Short answer

Incorporate immersive metaverse elements into tourism and hospitality offerings to create richer, more engaging, and accessible user experiences.

Field: User-Centred Design
Source: Journal of Tourism Futures (2025)
Method: Bibliometric analysis and science mapping
Evidence: Strong effect

The metaverse offers a novel platform for tourism and hospitality to create deeply engaging and personalized user experiences by leveraging virtual, augmented, and extended reality technologies. This user-centred design research insight is drawn from a 2025 study published in Journal of Tourism Futures. Using Bibliometric analysis and science mapping, researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Incorporate immersive metaverse elements into tourism and hospitality offerings to create richer, more engaging, and accessible user experiences.

Study

User-Centred DesignNew This WeekStrong effect

Metaverse integration in tourism enhances user engagement through immersive experiences

The metaverse offers a novel platform for tourism and hospitality to create deeply engaging and personalized user experiences by leveraging virtual, augmented, and extended reality technologies.

Journal of Tourism Futures · 2025

Key Findings

01Current trends focus on tourism mobilities, cultural heritage exploration, digital landscape transformation, and motivation for virtual reality adoption.
02Future trends indicate a transformation of the industry through immersive heritage exploration and technology adoption in metaverse tourism.

Application

Design takeaway

Incorporate immersive metaverse elements into tourism and hospitality offerings to create richer, more engaging, and accessible user experiences.

How to apply

Develop virtual reality or augmented reality applications that allow users to explore destinations, interact with cultural artifacts, or preview hotel amenities in a simulated metaverse environment.

Project actions

01Consider how a virtual representation of a product or service could enhance user understanding or desire.
02Explore the use of VR/AR to simulate user interaction with a design concept.

Method & Evidence

AimWhat are the current and future trends of metaverse adoption in the tourism and hospitality industry, and how do these trends shape user engagement and experience?

MethodBibliometric analysis and science mapping

ProcedureThe study analyzed academic literature related to the metaverse and its application in tourism and hospitality to identify knowledge structures, temporal evolution, and thematic clusters, mapping current and future trends.

ContextTourism and Hospitality Industry, Metaverse Technology

Variables

IV["Metaverse integration (presence/absence, level of immersion)","Type of immersive technology (VR, AR, XR)"]

DV["User engagement","User satisfaction","Perceived realism","Intent to visit/book"]

CV["Type of tourism/hospitality offering","User's prior experience with VR/AR","Demographics of users"]

Strengths & Limitations

Strengths

+Provides a comprehensive overview of current and future trends through a systematic literature review.
+Identifies key themes and research gaps in the metaverse and tourism domain.

Limitations

The rapid pace of metaverse development means that research findings may quickly become outdated.

Reliability & validity

The bibliometric approach provides a systematic and objective method for mapping the research landscape, enhancing the reliability of identified trends. Validity is supported by the analysis of a broad range of academic publications.

Think critically

To what extent can the metaverse truly replicate the sensory and emotional richness of physical travel, and what are the ethical considerations of promoting virtual tourism over actual travel?

Design Principles

"Leverage immersive technologies to bridge the gap between physical and digital experiences, enhancing user engagement and accessibility in the tourism sector."

Understanding how immersive technologies like the metaverse can be applied in tourism allows designers and businesses to develop innovative services and products. This shift towards digital immersion can redefine customer journeys, offering new ways to explore destinations, interact with cultural heritage, and experience hospitality services before, during, or after a physical trip.

What This Means for Your Design

The metaverse can make travel more exciting by letting people explore places virtually before they go, or even experience them without leaving home.

How to use in your project

1.Use the findings to justify the exploration of immersive technologies for a user-centred design project in the tourism or hospitality sector.
2.Cite the identified trends to support the development of a metaverse-based tourism experience.

Add to My Project

Quick Cite

Paragraph starter

This research indicates that the metaverse presents significant opportunities for the tourism and hospitality industry to enhance user engagement through immersive experiences. By integrating virtual, augmented, and extended reality, designers can create novel ways for users to explore destinations and interact with services, aligning with user-centred design principles that prioritize engagement and accessibility.

Source

Journal of Tourism Futures

Metaverse in tourism and hospitality industry: science mapping of the current and future trends

journal · 2025

View source

Questions About This Research

What does the research say about metaverse integration in tourism enhances user engagement through immersive experiences?: Incorporate immersive metaverse elements into tourism and hospitality offerings to create richer, more engaging, and accessible user experiences. Evidence: Journal of Tourism Futures (2025).
Why does "Metaverse integration in tourism enhances user engagement through immersive experiences" matter for design?: Understanding how immersive technologies like the metaverse can be applied in tourism allows designers and businesses to develop innovative services and products. This shift towards digital immersion can redefine customer journeys, offering new ways to explore destinations, interact with cultural heritage, and experience hospitality services before, during, or after a physical trip.
How can designers apply this research?: Incorporate immersive metaverse elements into tourism and hospitality offerings to create richer, more engaging, and accessible user experiences.
What were the main findings?: Current trends focus on tourism mobilities, cultural heritage exploration, digital landscape transformation, and motivation for virtual reality adoption.. Future trends indicate a transformation of the industry through immersive heritage exploration and technology adoption in metaverse tourism.
What research method was used?: Bibliometric analysis and science mapping.
How strong is the evidence?: Evidence strength is rated Strong effect, based on a 2025 journal from Journal of Tourism Futures.
What should I do differently in my next project?: Develop virtual reality or augmented reality applications that allow users to explore destinations, interact with cultural artifacts, or preview hotel amenities in a simulated metaverse environment.
What are the limitations?: The study is based on existing literature and may not capture all nascent or proprietary developments in the rapidly evolving metaverse space.