coupling
Out of the 862 documents, 56 met a threshold of 71 citations. These 53 documents create 4 clusters. The threshold was finalized by setting the level at different values. After several threshold trials (from 65 to 75), the most robust network was determined at 71 citation thresholds. As the bibliographic coupling basis of the analysis is on the co-citing relationship, the most significant documents are based on the total link strength (TLS), indicating the recent link between the document network (coupling strength) (Fauzi et al., 2024). The top 3 documents (Table 2) are Marasco et al. (2018) (310 TLS), Errichiello et al. (2019) (303 TLS) and Kim and Hall (2019) (294 TLS).
Top 10 documents of Metaverse in tourism and hospitality
| No | Publication | Scope | Citation | Total link strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marasco et al. (2018) | Role of virtual technologies in destination management | 135 | 310 |
| 2 | Errichiello et al. (2019) | A cluster analysis on wearable virtual reality technology in museum marketing | 75 | 303 |
| 3 | Kim and Hall (2019) | Virtual reality tourism and hedonic motivation model | 188 | 294 |
| 4 | Flavián et al. (2019a) | Integration of virtual reality devices into tourists | 77 | 278 |
| 5 | Kim et al. (2020a) | Consumer behavior in virtual reality tourism through stimulus-organism-response framework | 470 | 276 |
| 6 | Fan et al. (2022) | A meta-analysis of tourism experience through augmented/virtual reality applications | 90 | 267 |
| 7 | Flavián et al. (2019b) | Customer experience trough metaverse | 451 | 256 |
| 8 | Flavián et al. (2021) | Guests’ emotions and engagement through virtual reality | 83 | 239 |
| 9 | Lee et al. (2020a) | Behavioral intention on the quality of virtual reality | 85 | 237 |
| 10 | Lee et al. (2020b) | Virtual reality in museums and tourist immersive experience | 143 | 233 |
Source(s): Authors’ own creation/own work
The following Figure 2 visualizes the network of bibliographic coupling. There are four imminent clusters in the network, suggesting four distinct themes. The clusters are interpreted and labeled based on the authors' inductive analysis through common themes and research streams.
- (1)
Cluster 1 (red): With 16 publications, this cluster is labeled “Tourism mobilities and association with metaverse technology”. Time shows that the tourism industry requires technology that brings tourists to a destination without the need for traveling and mobility. Hannam et al. (2014) present the concept of tourism mobilities, associating with Metaverse in providing the technologies, materialities and automobiles to ensure tourism can be realized. Hyun and O'Keefe (2012) proposed the concept of telepresence in virtual reality tourism destination image. It was found that web-mediated information influences tourist telepresence, subsequently leading to a positive virtual destination image. Lee et al. (2012) discussed the disabled tourism market, where it was posited that between 5% and 20% of the population are disabled. People with disabilities have the right and given full opportunity to travel and tourism. With the advent of the Metaverse and technology, disabled people have been provided a platform for experiencing tourism destinations and products.
- (2)
Cluster 2 (green): With 15 items, this cluster is labeled “Tourists’ experience in cultural and heritage site using metaverse technology”. Augmented reality has been used as one of the crucial technologies in cultural and heritage tourism. Through the stakeholder approach, Tom Dieck and Jung (2017) discovered that augmented reality application imparts experiential, cultural and historical, economic, social, educational and epistemic value from the internal and external stakeholders' perspectives. Augmented reality is considered an indispensable approach to ensure travelers’ satisfaction, preserve history, tap into new market and contribute to positive learning adventure. Han et al. (2018) asserted that user experience is created based on tourists' experience, perception, and correlation with product features. Chung et al. (2018) evaluated the role of augmented reality through an integrated theory on tourists' belief and satisfaction toward augmented reality in cultural heritage sites. Findings show that aesthetics and perceived advantage positively influenced user’s satisfaction towards augmented reality.
- (3)
Cluster 3 (blue): With 15 items, cluster 3 is labeled “Transformation of the digital landscape through metaverse”. The Metaverse technologies have transformed the tourism and hospitality industry in many ways. Dwivedi et al. (2023) signify the contribution of the Metaverse on branding, marketing and advertising, value creation, service and consumer wellbeing. The potential of Metaverse on the interaction between consumers and brands has sparked intense interest in transformative opportunities for marketers. In an opinion review, Gursoy et al. (2022) classified three main future agendas of Metaverse in tourism and hospitality: (1) staging experience in the Metaverse, (2) consumer behavior challenge changes (3) metaverse operations and marketing strategies. Conceptualized as a disruptive technology in the industry, the Metaverse has revolutionized and transformed tourism marketing, management, and consumer experience (Buhalis et al., 2023). Metaverse coordinates and manages positioning and branding through digital twins and empowers destination awareness.
- (4)
Cluster 4 (yellow): This cluster is labeled “Tourists’ motivation to adopt virtual reality”. This cluster is centered on the user’s motivation to adopt virtual reality as one of the emerging technologies in virtual reality. Kim et al. (2020b) discovered that predictors of tourist use of virtual reality are affected by subjective wellbeing and authentic experience. Subsequently, both wellbeing and experience are affected by compatibility, social interactivity, playfulness, benefit, simplicity and informativeness. Li and Chen (2019) concluded that perceived enjoyment of VR mediates tourists' usefulness of VR and its perceived ease of use on traveling intention. The positive relationship is moderated by the expected enjoyment of the tourist destination. Lee et al. (2020a) developed a model based on Delone and McLean’s IS (Information system) success model. They found that system, content quality, and vividness positively influence tourists' telepresence and attitude, subsequently influencing positive intention to visit a destination. The following Table 3 summarizes the analysis by depicting representative publications based on the clusters' labels.
Bibliographic coupling analysis on Metaverse in tourism and hospitality
| Cluster No and color | Cluster label | Number of publications | Representative publication |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (red) | Tourism mobilities and association with metaverse technology | 16 | Hyun and O'Keefe (2012), Hannam et al. (2014), Lee et al. (2012) |
| 2 (green) | Tourists' experience in cultural and heritage sites using metaverse technology | 15 | Tom Dieck and Jung (2017), Han et al. (2018), Chung et al. (2018) |
| 3 (blue) | Transformation of the digital landscape through Metaverse | 15 | Dwivedi et al. (2023), Gursoy et al. (2022), Buhalis et al. (2023) |
| 4 (yellow) | Tourists’ motivation to adopt virtual reality | 9 | Kim et al. (2020b), Li and Chen (2019) |
Source(s): Authors’ own creation/own work
3.2 Co-word analysis
With the same database, the co-word analysis finalized 43 out of 3,345 keywords that met 25 thresholds, resulting in three clusters. Similar to the previous analysis, the occurrences threshold was finalized after several runs and trials to determine the most robust network visualization. This analysis finalized the threshold after several threshold tests ranging from 20 to 30 until 25 was determined to produce the most robust network. Table 4 depicts the top 15 highest co-occurred keywords. The top three keywords are virtual reality (260 occurrences), augmented reality (259 occurrences) and tourism (205 occurrences).
Top 15 keywords of Metaverse in tourism and hospitality
| Rank | Keyword | Occurrences | Total link strength |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Virtual reality | 260 | 792 |
| 2 | Augmented reality | 259 | 822 |
| 3 | Tourism | 205 | 746 |
| 4 | Virtual-reality | 146 | 546 |
| 5 | Technology | 136 | 565 |
| 6 | Experience | 126 | 513 |
| 7 | Impact | 109 | 490 |
| 8 | Model | 98 | 481 |
| 9 | Satisfaction | 85 | 385 |
| 10 | Destination | 70 | 340 |
| 11 | Travel | 70 | 333 |
| 12 | User acceptance | 68 | 352 |
| 13 | Intention | 65 | 329 |
| 14 | Metaverse | 56 | 141 |
| 15 | Information-technology | 53 | 250 |
Source(s): Authors’ own creation/own work
Figure 3 visualizes the network structure of the co-word analysis. It can be concluded that there are three clusters representing three different themes. The three clusters are assigned the appropriate labels by the author’s inductive interpretation.
- (1)
Cluster 1 (red): With 17 keywords, cluster 1 is labeled “Transformation of the tourism industry through metaverse technology”. The technology related to tourism is inclined towards immersive-related technology. In this domain, immersive technology is discussed mainly in presence, immersion, interactivity, telepresence, and vividness (Fan et al., 2022). Asif and Fazel (2024) discovered emerging trends in digital technology in tourism and hospitality, including smart tourism, e-tourism and digital innovation in hospitality. These keywords emphasize the importance of metaverse technology combined with other current technologies such as big data analytics and blockchain. Prados-Castillo et al. (2024) asserted that metaverse technologies could democratize travel tourism experiences, allowing them to visit global destinations, especially those who are physically and economically constrained. Despite the potential of metaverse technologies, concern about the digital divide due to the lack of human interactions and cultural exchange that characterize tourism leads to a loss of authentic value.
- (2)
Cluster 2 (green): With 16 keywords, this cluster is labeled “Immersive heritage exploration through metaverse technology”. Metaverse and its associated technology provide an immersive experience, particularly in heritage and cultural exploration. Trunfio et al. (2022) asserted that AR and VR contribute to service model innovation for museums to convey and disseminate their cultural heritage values. The technology stimulates innovative service in museums through exhibition contents, reception staff and general museum organization. Chen et al. (2024) explored tourist AR factors (individual, technical and situational) on the post-experience usage towards their destination revisit intention to Liangzhu Museum based on a socio-technical perspective. Findings show that trust in technology (individual factor), novelty (technical factor), aesthetics, authenticity and education (situational factor) influenced tourist AR to revisit intention. In another study, Panhale et al. (2023) studied AR usage in museum visits, discovering five techniques that facilitate experience co-creation through AR: personalization, participation, social interaction, storytelling and gamification.
- (3)
Cluster 3 (blue): This cluster comprises ten keywords labeled “Exploring tourism metaverse futures through user acceptance of technology adoption”. Metaverse and other disruptive technologies such as Web 3.0, artificial intelligence and generative AI have disrupted the tourism and hospitality industry ecosystem. The tremendous potential of metaverse technology allows businesses to adopt metaverse technology, especially augmented reality and virtual reality, to interact with consumers (Alam et al., 2024). Buhalis et al. (2024) unveil crucial insight into the technological impact, including Metaverse, on the tourism and hospitality industry. It was discovered that user adoption of the Metaverse depends on the dynamic nature of their response to the changes in tourism, such as mobile apps, contactless services and online booking platforms. Using use and gratification theory, Jo (2023) discovered that symbolic, hedonic and utilitarian benefits significantly influence users' metaverse continuance intention. Perceived usefulness was a crucial driver of these benefits, but perceived ease of use was not. Calderón-Fajardo et al. (2024) found that using the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT-2) model, facilitating condition, social influence and price value have a crucial significant impact on the intention to use Metaverse. The outcome leads to users' intention to visit a tourism destination. Table 5 summarizes the co-word analysis, comprising clusters of color, number of keywords, cluster labels, and representative keywords.
Summary of co-word analysis of Metaverse and tourism and hospitality
| Cluster No and color | Cluster label | Number of keywords | Representative keywords |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (red) | Transformation of the tourism industry through metaverse technology | 17 | Virtual reality, technology, travel, acceptance, telepresence, experience, destination image |
| 2 (green) | Immersive heritage exploration through Metaverse technology | 16 | Tourism, augmented reality, virtual-reality, mixed reality, heritage, authenticity, co-creation |
| 3 (blue) | Exploring tourism metaverse futures through user acceptance of technology adoption | 10 | Technology acceptance model, adoption, user acceptance, determinants, intention, satisfaction |
Source(s): Authors’ own creation/own work
4. Implications
4.1 Theoretical implications
This review has several crucial theoretical underpinnings. First is the role of the Metaverse in shaping the lenses through which scholars and practitioners view metaverse applications in this industry. This theme is depicted in cluster 3 of bibliographic coupling and cluster 1 of co-word analysis. This digital transformation has led to issues related to addressing the scope of transformation, particularly on marketing and consumer behavior research (Zhang et al., 2024; Prados-Castillo et al., 2024). This technology has allowed researchers and practitioners to explore diverse new business models within the scope of avatars representing real-life people to connect real-world businesses (Koo et al., 2023). Consumer behavior changes require players in metaverse technology to adapt diverse digital marketing strategies addressing new business models based on the creative economy. As the Metaverse compiles behavior-based profiles of customers, operating firms can design services and products tailored based on artificial intelligence (Wei, 2024). Addressing this process enables optimum service in immersive and virtual metaverse environments through artificial intelligence (AI) transformation (Saydam et al., 2022). AI enables advanced data computing capabilities, super-fast speed, and ample storage, allowing hospitality firms to make accurate predictions of consumer needs in the metaverse environment (Solakis et al., 2024).
Second is the pertinent role of users' technology adoption of the Metaverse and related technologies (cluster 4, bibliographic coupling and cluster 3, co-word analysis). There are several theories and models scholars have relied on, including the technology acceptance model (TAM) (Corne et al., 2023; Mandal et al., 2024), UTAUT (Calderón-Fajardo et al., 2024) and use and gratification theory (Jo, 2023). These theories have provided crucial theoretical perspectives on the use of metaverse technologies in tourism. Integration and a combination of theories can be implemented to extend the understanding of these technology adoption theories. For instance, Liu and Park (2024) integrated the TAM and the theory of planned behavior (TPB). The findings show that presence positively influenced attitude, usefulness, and ease of use. In a different study, Zhang et al. (2024) combined self-determination theory and the TPB in assessing Gen Z and Gen Y metaverse adoption in tourism. It was found that intrinsic motivation, attitude and perceived behavioral control were crucial determinants of tourists' intention to use Metaverse.
4.2 Managerial implications
This study has crucial managerial implications. Firstly, it is the application of metaverse technology in cultural and heritage sites. Related themes are found in cluster 2 of bibliographic coupling and cluster 2 of the co-word analysis. Within the many categories of tourism products, cultural and heritage tourism need immersive technology to preserve cultural and heritage artefacts (Zhang et al., 2022). Through augmented reality, Metaverse has been used to improve user engagement with the historical background of conservation sites (Chen et al., 2024). Furthermore, augmented reality can also explain and visualize damaged artefacts and provide visual interpreters by providing information that is impossible to explain in a single text. Hence, a great opportunity lies within metaverse applications in the museum context, requiring continuous improvement of the underlying technology and user interface to gain social attention.
Another crucial implication of Metaverse in tourism is the sustainability of the tourism sector. These technologies could contribute to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the concept of environmental, social, and governance (ESG). It is considered an innovative approach to elevate the tourism sector towards achieving tourism-related SDGs (Go and Kang, 2023). The stakeholders, including government, business owners and scholars, must adapt and conform to the changing landscape of tourism products related to the Metaverse as the central platform in tourism and sustainable development (Mihalic, 2024). This adaptation will ensure that players in the tourism sector develop innovative strategies to lead, govern, manage and promote metaverse tourism and determine its viability with the long-term aim of achieving sustainability. These sustainable tourism insights should be implemented through actionable strategies. National policies should be regulated to preserve highly secure destinations to certain degrees, such as strictly preventing physical visits and only using virtual reality, for instance. This way, people can be educated while generating profit streams for the local community and national tourism growth. Governments can also provide reduced tax incentives to tourism operators and other associated supply chain firms, such as transportation, hotels, and restaurants, to provide a state-of-the-art metaverse experience for tourists and generate revenues without them physically coming to destinations. All these efforts would contribute to preserving and ensuring tourism sustainability for many generations.
5. Limitations
Several limitations are associated with this review. First, the issue of the sole database through WoS in the science mapping analysis. The reason for utilizing WoS is that it is considered the most established and robust bibliographic database, determining the quality of retrieved publications and, subsequently, the quality of the network visualization. Despite not being encouraged to merge or combine databases (Echchakoui, 2020), it is interesting to explore different themes that might be produced from other databases such as Scopus and PubMed. Second, we only applied two bibliometric analyses (bibliographic coupling and co-word analysis). In contrast, another three science mapping procedures (citation, co-citation and co-authorship) can be performed to acquire the scientific and temporal structure of the current subject.
6. Future research avenues
There are several opportunities to extend the outcome of this study in future studies. Zhu et al. (2023) proposed the non-immersive VR experience in tourism management and marketing. Due to the cost-effectiveness and affordability of tourists, non-immersive VR technology allows a virtual experience without requiring a headset in immersive VR technology. Destination managers promote this non-immersive VR approach because of its efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and convenience (Atzeni et al., 2022). Some studies found that it can still provide telepresence, a feeling of immersive and giving a sense of “being there” (Zhu et al., 2023; Hyun and O'Keefe, 2012). Despite that, non-immersive VR technology is still in its infancy, requiring further exploration and investigation (Zhu et al., 2023). This opportunity provides the chance for future scholars to expand their findings. The limitation of virtual reality, an immersive technology in 3D pictures and videos, is the requirement of headsets. Some tourist operators, especially small enterprises, could not afford it. Non-immersive focuses on the real world instead of computer-generated images (Ventura et al., 2022). It has been promoted by destination managers due to its cost-effectiveness and convenience (Atzeni et al., 2022). This non-immersive technology would help small and medium-sized tourism operators enhance their products with minimal cost and resources.
Within social responsibility, the Metaverse could complement tourism characteristics to serve people with mobility issues. It can fulfill residents' social and economic activities. Particularly vulnerable and mobility-impaired people such as elderly people, reduced mobility patients and blind and visually impaired groups (Florido-Benítez, 2024). Immersive technologies have proven to empower individuals' well-being and mental health (Nadarasa, 2024). The technology has also improved digital accessibility and inclusiveness of disabled people in society (Radanliev et al., 2023). Therefore, authorities and policymakers need to design affordable immersive activities and intervention programs for residents and potential virtual tourists to choose from and pay for.
7. Conclusion
This review critically explores the metaverse technologies in the tourism and hospitality industry. Several current and future themes were identified from the two-science mapping analysis. The current and emerging research streams are associated with tourism mobilities, cultural and heritage tourism, digital landscape transformation and motivation to adopt virtual reality. At the same time, future trends suggest three themes related to the transformation of the tourism industry through the Metaverse, immersive heritage exploration and technology adoption in metaverse tourism. The findings from this study suggest that the future of tourism relies on these metaverse technologies. It is inevitable that to stay relevant in the market, tourism operators, stakeholders and users must embrace these technologies. A crucial way forward for metaverse application in tourism is the impact of these technologies on sustainability in the tourism sector. Metaverse products can be enhanced to further expand tourism products and resources (Go and Kang, 2023). Adopting metaverse technologies would enable the firm to become relevant to the market’s needs and contribute to sustainable development.
Funding: This study is funded by “Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah Flagship Grant: Made in UMPSA (UMPSA Grant no PDU213001-3)”.
