NEW PAPER PUBLISHED ON METAVERSE

Kılıçarslan, Ö., Yozukmaz, N., Albayrak, T., Buhalis, D., 2024, The impacts of Metaverse on tourist behaviour and marketing implications, Current Issues in Tourism, https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2024.2326989

ABSTRACT Metaverse is expected to deeply affect the travel and tourism industry and requires a dearth of empirical research. In this investigation, two exploratory qualitative research studies were conducted to fill this gap. The first research explored the potential impacts of Metaverse on the travel and tourism industry by interviewing tourism academics. Findings revealed that Metaverse could be used for marketing, CRM, and HRM by hospitality organisations, while it would be useful for marketing and sustainability of destinations. It could also influence tourist behaviour before, during, and after travel experiences. One of the notable findings was related to the close relationship between Gen Z and virtual events. The second research identified the motivations of Gen Z individuals to attend a concert organised in Metaverse. Accordingly, novelty-seeking, escape, fun and excitement, and socialisation were the most significant push factors to use  Metaverse.  Metaverse-specific characteristics, accessibility, and availability were the important pull factors to attend a Metaverse concert.