Current Issues in Tourism

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Metaverse tourism: conceptual framework and

research propositions

Chulmo Koo, Jookyung Kwon, Namho Chung & Jungkeun Kim

To cite this article: Chulmo Koo, Jookyung Kwon, Namho Chung & Jungkeun Kim (2022):
Metaverse tourism: conceptual framework and research propositions, Current Issues in Tourism,
DOI: 10.1080/13683500.2022.2122781

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CURRENT ISSUES IN TOURISM
https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2022.2122781

RESEARCH NOTE

Metaverse tourism: conceptual framework and research

propositions
a b a c
Chulmo Koo , Jookyung Kwon , Namho Chung and Jungkeun Kim
a
Smart Tourism Education Platform, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea; bDepartment of Hotel,
Tourism, and Foodservice Management, Dongguk University-Gyeongju, Gyeongju, Republic of Korea; cDepartment
of Marketing, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

Although research on the category of metaverse attributes has expanded, Received 29 March 2022
the notion of metaverse tourism has yet to be identified in the tourism Accepted 5 September 2022
context. This research note suggests four propositions of metaverse
KEYWORDS
tourism. First, the core technologies of metaverse tourism will lead to a Metaverse tourism;
new level of immersive experiences. Second, metaverse tourists can immersive experience; multi-
develop more realistic expectations in the pre-trip stage. Third, identification profile;
researchers should consider metaverse tourist’s multi-identification technology
profiles. Lastly, metaverse tourism offers the new business model of a
creative economy. As such, the research note suggests that tourism
researchers begin to understand the metaverse tourism ecosystem and
investigate the metaverse tourism experience of the pre-, during-, and
post-travel stages to create precise research ideas.

Introduction
The term “metaverse” combines “meta” with “universe.” This term was first used in the 1992 science
fiction novel Snow Crash. The term “metaverse” refers to a 3D virtual environment that emphasizes
interpersonal relationships (Gursoy et al., 2022); in this setting, people communicate as avatars or as
actual participants. The metaverse can be a metaphor for a virtual world (i.e. transcendence) beyond
the physical world (Davis et al., 2009). In accordance with Aristotle, physics is considered the first law
of nature and the nature of things, which is existence. By contrast, the term “metaphysics,” which
literally means “after physics,” refers to the nature of awareness and the interaction between
mind and matter.
The fundamental issue is apparently the convergence of virtual reality (VR) with an online digital
second life. New metaverse terms can be articulated into several subcomponents: augmented reality
(AR), a digital second life, an immersive 3D environment, a computing platform, and avatars that
interact with other people. That is, the metaverse tourism is a collection of articulate objects,
humans and avatars, interfaces, and networking capabilities in the tourism industry. Given the
advancements in technology, the tourism industry has implemented innovations to improve custo-
mer experience and reduce operating expenses (Chen et al., 2021). In this regard, numerous scholars
have proposed new concepts in tourism, such as e-tourism and smart tourism (Gretzel et al., 2015).
Amid the rising importance of understanding various paradigms of technological transformation
across the travel industry, scholars have been confronting a third wave of the Internet era, which
has introduced digital twins and the metaverse (Choe et al., 2017; Park & Stangl, 2020).

CONTACT Jookyung Kwon htmkwon@gmail.com

© 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2 C. KOO ET AL.

The hospitality and tourism industries have taken notice of the metaverse because it fosters a sense
of presence and social interactions by allowing travelers to inspire travel activities and services within a
wide range of geographic locations beyond physical limitations, particularly during and after the
COVID-19 pandemic (Gössling & Schweiggart, 2022). For example, Southwest Airlines introduced an
in-flight moving map application. The map provides an immersive virtual experience for all of South-
west destinations, allowing passengers to use AR and watch short videos. Leven, a hospitality brand, is
developing a metaverse virtual hotel wherein people worldwide can interact in an immersive, fun
virtual hotel environment. Although the metaverse has the potential to be used as a future customer
evaluation tool (Shen et al., 2021), theoretical frameworks and research propositions must still be
developed to establish a comprehensive metaverse tourism ecosystem and research agenda by
understanding the benefits of using the metaverse in tourism (Kwon & Koo, 2022)

Conceptual framework and research propositions

To improve the understanding of the concept of metaverse tourism, the authors compared previous
paradigm shifts in tourism such as e-tourism and smart tourism. Table 1 provides the paradigm shifts
in the tourism field by referring to previous studies (Gretzel, 2021; Gretzel & Koo, 2021; Gretzel et al.,
2015). As indicated in Table 1, the technological revolution plays a variety of roles throughout the
history of the travel industry. However, researchers have expressed questions regarding the feasi-
bility of immersive AR/VR experiences in smartphones (Orús et al., 2021; Ventura et al., 2019).
Core technologies in metaverse tourism (e.g. brain – machine interface (BMI), head-mounted
display (HMD), and blockchain) enable tourists to have extensible, absorptive, immersive, and sim-
ultaneous experiences. Consequently, these encounters heighten the immersion level because
they represent touristic reality. Metaverse tourists can interact with other tourists in a hyper realistic
environment via avatars, using verbal and nonverbal cues, along with physical senses.

Immersive experience
Immersion is “the degree to which people perceive that they are interacting with their virtual
environment rather than their physical surroundings” (Davis et al., 2009, p. 93). At present, research

Table 1. Conceptualization of Metaverse Tourism

eTourism Smart Tourism Metaverse Tourism
Sphere Digital Bridging between digital and physical Seamless transition between digital
and physical
Core Search engine, HTML web Sensors and smartphones, big data, BMI, HMD, 3D brainstorming tools,
technology automotive artificial intelligence, facial expression tools, rendering
service robot technologies, blockchain,
cryptocurrency, non-fungible token
Role of Searching, booking, Navigating, enhancing mobility Simulation, sense of being, appearance
technology reviewing of avatar, memory recall
Phase Pre- and post-trip During trip Pre-, during, and post-trip
Economic Transaction economy Platform economy Metaverse creative economy
system
Tourist Human Human Avatar and human
identity
Information Text and image Text, image, and video (e.g., YouTube) Text, image, video, and physical senses
cues (e.g., touch, sight, and hearing)
Tourist Information search and Cocreation with technology mediation Parasocial interaction between tourists
experience booking and avatars
Outcomes Price competition, Recommendation, social network Self-image, well-being with others in a
delivery and logistics, activities and interactions, virtual world, visual artifacts and
product and service personalization, decision-making via creative items, connection and
optimization online reviews, peer-to-peer service reconnection between the
model metaverse and the real world
 CURRENT ISSUES IN TOURISM 3

on the category of metaverse attributes (e.g. AR, lifelogging, mirror worlds, and VR) has expanded
the understanding of diverse businesses and imbued these businesses with the potential to
provide a novel type of travel experience (Choe et al., 2017; Filieri et al., 2021; Park & Stangl,
2020). However, one of the powerful effects is the immersive aspect, which can be articulated
through visual communication between avatars, voice and body language and gestures, and face-
to-face expression through avatars. Davis et al. (2009) identified three concepts of interest in relation
to people/avatars in the metaverse: representation, presence, and immersion. Representation not
only includes the appearance of avatars but also their interactions with their surroundings. These
interactions can have an effect on people’s sense of being in an environment, which is also
known as presence. As technology advances, people experience a high level of presence and immer-
sion in virtual environments. Immersed users are more likely to believe they are connected to the
virtual rather than the physical world. Designers and users can create a metaverse platform with
face-to-face simulations for immersive interactions in the travel context. Individuals will be immersed
with a strong desire and motivation for new experiences in new places and novelty-seeking activities
(Talukdar & Yu, 2021).
Proposition 1: The core technologies of metaverse tourism will lead to a new level of immersive experiences for
future tourists.

Avatar/profile
Researchers have investigated the use of personal characters as avatars to better understand the real
and virtual personalities of travelers; in addition, these avatars help researchers examine the inten-
tion of travelers toward a certain destination (Kim & Kim, 2021; McWha et al., 2018). By rendering
their avatars, travelers intend to design their appearance, surroundings, and locations. However,
the notion of avatars in metaverse tourism has yet to be realized in the tourism context. According
to Takano and Taka (2022), it is important to understand whether avatars can express and play a tra-
veler’s role through direct control. In the tourism context, customers of e-tourism and smart tourism
identify themselves as humans when interacting with technologies while metaverse tourists inter-
changeably transfer their identification from human to avatar, or vice versa, during their travel
journey.
Furthermore, the different purposes (e.g. learning, entertaining) of creating avatars will be
strongly related to the potential attitudes and behavior of tourists (Schrader, 2019). Uncertain situ-
ations and privacy issues arising from travel can occur at any time. Avatar simulation continues to
transform the reproduced real situation through multilevel interactions between humans and
avatars. Consequently, the travel experiences of travelers and avatars must be integrated into multi-
level interactions to understand the evaluation of the tourist’s experience. Thus, avatars present a
new travel identity, a profile in an immersive environment for a traveler’s expectation, behavior,
and outcomes.
Proposition 2: Metaverse tourism will usher in a new era of evaluation by considering a tourist’s multi-identifi-
cation avatars/profiles.

Tangibilizing services
Researchers have highlighted the significance of realistic travel expectations in the decision-making
process of tourists (Fan et al., 2022; Scholl-Grissemann et al., 2020). However, given the intangibility
of tourism products and services, tourists are unable to experience displayed or sampled travel.
Although travel companies have attempted to tangibilize services by showing videos, reviews
from previous tourists, and awards, they are unable to assist tourists in setting realistic expectations
for services (Hossain et al., 2022). Here, it is necessary to consider the ways of newly potential paths
that connect more tourists to real traveling events through metaverse tourism. Metaverse tourism
4 C. KOO ET AL.

can deliver pre-trip simulation and develops tourists’ realistic expectations by replicating real-world
travel experience and inspiring tourists during the pre-trip stage (Fan et al., 2022). Hence, researchers
must overlook the new approach of the socio-technical phenomenon in the tourism context. Such
initiatives can also open up “try before you buy” marketing techniques ranging from written con-
tents to VR opportunities. Currently, metaverse features (i.e. virtual kayak and travel with Google
Street View) are transforming the hospitality and tourism industries by changing how people
choose lodging and travel destinations (Gursoy et al., 2022). Thus, metaverse tourists can set
goals and customize their journey on the basis of more realistic assumptions.
Proposition 3: The new method of tangibilizing services with the metaverse will help tourists have more reason-
able expectations of their destinations and develop their travel concept during the pre-trip stage.

Reconnecting and reinforcing

The metaverse has given rise to new business models not only in terms of representing people/
avatars but also in terms of reconnecting real-world businesses (e.g. face-to-face interaction)
(Shen et al., 2021). The goal of the metaverse is to allow users to interact with people worldwide
through a virtual environment by using 3D avatars while simultaneously providing seamless trans-
actions (Dwivedi et al., 2022). Entrepreneurs can come up with novel and innovative business ideas
because of the metaverse’s boundless space and frictionless transition (Gursoy et al., 2022). Accord-
ing to Dwivedi et al. (2022) scalable and synchronous experiences inspire metaverse users to add
value to their thoughts and fantasies by combining their imagination and the information they
obtain from various sources. In the tourism context,
metaverse tourism will provide an opportunity to create and develop imaginative fantasies and
pioneering ideas, resulting in a creative economy in the metaverse by reconnecting and reinforcing
space to the real world. The most important vision in metaverse tourism is the desire to immerse in a
virtual setting and the ability to reconnect simulated virtual destinations and behavior into re-
immersion in a physical destination. Thus, metaverse tourists can reinforce a physical visit to a des-
tination by actualizing their fantasies and imagination.
Proposition 4: Unlimited space and seamless transaction will be fundamental for the new business model of a
creative economy in the metaverse tourism by reconnecting and reinforcing space to the real world.

Metaverse tourism ecosystem

As digital capacities and capabilities grow, unique business models have emerged in 3D web com-
puting ecosystems (Smart et al., 2007). By using the conceptual idea, the current study proposes a
metaverse tourism ecosystem with four types of business models (e.g. AR, lifelogging, mirror
worlds, and virtual worlds) and two sides from a traveler and a supplier in two complementary
worlds (e.g. virtual world and real world). Two technological methods are available for conducting
business types. The definition of augmentation is “technologies that add new capabilities to existing
real systems via a physical layer.” The definition of simulation is “technologies that provide simulated
worlds as the locus for interaction” (Smart et al., 2007, p. 5). Consequently, we can provide mirror
worlds, which are “informationally enhanced virtual models and reflections of the physical world”
(Smart et al., 2007, p. 9), and lifelogging, which refers to “user life histories, observation, communi-
cation, and behavior modeling of everyday experiences” (Smart et al., 2007, p. 14). Figure 1 depicts
the typology of the metaverse by the horizontal level [intimate (identity-focused) and external
(world-focused)] and by vertical level (augmentation and simulation).
In summary, the authors defined “metaverse tourism ecosystem” as an immersive 3D virtual world
where travelers’ social interactions with one another and with travel agents in the ecosystem are
supported by a number of stakeholders and provide opportunities to create a new method for tan-
gibilizing services and inspire a creative economy by connecting virtually, reconnecting physically,
 CURRENT ISSUES IN TOURISM 5

Figure 1. Metaverse typology by Smart et al. (2007).

and reinforcing space to the real world (versus the virtual world). By contrast, travelers can separate
from one identity in the physical world to create two experiences of multi-identities (e.g. avatars and
personas) in the virtual world. Travelers are typically involved in the pre-, during, and post-stages of
touristic processes. Travelers focus on a method of absorptive involvement through the use of
Google Earth (i.e. external/simulation), such as a mirror world and AR (i.e. external/augmentation).
Meanwhile, travelers can use mobile applications and VR with HMD to create their avatars/digital
profiles and immerse themselves in lifelogging (i.e. intimate/augmentation) or virtual worlds (i.e. inti-
mate/simulation). However, the metaverse tourism ecosystem is not yet fully but only partially actua-
lized. Integration does not occur, and numerous limitations exist, such as limited sensory effects (e.g.
smell, touch, and taste) and inconvenient devices (e.g. HMD). To generate multiple identifications
and immersive experiences, a sensory-rich environment is essential and should be combined with
3D rendering technologies and broadband capacity to manipulate avatars and travel behavior (Lauk-
kanen et al., 2022). Finally, various suppliers (e.g. hotels, locations, amenities, and transportation)
offer a variety of new tangibilizing services and immersive experiences, encouraging options to
reconnect to the real world (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Metaverse tourism ecosystem

6 C. KOO ET AL.

Conclusion
This research note aims to trigger academic debate about metaverse tourism in the travel sector and
its potential effect on the tourism industry. The metaverse tourism ecosystem must address two
issues: multiuser virtual worlds and a fast-growing digital space that encompasses social, economic,
tourism, and political activities with a link to the real world. However, the metaverse tourism ecosys-
tem should plan for a platform that can seamlessly connect to the fundamental infrastructure of
broadband capacity and Wi-Fi connection, allowing it to operate 3D rendering technology at any
time in the metaverse environment. Consequently, this note suggests that tourism researchers
must begin to understand the metaverse tourism ecosystem and investigate diverse metaverse
tourism experiences in the pre-, during, and post-travel stages to create precise research ideas
and solutions. Several research issues are discussed, such as social benefits and challenges, business
benefits and challenges, events, points of interest, locations, and destinations in the tourism context.

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

Funding
This work was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of
Korea (NRF-2019S1A3A2098438).

ORCID
Chulmo Koo http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9822-1279
Jookyung Kwon http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6438-5136
Namho Chung http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2118-0413
Jungkeun Kim http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2104-833X

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