Metaverse in tourism: drivers and hindrances from stakeholders' perspective

Although the transformative impact of the metaverse on tourism and its marketing has been widely discussed, little is known about the metaverse in tourism marketing. In this study, in-depth interviews with 19 representative metaverse tourism stakeholders from multiple categories are conducted. Based on a modified conceptual model of destination competitiveness and stakeholder theory, this study reveals that the factors driving the development of metaverse tourism are planning and management; economic, sociocultural, and technological factors; and recognition and acceptance, whereas the hindrances stem mainly from the government, industry, tourists, local communities, and educational institutions. Accordingly, theoretical and practical contributions are provided.