Metaverse Tourism: An Overview of Early Adopters’ Drivers and Anticipated Value for End-Users

Abstract

The current study aims to explore the early adoption of the metaverse in the hospitality and tourism industry, with a particular focus on understanding adoption drivers for tourism providers and the anticipated benefits for end-users. Addressing the need for practical insights in a rapidly evolving digital landscape, the review identifies 33 real-world early cases of metaverse and non-fungible token (NFT) adoption, spanning from the first metaverse hotel in 2006 to ongoing digital twins of tourism destinations up to 2023. This study follows the PRISMA technique and examines early metaverse adopters at both the enterprise and destination levels, categorizing them into metaverse-based, NFT-based, and complementary-to-tourism cases. The analysis applies two theoretical frameworks: the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to examine adoption drivers and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to assess expected end-user benefits. Key findings highlight promotion, brand engagement, new revenue streams, and community building as primary motivations for adoption, while user benefits include enhanced entertainment, social interaction, improved decision-making, and immersive experiences. By bridging theory and practice, this study contributes both actionable guidance for tourism stakeholders and a theoretical foundation for future research on digital transformation in tourism.

1. Introduction

It is widely acknowledged that technology has become a cornerstone in transforming the tourism industry (Seyitoğlu & Ivanov, 2022; Cobanoglu et al., 2021; Ivanov, 2019) by influencing how people select travel destinations (Ioannidis & Kontis, 2023a), participate in experiences (Dwivedi et al., 2022), interact with companies and organizations (Buhalis & Law, 2008), and create value during their travels (Caddeo & Pinna, 2021). Additionally, technology enables service automation (Ivanov et al., 2017), site management (Guttentag, 2010), and real-time response to critical circumstances (Chen, 2023; Trunfio & Pasquinelli, 2021). The metaverse, along with AI, has been one of the most widely discussed disruptive technologies (Allam et al., 2022; Dhelim et al., 2022), especially after the announcement of the company “Meta” (ex “Facebook”) in 2021 that a new era is about to come where users “…are in the information, not just looking at it” (Meta, 2021). In a tourism context, the metaverse has the capability to create virtual environments where users can immerse themselves in various worlds, either fictional or real ones, that replicate real-world destinations (Chow et al., 2023). It seamlessly merges virtual and real elements with the use of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) (Mystakidis, 2022; Flavian et al., 2019), offering users a unique way to explore places and activities from the comfort of their own homes (Bayram, 2021). All these benefits render the metaverse an essential tool for pre-trip planning, enabling travelers to preview their selected destination prior to their actual visit (Fan et al., 2022). Furthermore, the metaverse facilitates a deeper exploration of destinations while on-site (Tussyadiah et al., 2018) and reshapes post-travel activities, such as sharing feedback, recalling, and visualizing memories, or sharing experiences with friends (Buhalis et al., 2023). In addition, the metaverse has the potential to offer tourism experiences to a broader audience, including people with physical limitations (Bibri, 2022; Duan et al., 2021) or financial constraints (Hollensen et al., 2023) who might otherwise find it challenging to visit their preferred destinations.

The metaverse is commonly defined as a “virtual, three-dimensional world”, a characterization widely adopted by researchers, industry stakeholders, and institutional entities such as the European Union (Allam et al., 2022; Buhalis & Karatay, 2022; Dhelim et al., 2022; Dwivedi et al., 2022; Kim, 2021; Ball, 2022). According to Allam et al. (2022), the metaverse introduces a new model for living and working in virtual cities, representing an alternative vision that anticipates the development of smart cities in the long term. Drawing on Stephenson’s Snow Crash, the metaverse is depicted as a digital escape from dystopian realities, providing a more desirable, immersive world when the physical one becomes inhospitable due to economic and societal breakdowns. In tourism specifically, Volchek and Brysch (2023) describe the metaverse as a space that allows users to escape the constraints of daily life, enabling them to travel virtually to any destination worldwide via avatars. They emphasize that the metaverse mirrors the concept of an embedded internet, wherein users can access real, augmented, or virtual objects and locations from anywhere on the globe. Various scholars (Gursoy et al., 2022; Yang et al., 2022; Kim, 2021; Narin, 2021) recognize the potential of the metaverse as a powerful marketing tool, which offers novel approaches to brand engagement, community building, and interactive communication between companies and their target audience. As a result, since the coining of the term in 1992 up to the present day, several tourism companies and destinations have announced plans for a more metaverse-oriented future. Since tourism decisions are made before the actual visit and the entire phenomenon of tourism heavily relies on the overall experience, guests have always found it hard to evaluate offerings in advance (Bilgihan et al., 2015). The “try before you buy” approach that the metaverse aspires to offer stands as a holy grail for both the supply and the demand side of tourism. It offers opportunities to explore destinations virtually before, during, and after travel. According to Kılıçarslan et al. (2025), it can let potential tourists “preview” hotels, cultural sites, and even travel services by virtually visiting these locations, which helps reduce uncertainties and build expectations about a real trip. Nonetheless, at present, only a limited number of tourism providers have indeed embraced this disruptive technology (Dwivedi et al., 2023), largely due to significant drawbacks that accompany the metaverse’s adoption.

Indeed, while offering transformative potential for digital interaction, the metaverse faces numerous challenges that hinder its broad adoption. Interoperability issues across jurisdictions and organizations complicate seamless integration between platforms and regions (Dwivedi et al., 2022). As Florido-Benítez (2024) highlights, enforcing laws in such a decentralized and borderless environment presents significant legal hurdles. Moreover, the absence of clear regulations and sufficient consumer protection exposes businesses and Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) to legal and reputational risks. The metaverse, therefore, cannot yet serve as a reliable immersive marketing tool to boost tourism in cities, although the first early attempts have already been made, as revealed by the present review. Security and privacy vulnerabilities remain unresolved, increasing the risk of data breaches and cyber threats. In addition, the high cost of participation—due to expensive hardware and the need for fast internet—worsens digital inequality. Psychological concerns such as addiction, identity confusion, and social detachment are also emerging. Furthermore, the energy demands of sustaining large-scale virtual environments raise serious environmental concerns. These issues highlight the urgent need for robust governance, ethical oversight, and inclusive design to ensure the metaverse evolves in a secure and sustainable direction.

In this evolving and often uncertain environment, feedback from the business world and real-world cases provides valuable guidance for the integration of metaverse technologies into the tourism industry. The present study addresses this need by focusing on early adopters of the metaverse across diverse tourism players, hotels, destinations, airlines, airports, tourism conferences, IT firms, staff training institutions, and cultural organizations. Drawing on data collected from tourism service providers, the study identifies both the drivers for adopting metaverse technologies and the anticipated benefits such adoption may offer to end-users. To analyze these dimensions, the study applies two complementary theoretical frameworks. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) is used to categorize adoption drivers, given its focus on factors influencing organizational and individual technology adoption, while the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is employed to interpret anticipated end-user benefits. Given the nascent stage of the metaverse, this paper effectively bridges academia and the business world by connecting theoretical discussion on metaverse tourism with real-world cases. Furthermore, it lays the groundwork and provides directions for field research by highlighting a plethora of adoption drivers drawn from real-world cases. As a result, the research offers a meaningful contribution by providing practical insights and evidence-based perspectives that can inform strategic planning, guide policy formulation, and support stakeholders in navigating the complexities of metaverse implementation. Beyond its practical relevance, this study also adds to the growing theoretical discourse by framing early adoption patterns within a broader context of digital transformation in tourism.

2. Literature Review

2.1. Theoretical Background

The rapid advancement of technology has significantly transformed the tourism industry, reshaping how travelers plan, experience, and share their journeys. From the rise of online booking platforms and mobile applications to the integration of virtual reality (VR), extended reality (XR), augmented reality (AR), blockchain technology (Valeri & Baggio, 2021), artificial intelligence (AI), and the metaverse (Ioannidis & Kontis, 2023b) technology now plays a crucial role in almost every stage of the travel experience (Buhalis & Karatay, 2022). Hotels, airlines, tour operators, and tourism destinations increasingly rely on digital tools to improve operational efficiency, customer engagement, satisfaction, and loyalty (Godovykh et al., 2022). However, the success of technological innovations often depends on how readily both customers and tourism providers accept and integrate them into their routine. Understanding the factors that influence technology adoption has therefore become critical. Two of the most widely used models for analyzing this behavior are the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), developed by Davis in 1989 (Go et al., 2020; X. Zhang et al., 2022), and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), developed by Venkatesh and his colleagues in 2003 (Chang, 2022). According to TAM, two primary factors, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, influence a user’s intention to adopt a new technology (Davis, 1989). Travelers are more likely to embrace these technologies if they perceive them as enhancing the convenience, efficiency, or overall quality of their trips. Likewise, hotel staff and tourism operators must see new digital systems as not only easy to use but also beneficial to their performance, whether through improving operational efficiency or enhancing guest satisfaction. In recent years, researchers have expanded TAM to include variables particularly relevant to hospitality and tourism, such as trust, perceived risk, and enjoyment (Bae & Han, 2020; Go et al., 2020; Huang et al., 2019). Tourists are often unfamiliar with service providers in different locations, making trust a critical extension of TAM in this industry. For instance, online reviews, secure payment systems, and transparent service information all bolster perceived trust, directly influencing technology adoption rates. Furthermore, perceived enjoyment, especially through interactive and gamified experiences in the metaverse, has emerged as a significant motivator for tourists engaging with digital platforms (J. Zhang et al., 2025). Customization of services, enabled by data-driven technologies, also plays a key role, as travelers increasingly expect personalized recommendations and offers (Ioannidis & Kontis, 2023a). As technology continues to evolve, understanding and applying TAM or extended TAM in hospitality and tourism remains essential for businesses aiming to enhance guest experiences, streamline operations, and maintain a competitive advantage in an increasingly digital landscape. To this end, the current review study enriches TAM by identifying a variety of factors that have motivated tourism entrepreneurs to adopt the metaverse in its early phase.

Building on earlier models, such as TAM, Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), and Diffusion of Innovation Theory (DOI), UTAUT highlights four key factors influencing technology adoption, namely performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions (Ali et al., 2024). Performance expectancy refers to the extent to which users perceive a technology as enhancing their job performance or providing personal benefits. Effort expectancy measures the perceived ease of use of the technology, indicating how much effort users expect to put into learning and using it. Social influence captures the effect of peers, colleagues, or other social groups on an individual’s decision to adopt a technology, while facilitating conditions involve the availability of resources, infrastructure, and technical support that enable the successful use of the technology (Venkatesh et al., 2003). In the tourism sector, UTAUT provides valuable insight into the adoption of new technologies, such as mobile apps, virtual reality experiences, or online booking systems. For example, performance expectancy may drive tourism service providers to implement innovations they believe will enhance operational efficiency, while tourists may be more likely to adopt technologies that improve their travel experience (Gupta et al., 2018). Similarly, effort expectancy and social influence can help explain the ease with which consumers adopt these technologies and the role that recommendations or peer behaviors play (Kamboj & Joshi, 2021). Facilitating conditions, such as user support or internet access, can significantly impact adoption rates.

2.2. Metaverse-Based Cases

The very first attempt of utilizing the metaverse in tourism industry is credited to the global hospitality chain “Starwood Hotels”, which launched the “Aloft” hotel in the virtual world “Second Life” in 2006 (Hospitality Net, 2006; Brouchoud, 2010; Tobies & Maisch, 2012; Stephen Gates, 2014). The primary objective was to enable users to virtually visit and experience an “Aloft” venue, designed as a digital twin of a forthcoming physical “Aloft”. Digital twin technology can be described as a computational program that enables the accurate digital representation and simulation of physical objects (Allam et al., 2022). A digital twin in a tourism context refers to a virtual replica of a physical hotel, destination, or service environment, designed to simulate real-world operations and guest experiences with seamless flow of information between the physical and the digital counterparts (Lee et al., 2021). Digital twins can be used to showcase facilities, personalize guest journeys, and test service improvements in an immersive virtual space. In the case of “Aloft”, the digital twin served as a platform for users to share feedback on improvements to the physical hotel before its construction began. The operation of the metaverse-based “Aloft” concluded upon the completion of the physical hotel, having successfully achieved its goal: users’ feedback proved valuable and played a pivotal role in introducing modifications to the original plans for the physical hotel. The second case appears 15 years later, in October 2021. The world was introduced to “RendezVerse”, the first technology company to provide digital twin and metaverse solutions, specifically designed for hotels and tourism destinations (Rendezverse, 2023; Thomas, 2022). The company initially launched a 360° VR application for hotels and quickly expanded its services to include metaverse infrastructure. From the first year of operation, “RendezVerse” undertook the development of the digital twins of four widely known hotels, namely “Atlantis-The Palm Dubai”, “Intercontinental Paris le Grand”, “JW Marriott Marquis Dubai”, and “Madrid Marriott Auditorium” (Rendezverse, 2023; Speak, 2022; Globetrender, 2022b) and followed with “Anantara Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky Amsterdam” (Hayhurst, 2022), “Four Seasons Resort Bali” (Petkov, 2023), and “Mövenpick Hotel Amsterdam City Center” (Green Globe, 2023) in 2022. These digital twins (in progress at the time of this study) plan not only to provide users with the opportunity to explore the physical venues but also to facilitate hoteliers hosting virtual events. The reduced environmental impact is another significant advantage of this attempt, as the use of digital twins eliminates the need for physical travel to assess the venue prior to each event. Particularly for the hotel chain “InterContinental”, its actual debut in the metaverse took place in 2022 with a limited collection of 10 non-fungible tokens (NFTs) (Speros, 2022). Each NFT showcased artwork inspired by worldwide travels and provided exclusive luxury travel privileges to its owners. These benefits included a famous art piece, InterContinental Ambassador status, Platinum Elite status, and a one-night stay at the newly opened “InterContinental Rome Ambasciatori Palace” for the NFT owners (Petkov, 2023; IHG, 2023).

“MSocial”, part of the “Millennium Hotels and Resorts” chain, made history as the first real-world hotel represented in the metaverse, on the “Decentraland” platform (TTG Asia, 2022). Far from being a faithful replica of its physical counterpart, “MSocial” was created for vivid communication between the company and metaverse users, brand engagement, and promotional purposes. Upon entering, visitors are welcomed by a virtual receptionist at the lobby and are encouraged to explore the building, move their avatar to the rooftop, take a selfie, and share it on social media using the hashtag #MsocialDecentraland. Users engaged in this activity receive rewards at the physical hotels of “Millennium Hotels & Resorts” (Branding in Asia, 2022; Globetrender, 2022a). In contrast to “MSocial”, the realization of the first precise representation of a physical hotel became a reality during 2022 (Riu Hotels, 2022). “Riu Plaza España”, part of “TUI Group”, opened its virtual doors in the “AltspaceVR” platform, standing as the first digital twin hotel to concurrently operate in both the metaverse and the physical world. The main goal of “Riu Plaza España” is to operate in a phygital format, delivering services in real-time through both its physical and metaverse venues. In another case, “Mövenpick Hotel Amsterdam City Center” focuses on sustainable virtual exploration by building its digital twin and allowing users worldwide to explore the hotel areas using VR headsets for booking an event, reducing the need for physical travel (TravelFeed, 2023). This eco-friendly initiative aligns with Mövenpick’s commitment to CO₂-neutral meetings, contributing to sustainability goals by minimizing unnecessary flight movements and associated emissions for event planners (Green Globe, 2023).

At the same time, another hotel chain, “EV Hotels”, sought to position itself as a crypto-trading-friendly and NFT-oriented firm, aiming to penetrate the crypto and NFT markets. Revenue generation through NFT sales or potential commissions from crypto trading (Buhalis et al., 2023; Escobar, 2022b; EV Hotel Corp., 2022) is also a key objective for “EV Hotel”. The first case of a digital twin of a city took place in 2022, with the city of Incheon (Um et al., 2022). This project is primarily focused on transforming Incheon into a fully smart city, enhancing services and experiences for both residents and tourists, thereby improving quality of life and visitation rates (Kuru, 2023; Smart City Korea, 2023).

Still in 2022, the Manchester-based hotel “LEVEN” introduced the virtual space “Levenverse” on the platform “Decentraland”. Users explore the virtual venue, where all the traditional hotel spaces, such as the reception, the lobby, or the lift, have been redesigned. “Levenverse” prioritizes guests’ well-being and aims to provide a sense of freedom in the virtual version of the hotel. This aligns with the positioning statement of the physical hotel, according to which freedom and flexibility are central to their philosophy. Moreover, the virtual venue of the hotel serves as an exhibition space for NFT collections, inviting digital artists to showcase and sell their creations, similarly to an art gallery. The case of “Levenverse” closely resembles that of “EV Hotel”, where both aspire to position themselves as NFT-friendly hotels, while profit generation is an option for both the firms and the end-users. For the company, revenue streams include NFT sales, sales of virtual wearables for the avatars, and fee collection from digital artists for exhibiting or selling their works in “Levenverse” (Liveleven, 2022). For the users, profit can be realized by trading NFTs. In the same year, the first crowdfunding initiative in the hotel industry through the metaverse took place, with the goal of funding a physical hotel. The Netherlands-based boutique hotel chain, “CitizenM”, purchased virtual land on the platform “Sandbox” for exhibiting and selling a series of NFTs (Parsi, 2022; SofokleousIn, 2022). Buyers of these NFTs were entitled to rewards in the form of services from physical “CitizenM” hotels and gained voting rights for selecting the location of the new physical hotel. The funds generated by the NFT sales played a crucial role in financing the construction of a physical “CitizenM” (Sheber & Speros, 2022).

Table 1. Early adopters of the metaverse in the tourism industry.

Date	Metaverse-Based Cases	Adoption Drivers	Anticipated Benefits	Source
2006	Aloft Hotel	Brand engagement Collect feedback Encourage co-creation Promotion	Entertainment Feeling of co-creation Share feedback	(Hospitality Net, 2006; Brouchoud, 2010; Tobies & Maisch, 2012; Stephen Gates, 2014)
2021	Atlantis—The Palm Dubai	Brand engagement Distribution channel Enhance guest experience Enrich provided services Promotion Revenue stream	Enhanced experience Entertainment Escapism Help w/decision-making Personalization Socialization Source of information Workplace Reduce costs	(Rendezverse, 2023; Speak, 2022; Globetrender, 2022b)
2021	Madrid Marriott Auditorium	Brand engagement Distribution channel Enhance guest experience Enrich provided services Promotion Revenue stream	Enhanced experience Entertainment Escapism Help w/decision-making Personalization Socialization Source of information Workplace Reduce costs	(Rendezverse, 2023; Globetrender, 2022b)
2021	JW Marriott Marquis Dubai	Brand engagement Distribution channel Enhance guest experience Enrich provided services Promotion Revenue stream	Enhanced experience Entertainment Escapism Help w/decision-making Personalization Socialization Source of information Workplace Reduce costs	(Rendezverse, 2023; Globetrender, 2022b)
2021	Intercontinental Paris Le Grand	Brand engagement Distribution channel Enhance guest experience Enrich provided services Promotion Revenue stream	Enhanced experience Entertainment Escapism Help w/decision-making Personalization Socialization Source of information Workplace Reduce costs	(Rendezverse, 2023; Speak, 2022; Globetrender, 2022b)
2022	Anantara Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky Amsterdam	Brand engagement Distribution channel Enhance guest experience Enrich provided services Promotion Reduce environ. impact Revenue stream	Enhanced experience Entertainment Escapism Help w/decision-making Personalization Socialization Source of information Workplace Reduce costs	(Escobar, 2022a; Hayhurst, 2022)
2022	Four Seasons Resort—Bali	Brand engagement Distribution channel Enhance guest experience Enrich provided services Promotion Reduce environ. impact Revenue stream	Enhanced experience Entertainment Escapism Help w/decision-making Personalization Socialization Source of information Workplace Reduce costs	(Petkov, 2023)
2022	Mövenpick Hotel Amsterdam City Center	Reduce environ. impact Replace website	Enhanced experience Help w/decision-making Personalization Reduce costs Source of information	(Green Globe, 2023; TravelFeed, 2023)
2022	MSocial Hotel	Brand engagement Community building Distribution channel Promotion	Entertainment Escapism Real-world privileges Socialization	(TTG Asia, 2022; Branding in Asia, 2022; Globetrender, 2022a)
2022	Riu Plaza España	Brand engagement Distribution channel Enhance guest experience Enrich provided services Promotion Replace website	Enhanced experience Entertainment Help w/decision-making Source of information	(Riu Hotels, 2022; TUI Group, 2022)
2022	EV Hotel	Community building Enrich provided services Positioning Promotion Revenue stream Rewards program	Enhanced experience Entertainment Escapism Help w/decision-making Personalization Socialization Source of information Workplace Reduce costs	(Buhalis et al., 2023; Escobar, 2022b; EV Hotel Corp., 2022)
2022	Incheon City	Community building Distribution channel Enhance guest experience Improve residents’ life Promotion Smart city approach	Enhanced experience Entertainment Help w/decision-making Socialization Source of information	(Kuru, 2023; Smart City Korea, 2023; Um et al., 2022; S. C. Yoo et al., 2022)
2022	Levenverse	Brand engagement Community building Distribution channel Enhance guest experience Enrich provided services Positioning Promotion Revenue stream	Entertainment Escapism Profit generation Socialization Workplace	(Liveleven, 2022)
2022	CitizenM Hotel	Collect feedback Crowdfunding Encourage co-creation Rewards program	Entertainment Feeling of co-creation Profit generation Real-world privileges Socialization	(Buhalis et al., 2023; Sheber & Speros, 2022; Parsi, 2022; SofokleousIn, 2022)
2022	Accor Hotels	Brand engagement Community building Distribution channel Empower workforce Enhance guest experience Enrich provided services Promotion Recruitment channel Training tool	Enhanced experience Entertainment Motivational environment Real-world privileges Socialization Source of information Workplace	(Embling, 2023; Bettati, 2023; Accor, 2022; Tan, 2022)
2022	Roomza Hotels	Empower workforce Enhance guest experience Enrich provided services Reduce costs Reduce environ. impact	Enhanced experience Motivational environment Personalization Privacy Reduce costs Source of information Workplace	(Campbell, 2022; Roomza, 2022; HOTELS, 2022)
2023	Metaverse Seoul	Community building Distribution channel Enhance guest experience Improve residents’ life Promotion Revenue stream Smart city approach	Enhanced experience entertainment Help w/decision-making Socialization Source of information	(Naqvi, 2023; Seoul, 2023; TravelFeed, 2023)
2023	NEOM’s The Line	Enhance guest experience Improve residents’ life Promotion Smart city approach	Enhanced experience Entertainment Help w/decision-making Socialization Source of information	(Naqvi, 2023; Suboh, 2023; Saundalkar, 2022)
2023	Shanghai Metaverse Pilot	Community building Distribution channel Enhance guest experience Improve residents’ life Promotion Smart city approach	Enhanced Experience Entertainment Help w/decision-making Socialization Source of information	(Naqvi, 2023; Yuche & Lanlan, 2023)
2023	Virtual Osaka	Community building Distribution channel Enhance guest experience Improve residents’ life Promotion Smart city approach	Enhanced experience Entertainment Help w/decision-making Socialization Source of information	(Virtual Osaka, 2023; Wong et al., 2023)
2023	Metinburgh	Community building Distribution channel Educational tool Enhance guest experience Improve residents’ life Promotion Revenue stream Smart city approach	Enhanced experience Entertainment Help w/decision-making Socialization Source of information Workplace	(Metinburgh, 2023)

Source: the authors.

chronologically lists all real-world cases from 2006, when the first hotel in the metaverse became a reality, up to the end of 2023. In all the listed cases, firms selected a metaverse platform to address their audience; thus, they are labeled as metaverse-based cases. Some of them also make use of NFTs that are complementary to their metaverse; however, since the metaverse is their main medium, they are all listed within the same category.

Another early adopter is the French hotel chain “Accor”, making a decisive step to explore the metaverse with “AccorVerse” (Embling, 2023; Accor, 2022). The project introduces, for the first time, a hospitality career day in the metaverse (Tan, 2022). Users can create their avatars and explore “AccorVerse”, while the HR department of “Accor” will be able to evaluate candidates who join “AccorVerse” by incorporating tests or quizzes. In the same year, “Roomza Hotels”, an emerging hotel chain based in Chicago, introduced an innovative phy-gital concept of hotel operations, offering rooms in physical venues without any further common areas or human staff assistance. Shared spaces, such as reception, lobby, bar, or other traditional areas, as well as all personnel, are exclusively available in the metaverse. By blending physical accommodation with complementary infrastructure and services in the virtual realm, “Roomza Hotels” ensures guests enjoy unparalleled privacy and personalized services. Additionally, the workforce is empowered, as they benefit from a low-stress working environment, fostering positivity and high efficiency, according to the company’s webpage (Roomza, 2022). Furthermore, the company’s operation in the metaverse opens up new opportunities for hosting events or meetings (HOTELS, 2022), with substantially minimized environmental impact compared with similar events in the real world (Roomza, 2022; Campbell, 2022).

In 2023, South Korea introduced a second digital twin of a city called “Metaverse Seoul”, a platform enabling government officials to engage with citizens through virtual town halls and public forums (Seoul, 2023). The platform features a fintech lab, corporate support center, top tourist attractions, youth mentoring, and tax services. Centered on “freedom”, “inclusion”, and “connection”, “Metaverse Seoul” aims to establish itself as a global smart city, offering augmented experiences and creative communication accessible to all users (Naqvi, 2023). Meanwhile, neighboring countries, such as China and Japan, are also adopting metaverse applications in fields like tourism, public governance, and healthcare (Yuche & Lanlan, 2023; Wong et al., 2023). As part of a 5-year initiative, Shanghai is strategically implementing the metaverse across public and private sectors through the “Shanghai Metaverse Pilot” project (Naqvi, 2023). Similarly, Japan’s “Virtual Osaka” project aspires to promote tourism, boost visitation, and establish a novel approach to urban living (Virtual Osaka, 2023). As for “Shanghai Metaverse Pilot”, the project features digital replicas of 20 iconic tourist sites, drawing global interest and boosting visitation. Like other smart city initiatives, the project extends beyond tourism by enhancing government-citizen interactions. It also introduces advancements in fields such as business operations, education, branding, and entertainment, aiming to provide residents with more “intelligent” public services and novel ways of government-resident interaction (Yuche & Lanlan, 2023).

In contrast to “Metaverse Seoul”, “Incheon City”, and “Shanghai Metaverse Pilot”, the United Arab Emirates is pioneering the world’s first “cognitive city” in the metaverse, known as “NEOM”. The project enables users to explore and inhabit the metaverse version of the city while its physical counterpart is under construction (Naqvi, 2023). This innovative approach allows for global virtual visits to “NEOM” before making investment decisions related to real estate or tourism. According to Suboh (2023) and Saundalkar (2022), the metaverse platform seamlessly integrates digital and physical infrastructures, leveraging advanced technologies and AI features to harmonize the virtual and the real world. Finally, the latest case of a metaverse city in 2023 is “Metinburgh”, the metaverse version of Edinburgh (Metinburgh, 2023). The platform’s main objective is to establish a digital economy that integrates seamlessly real-world economy. This allows users to virtually explore Edinburgh, seek employment, spend time shopping, generate income, and navigate their avatars within the digital twin of the city of Edinburgh.

2.3. NFT-Based Cases

In contrast to metaverse-based cases, some early adopters in the tourism industry have prioritized the use of blockchain technology, particularly NFTs, to engage with their audience. In 2021, “Marriott Bonvoy” collaborated with three digital artists to create the first series of travel-themed NFTs, as part of its global campaign “Power of Travel” (Marriott News, 2021). The first NFT, named “Memoried”, created by the artist Tarek Mustapha, features memories amassed by visitors during their stays at various hotels of the hotel chain. The second NFT, “The Emotional Journey”, by Jared Richardson, evokes emotions tied to travels and destinations, serving as a natural continuation or complement to “Memoried”. The third NFT, “The Experiential In Between”, by Erick Nickolay, features the duality experienced by guests in “Marriott” hotels of various destinations, balancing the aesthetics of interior and exterior spaces with the natural beauty of each destination. A year later, in June 2022, the hotel chain “Hilton” launched a digital art and NFT pilot program in collaboration with “Niio Art”. The initiative featured curated art collections from prominent digital artists, showcased in selected New York City Hilton properties, including “New York Hilton Midtown” and “Conrad New York Midtown” (Hospitality Net, 2022). Larry Traxler, senior Vice President of “Hilton”, stated that the company “has a long history of embracing art and innovation, and with this project it aims to explore the use of digital art as a medium to enhance guest experience” (Töre, 2022). Through this program, guests could enjoy digital artwork displayed in hotel spaces and rooms. For the first time, they could also bring the experience home through subscription services and NFT giveaways, as noted by the NFT creator company.

In the same year, the “Great Tapestry of Scotland” partnered with the Scotland-based company “New Frontier” to replicate the entire “Great Tapestry” in the metaverse for tourism and educational purposes (TravelFeed, 2023). The “Great Tapestry”, which showcases Scotland’s history from pre-history to modern times, is brought to life in the metaverse, offering interactive learning experiences and serving as a foundation for a toolkit designed for Scotland’s tourism industry (South of Scotland, 2023). The project is funded through NFTs created by the organization, each featuring segments of the “Great Tapestry” (University of Aberdeen, 2023; Kortendick, 2022). A year later, in 2023, the latest NFT-driven initiative introduced a hotel entirely composed of NFTs, and operating on the Ethereum blockchain network (Sensation Hotels, 2023). The property, named “Crypto Hotel”, is a virtual hotel of 100 rooms, along with a farm and a nearby forest, all located on the platform “Crypto Land”. “UNYCU Hotels”, the parent company of “Crypto Hotel” in the real world, invites crypto and NFT communities to become stakeholders of the pioneering blockchain-based hotel by purchasing these NFTs. Users can also trade these NFTs, expecting financial profits. “UNYCU Hotels” aims to foster community engagement with the brand and establish an additional revenue stream via NFT sales for “Crypto Hotel”. Moreover, the company earns a 10% royalty fee every time an NFT is resold (OpenSea, 2023), a common strategy among NFT creators to maximize long-term profitability.

Table 2. Early adopters of NFTs in the tourism industry.

Date	NFT-Based Cases	Adoption Drivers	Anticipated Benefits	Source
2021	Global Power of Travel	Brand engagement Community building Promotion Revenue stream Rewards program	Entertainment Feeling of co-creation Profit generation Real-world privileges	(Marriott News, 2021; Barr, 2021; Karagoz Zeren, 2023)
2022	NY Hilton Midtown Conrad NY Midtown	Brand engagement Community building Promotion Revenue stream Rewards program	Feeling of co-creation Entertainment Profit generation Real-world privileges	(Hospitality Net, 2022; Töre, 2022; Niio, 2023)
2022	InterContinental Hotels & Resorts	Brand engagement Community building Positioning Promotion Revenue stream Rewards program	Entertainment Profit generation Real-world privileges	(IHG, 2023; Petkov, 2023; Speros, 2022)
2022	Great Tapestry of Scotland	Brand engagement Community building Crowdfunding Distribution channel Educational tool Enhance students’ experience Promotion Revenue Stream	Education–training Enhanced experience Entertainment Reduce costs Socialization	(TravelFeed, 2023; Kortendick, 2022; South of Scotland, 2023)
2023	Crypto Hotels	Brand engagement Community building Revenue stream	Entertainment Escapism Profit generation Socialization	(Sensation Hotels, 2023)

Source: the authors.

provides an overview of real-world cases in tourism, where NFTs are the primary tool for engaging with audiences. While some of these cases have started developing their own metaverses, NFTs remain the backbone of their digital strategy at the time of this study. For this reason, they are not yet included in the metaverse-based group.

2.4. Tourism-Complementary Cases

While the first two categories include cases from all primary components within the hospitality and tourism industry (hotels, destinations, and a local organization) that have adopted the metaverse and NFTs, the third category focuses on players that are complementary-to-tourism entities, such as aviation (air-companies and airports), hospitality training academies, and tourism conferences.

Table 3. Early adopters of the metaverse and NFTs from complementary-to-tourism sectors.

Date	Tourism- Complementary Cases	Adoption Drivers	Anticipated Benefits	Source
2019	V.R.H.T.I.	Educational tool Enhance students’ experience	Enhanced experience Education–training	(VRHTI, 2019)
2021	RendezVerse	Enrich offered services Positioning Revenue stream	Metaverse infrastructure	(Rendezverse, 2023; Thomas, 2022)
2022	AIRSI— The Metaverse Conference	Being relevant Enhance participants’ experience	Enhanced experience Reduce costs Workplace	(Ioannidis & Kontis, 2023b; AIRSI, 2022)
2022	Emirates Airlines	Brand engagement Community building Educational tool Empower workforce Promotion Reduce costs Revenue stream Rewards program	Enhanced experience Entertainment Education–training Feeling of co-creation Profit generation Reduce costs Real-world privileges Socialization Workplace	(Emirates, 2022, 2023; Accenture, 2022; Tamo, 2022; Tolba, 2022)
2022	Vueling Airlines	Enhance guest experience Distribution channel Promotion Reduce environ. impact Revenue stream	Enhanced experience Entertainment Profit generation Real-world privileges	(Ahlgren, 2022; Mariano, 2022; Saunders, 2022)
2022	ChangiVerse	Brand engagement Community building Promotion Revenue stream Rewards program	Entertainment Escapism Profit generation Real-world privileges Socialization	(International Airport Review, 2023; CHANGI, 2023)
2022	Bangalore International Airport	Community building Enhance guest experience Promotion	Enhanced experience Entertainment	(Naqvi, 2023; Anand, 2022; The India Express, 2022)

Source: the authors.

presents cases that have also begun to explore the use of the above technologies. In 2019, the first metaverse-based school for hospitality professionals, “VR Hospitality Training International” (VR.H.T.I.), was established (VRHTI, 2019). The organization initially utilized augmented and virtual reality applications for teaching, and soon expanded into a fully virtual environment, where students attended classes as avatars. Subsequently, the school developed a virtual hotel on the platform “Spatial” for educational purposes, marking the first documented use of the metaverse for hotel training. Three years later, in July 2022, the first scientific conference dedicated to tourism and technology, “AIRSI 2022—Technologies 4.0 in Tourism, Services & Marketing” (AIRSI, 2022), was held in the metaverse. During “AIRSI2022” presenters shared their screens on the video wall in a virtual amphitheater, mimicking the format of traditional presentations (Ioannidis & Kontis, 2023b). A few months prior to “AIRSI’22”, the Dubai-based airline company “Emirates” announced a series of NFT initiatives and plans for metaverse experiences for both customers and employees. Aligned with its positioning statement, “Emirates has always embraced advanced technologies to improve our business processes, enhance our customer offering, and enrich our employees” (Emirates, 2022), the company revealed its plans to introduce utility-based NFTs. These NFTs provide holders with real-world rewards and privileges (Willemse, 2023; McShane, 2024). Additionally, “Emirates” plans to leverage the metaverse to enhance employee training. Through its platform, cabin crew members can attend virtual classes as avatars, socialize, and participate in team-building activities (Emirates, 2023).

At the same time, “Vueling”, another airline company under the IAG umbrella, announced plans to introduce an innovative sales channel within the metaverse, allowing users to purchase NFTs with real-world applications. Through a partnership with “Next Earth”, the third-largest metaverse platform by number of users (more than 230,000 users and 45,000 virtual owners) (Mariano, 2022), “Vueling” became a pioneer in offering flights as NFTs. Beyond traditional bookings, the company places a strong emphasis on sustainability, enabling users to plan environmentally friendly trips, monitor carbon emissions, and access last-mile transportation services (Ahlgren, 2022; Saunders, 2022). Still in 2022, “Changi Airport Group” launched “ChangiVerse”, a virtual world within the metaverse platform “Roblox”, making it the first airport globally to enter a metaverse gaming platform with a monthly user base of 200 million (International Airport Review, 2023). Developed in collaboration with “Accenture”, the world of “ChangiVerse” presents a comic-style version of the airport, featuring mini-games that simulate real airport activities like check-in and baggage claim. Finally, in 2022, another major airport, “Bangalore International Airport”, introduced the first phase of “BLR Metaport”, a metaverse-based representation of the airport’s Terminal 2 (The India Express, 2022). “BLR Metaport” will allow users to perform various actions, including flight check-in, terminal navigation, shopping, and interacting with fellow travelers (Anand, 2022).

3. Materials and Methods

The present review paper covers literature published up to October 2023. The process of identifying relevant sources took place between July and October 2023 and included a comprehensive literature review, assisted by a web search. Given the early stage of the metaverse adoption rate in the hospitality sector, the limited volume of case studies in scholarly literature, as well as the aim of the study to bridge academia and business world, it was essential to expand our research beyond scholarly articles, incorporating grey literature and media sources to capture the latest findings, trends and updates on the topic (Godin et al., 2015; Pappas & Williams, 2011). Grey literature is characterized by non-scholarly publications, including but not limited to government reports, business reports, and institutional reports, while media sources extend further to company news releases and articles from technology news websites. According to Gul et al. (2021, p. 103), grey literature “includes a wide array of sources which act as a rich foundation of information which otherwise are usually missing in white (scholarly) literature”. Similarly, Mahood et al. (2014) advocate for the inclusion of grey literature in literature review papers, asserting that it provides a more comprehensive perspective on the available evidence. The current paper drew on “Web of Science” and “Scopus”, setting “search in All Databases” and “All Collections” to gather academic literature, and the “Google search” engine for retrieving grey literature and media sources. A variety of keywords were inserted, including “metaverse” AND “tourism”, “metaverse” AND “hotel”, “metaverse” AND “travel”, “NFT” AND hospitality”, “NFT” AND “tourism”, “NFT” AND “travel”. The current study followed PRISMA, a well-established technique for conducting literature review (Moher et al., 2009). The PRISMA flow diagram is illustrated in Figure 1. From the 522 articles initially identified, 145 were removed as duplicates, while another 290 were excluded during the screening and eligibility phases for not meeting the inclusion criteria. Five criteria were applied in the current literature review, as listed in the figure below.

It is worth mentioning that the inclusion of non-scholarly sources substantially served the study’s objectives, as they revealed 19 metaverse and NFT cases in the tourism industry, compared with 14 derived from academic literature. Furthermore, this approach significantly enriched the discussion on key drivers and expected benefits of these cases. In fact, several scholars (Godin et al., 2015; Mahood et al., 2014; Benzies et al., 2006) argue that grey literature can enhance findings and support triangulation when combined with academic literature. More specifically, the web search employed the key phrases “metaverse in tourism”, “NFTs in tourism”, “metaverse tourism”, and “metaverse hotel”. The use of individual keywords, as applied in the scholarly search, was avoided due to the vast volume of irrelevant results produced by the web. Additionally, the scope of this study focuses on metaverse use cases, rather than a theoretical discussion of the metaverse. Therefore, the use of the specific key phrases instead of individual keywords served to narrow the results to the most relevant to the study. The 45 sources identified through the web search are listed in the references, along with the 16 from official webpages are included in the references section with their URLs and dates of access, for record-keeping purposes. For the reader’s convenience, all the grey literature sources are also listed in Appendix A. This ensures transparency, accountability, and reproducibility of the research (Stansfield et al., 2016). Naturally, it was not possible for the authors to fully verify the reliability of all the web sources, although they prioritized use cases from blogs and webpages with high credibility and popularity within the tech community. However, as this approach cannot guarantee complete reliability of the results, the authors proceeded to fact-checking, whereby all cases identified through the web search and grey literature were confirmed by locating the project’s metaverse platform or official webpage. Cases for which neither of the above was possible were excluded from this review.

4. Results

Thirty-three cases were identified and systematically listed within this study. A total of 19 hotels were recognized as early adopters, 10 of which are metaverse-oriented, 4 NFT-oriented, and 5 integrating both technologies, as illustrated in

Table 4. Summary of real-world cases of metaverse and NFT use in hospitality and tourism.

Real-World Cases	Use of Metaverse	Use of NFTs	Combined Use	TOTAL
Hotels	10	4	5	19
Destinations	3	-	3	6
Airline companies	-	-	2	2
Airports	1	-	1	2
Tourism conferences	1	-	-	1
IT companies	1	-	-	1
Staff training schools	1	-	-	1
Culture and tourism organizations	-	1	-	1
TOTAL Cases	17	5	11	33

. The findings also highlight six cities, namely Shanghai, Seoul, Edinburgh, Osaka, and Incheon, actively developing digital twins as part of their smart city initiatives. A unique case emerges with a city under construction named “NEOM”, where the metaverse twin precedes the physical counterpart, which is currently being built in the United Arab Emirates, contrary to the common pattern, where digital counterparts reflect existing environments.

Within the aviation sector, two airline companies, “Emirates” and “Vueling”, make use of both metaverse and NFTs, while two international airports, the “Singapore Changi Airport and the “Bangalore International Airport”, are also featured in the list. The former is committed to developing a metaverse experience enriched with games and quizzes, while the latter employs both a metaverse platform and NFTs as collectibles and memorabilia. Furthermore, three more cases, namely the tourism conference “AIRSI”, the hotels’ training school “VRHTI”, and the IT company “RendezVerse”, currently rely solely on the metaverse. In contrast, the “Great Tapestry of Scotland” has launched a series of NFTs, with plans to develop its metaverse platform in the near future. Overall, 17 cases actively utilize metaverse platforms, while 11 cases integrate NFTs within the metaverse. Only five cases employ NFTs without any metaverse presence up to the present day, revealing a strong trend in which the metaverse serves as the primary focus, with NFTs acting as a complementary feature.

The analysis of these cases revealed 21 drivers influencing adoption from the tourism supply side, as shown in

Table 5. Adoption drivers for metaverse and NFT early adopters in the hospitality sector.

Adoption Drivers	Metaverse-Based Cases (n)	NFT-Based Cases (n)	Tourism- Complementary Cases (n)
Promotion	18	4	4
Enhance Guest Experience	17	1	4
Brand Engagement	10	5	2
Distribution Channel	13	1	1
Enrich Services	12	-	1
Revenue Stream	10	5	4
Community Building	9	5	3
Improve Residents’ Life	6	-	-
Smart City project	6	-	-
Reduce Environ. Impact	3	-	1
Collect Feedback	2	-	-
Encourage Co-creation	2	-	-
Being Relevant	-	-	1
Positioning	2	1	1
Educational Tool	-	1	2
Replace Website	2	-	-
Rewards Program	2	1	2
Empower Workforce	1	-	1
Crowdfunding channel	1	1	-
Reduce Costs	1	-	1
Enhance Students’ Experience	-	1	-

Source: own calculations.

. As regards metaverse adoption, promotion purposes, enhancement of guest experience, and a new distribution channel stand as the three most significant drivers. On the other hand, brand engagement, community building, and the creation of a new revenue stream emerged as key factors for NFT adoption in tourism. As regards complementary-to-tourism companies, the leading driving forces for entering the metaverse include promotion, enhancement of offered experiences, and financial profitability. It seems that certain drivers, such as promotion, community building, intention to enrich offered services, and financial profit, play a crucial role across all three categories of cases.

Figure 2 below summarizes the frequency of all the drivers identified in this study. According to the figure, 78.7% of all cases consider the metaverse (with or without the use of NFTs) as a great tool for promotion, while 66,6% of the cases believe that offered services can be expanded and enhanced with the use of this technology. More than half of the cases, 57.6% of early adopters, consider the metaverse a new revenue stream, while another 51.5% find it useful for community building and brand engagement purposes. Furthermore, the use of the metaverse appears to primarily serve the goal of reducing environmental impact in four cases (involving three hotels and an airline company). This is achieved either by monitoring the CO₂ emissions for every flight in the case of the airline and allowing users to choose environmentally friendly flights, or by minimizing the need for physical travel in the case of the three hotels, which frequently host meetings and events. Table 5 also illustrates that the metaverse fulfils educational and training purposes in three cases: an airline company (“Emirates”), a hotel (“Accor”), and a hotel training school (“VR.H.T.I.”). In all three cases, the metaverse is utilized for training purposes, while “Accor” also incorporates it into the recruitment process. Beyond training, the metaverse acts as a tool for empowering the workforce in two cases (“Emirates” and “Roomza Hotels”), enhancing the working environment, and making it more attractive, while fostering team-building opportunities for employees. The findings also reveal four cases where the metaverse helps reinforce companies’ positioning efforts, with the aesthetics and environments created in virtual worlds effectively conveying and reflecting the philosophy of these companies (“RendezVerse”, “InterContinental Hotels & Resorts”, “Levenverse”, and “EV Hotels”). Essentially, the metaverse was perceived by these companies as a canvas for visualizing their vision and bringing their philosophy to life in a more “tangible” way. Also, there’s only one case (the conference AIRSI’22), accounting for 3% of all cases, that considered establishing a metaverse presence with the aim of “being relevant with their topic” and keeping up with modern trends. Finally, two cases of crowdfunding have been identified, the “Great Tapestry of Scotland” and “CitizenM Hotel”, both of which employ NFT initiatives. These cases introduce a novel crowdfunding business model beyond the traditional ones. Ioannidis and Georgitseas (2023) have highlighted the use of either cryptocurrencies or NFTs (fungible or non-fungible tokens) by companies as a promising crowdfunding model, enabled by blockchain technologies.

It is worth noting that the current study unveils two operational models related to the term “phy-gital”. The most common model, applicable to all the cases except “Roomza Hotels”, sees the metaverse part and the physical venue as reflections of each other, with the metaverse acting as a complementary addition to the physical counterpart, mostly as regards the services offered. The metaverse part may not be an exact replica of its physical counterpart (a digital twin), although it can be. Early adoption cases indicate that there is enough flexibility for creativity in the design of metaverse environments. The second model, represented by “Roomza Hotel”, portrays the metaverse as an extension of the physical venue instead of being a digital twin. In other words, the digital component serves as a complementary part not only in terms of services, but also in relation to infrastructure. In addition to phygital models, another model, exemplified by “Crypto Hotel”, uses tourism as a narrative to deliver an investment proposal, inviting users to invest in a metaverse hotel (entirely virtual) through NFTs.

As regards the anticipated value for end-users, 16 elements are revealed through this literature review. First of all, early adopters in the tourism industry perceive the metaverse as a space for entertainment for their audience, with ample opportunities for social interactions and enriched experiences, beyond the conventional Web 2.0 capabilities.

Table 6. Anticipated value for end-users according to metaverse and NFT early adopters.

Anticipated Value	Metaverse-Based (n)	NFTs-Based (n)	Tourism- Complementary (n)
Entertainment	19	5	4
Socialization	17	2	2
Enhanced experience *	16	1	5
Source of information	16	-	-
Help with decision-making	14	-	-
Workplace	10	-	2
Escapism	9	1	1
Personalization	8	-	-
Reduce costs	8	1	2
Real-world rewards/privileges	4	3	3
Profit generation	3	4	3
Feeling of co-creation	2	2	1
Motivational environment	2	-	-
Privacy	1	-	-
Share feedback	1	-	-
Education–training	-	1	2

* The value includes all relative values from all categories, such as “enhanced hospitality students’ experience”, “enhanced guests’ experience”, and “enhanced participants’ experience”. Source: own calculations.

illustrates all the value elements that guests/clients will enjoy from the tourism providers’ viewpoint. With this in mind, early adopters appear to develop their metaverses accordingly, unless they are specifically targeting particular groups. Moreover, the metaverse offers a sense of escapism, as users frequently opt to detach from reality and immerse themselves in a parallel life in virtual worlds. Generally, users tend to believe that everything is better in the virtual realm. In the context of tourism, users expect the metaverse to offer a more enjoyable experience, filled with fun, happier moments, enhanced services, and “cool” fellow tourists. Without this expectation of a better reality, there would be little incentive to enter the metaverse, as there would be no better reality to escape to. According to Filimonau et al. (2022, p. 4), “Consumers may prefer living a virtual life which they consider a better or more rewarding experience”. As a result, 84.8% of tourism providers aim to offer entertainment through their metaverse or NFT initiatives, according to Figure 3. Socialization and enhanced experiences compared with real life are the next most anticipated benefits for the users, as indicated by 63,6% of early adopters. It seems that tourism providers have grasped the expectations their audience has from the metaverse, focusing on making the virtual experience superior to real life. Beyond expectations that the virtual realm should be a shiny version of the real world, the sense of escapism at its core lies in the change in everyday setting. A total of 33% of early adopters, mostly hotel chains (i.e., “Levenverse”, “Atlantis—The Palm Dubai”, “Madrid Marriott Auditorium”, “MSocial Hotel”, “EV Hotel”), build their metaverses to offer guests a different environment without disrupting their daily routine or compromising their desires. This may explain the high degree of personalization and customization in venue designs, facilities, and natural landscapes, which may or may not be exact replicas of each destination. Apart from lodging, “ChangiVerse” embraces escapism as a key benefit for its users, incorporating games and quizzes into its metaverse experience.

It is worth noting that among the metaverse-based cases, the metaverse is also set to serve as a source of information, fulfilling the “try before you buy” promise it offers, according to Table 6. Although this benefit is not widely highlighted by NFT-based adopters or companies in sectors complementary to tourism (n = 0), it is evident that all hotels acknowledge it equally valuable for their guests (n = 16), alongside entertainment and enhanced services. There are also 10 cases of metaverse-based adopters and 2 cases of complementary-to-tourism companies that aspire to offer their audience a workplace in the metaverse. In this study, the term “workplace” refers to various possibilities: a virtual place that (i) allows employees of early adopters’ companies to work remotely (i.e., “Emirates”, “Accor”), (ii) allows participants to present their scientific work in a conference (i.e., AIRSI’22), or (iii) offers clients a virtual space to host their business meetings (i.e., “Four Seasons Resort Bali”, “Anantara Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky Amsterdam”, “Intercontinental Paris le Grand”, “Atlantis—The Palm Dubai”).

Early adopters across all categories find the metaverse a valuable tool for reducing costs for their clients by minimizing the need for physical travel to a venue for event preparation or business meetings. However, this benefit applies to only 33.3% of all cases so far, ranking well behind entertainment and service enhancement. Additionally, early adopters see the potential for their guests to generate profit through the metaverse as another anticipated benefit. This opportunity, observed across all three adopter categories, allows guests to trade tangible assets (cryptocurrencies) or NFTs and potentially earn profits. Moreover, rewards programs in the metaverse with application in the real world (real-world privileges because of actions in the metaverse) are another anticipated benefit that tourism providers offer through metaverse and NFT adoption. Hotels (i.e., “MSocial Hotel”, “EV Hotel”, “Accor Hotels”, “InterContinental”), two airlines (“Emirates”, “Vueling”), and the international Airport of Singapore (Changi Airport) are willing to offer such an opportunity to their metaverse users. Finally, the two anticipated benefits with the lowest frequency (3% each of all cases) refer to the metaverse’s potential for privacy and sharing feedback for its users. Only one firm considered privacy (“Roomza Hotels”) as an anticipated value through its metaverse, while one other hotel (“Aloft Hotels”) prioritized feedback sharing in its metaverse strategy. However, the creation of a community with seamless interaction with the company, along with the real-time responses and direct communication that the metaverse allows, provides an opportunity for feedback sharing across all 33 cases identified within this study.

The categorization of tourism providers’ motives for adopting metaverse technologies is seen in

Table A3. Application of UTAUT and TAM in the findings.

UTAUT Construct	Associated Motives	Comment
Performance Expectancy	Promotion, revenue stream, enrich services, distribution channel, reduce costs	Expected benefits for the organization
Effort Expectancy	Educational tool, rewards program, community building, collect feedback	Making operations easier
Social Influence	Being relevant, empower workforce, encourage co-creation, improve residents’ life, replace website, Reduce environmental impact, enhance guest/hospitality student experience, positioning,	Staying competitive and responsible
Facilitating Conditions	Smart city project, crowdfunding channel	Infrastructure support
TAM Construct	Associated Benefits for End-Users	Comments
Perceived Ease of Use	Workplace, real-world rewards/privileges, share feedback, education/training	Focus on usability, convenience, and practical value, making the technology more accessible and engaging
Perceived Usefulness	Entertainment, socialization, enhanced experience, source of information, help with decision-making, escapism, personalization, reduce costs, profit generation, feeling of co-creation, motivational environment, privacy	Focus on metaverse’s potential to enhance the tourism experience functionally, emotionally, and socially

Source: the authors.

(see Appendix A). Within the UTAUT framework, Performance Expectancy emerges as the dominant construct. This category includes strategic motives such as promotion (n = 26), revenue stream generation (n = 19), distribution channel expansion (n = 15), enriching services (n = 13), and cost reduction (n = 1). Collectively, these account for a substantial proportion of the total adoption references, highlighting that early adopters are principally driven by expected organizational gains. These gains include improved visibility, service innovation, and financial returns. The data suggests that tourism providers are adopting metaverse technologies not for experimental or exploratory purposes alone, but as deliberate tools to advance performance and competitiveness. In contrast, Effort Expectancy is represented by a more limited set of motives, including community building (n = 17), rewards programs (n = 5), educational tools (n = 3), and feedback collection (n = 2). These motives point to a concern with operational improvement and user engagement. However, their lower frequency suggests that ease of implementation is not a primary consideration at this stage. Early adopters appear willing to navigate technological complexity if the anticipated organizational value is sufficiently high. Social Influence motives, while more varied, are also less prominent. These include improving residents’ or students’ lives (n = 6), contributing to environmental responsibility (n = 4), reinforcing positioning (n = 4), promoting co-creation (n = 2), enhancing workforce empowerment (n = 1), enhancing guest experience (n = 22), and a desire for trendiness and perceived modernity (n = 3, “being relevant” + “replace website”). While these factors reflect awareness of reputational, ethical, and community-oriented considerations, they are currently secondary to financially and operationally driven motives. Nonetheless, their presence indicates a growing interest in leveraging metaverse technologies to align with broader societal expectations and stakeholder interests. Facilitating conditions are the least frequently cited UTAUT construct, with references to smart city infrastructure (n = 6) and crowdfunding channels (n = 3). Infrastructure considerations may become more salient in later stages of adoption as technologies mature and spread beyond leading-edge organizations.

From a TAM perspective regarding the anticipated benefits, this study reveals a clear dominance of perceived usefulness. High-frequency benefits include entertainment (n = 28), enhanced experience (n = 22), socialization (n = 21), acting as a source of information (n = 16), and support for decision-making (n = 14). These benefits underscore the metaverse’s perceived capacity to improve both the functional and experiential dimensions of tourism. Additional usefulness-oriented benefits include escapism (n = 10), personalization (n = 8), profit generation (n = 10), and feelings of co-creation (n = 5), all of which emphasize the value of immersion, agency, and active participation for end-users. These findings reflect a shift in digital tourism from passive consumption to interactive and personalized engagement. On the other hand, perceived ease of use retains importance in supporting broader technology acceptance. Benefits in this category include workplace applications (n = 12), real-world rewards or privileges (n = 10), education and training (n = 3), and opportunities for feedback (n = 1). These suggest that while user-friendliness is not the foremost concern for early adopters, it remains a critical factor in ensuring long-term adoption and accessibility for a wider user base. In summary, the combined application of UTAUT and TAM reveals that the early adoption of metaverse technologies in tourism is primarily driven by expectations of organizational performance and user-centered usefulness. While social and operational factors also play a role, they are comparatively less influential in the current phase. These findings highlight a maturing adoption logic in which digital innovation is closely tied to strategic and experiential value creation.

5. Discussion

The current review examines the emergence of the metaverse in the tourism sector through a variety of real-world cases in response to increasing calls for further research by tourism scholars. Despite a decade of active exploration from academia and the business world into the potential of the metaverse across various fields, it seems that only recently has the metaverse gained its early adopters in the tourism industry. The current study bridges academia with the real world by analyzing the early metaverse cases and comparing them with existing theoretical frameworks on metaverse tourism. In more detail, in response to Gursoy et al.’s (2022) call for research on virtual hotels’ effectiveness in promoting properties and monetizing in the metaverse, the current study reveals that promotion is the most common adoption driver among tourism entrepreneurs. Monetization, on the other hand, is pursued through three avenues: by utilizing NFTs, by using the metaverse as a service (e.g., accepting bookings, hosting events), and by encouraging guests to invest and become stakeholders in the digital version of the hotels. Of course, the effectiveness of these methods is yet to be tested, a rather challenging task at present, given that most projects are still in the beginning phases.

Buhalis et al. (2023) emphasize the need for further research on suppliers and an increase in “edur-tainment” value (education + entertainment) and facilitation of co-creation. The same research agenda has also been raised by Barrera and Shah (2023). The current paper provides the cases of “Aloft Hotel” and “CitizenM”, as the first two attempts of value co-creation in the tourism industry. Both cases actively engaged guests in company decisions, extending beyond traditional feedback collection. Either by purchasing NFTs to secure voting rights or simply by logging into the metaverse and visiting the virtual venue, guests in both cases decisively played a role in shaping the physical hotels, using the metaverse as a vehicle for co-creation. As regards edur-tainment, “Emirates”, “AIRSI”, “Great Tapestry of Scotland”, and “VRHTI” paved the way by focusing on providing training and knowledge in a fun, vivid, and motivational environment. “AIRSI” and “VRHTI” proved to be successful, while “Emirates” and the “Great Tapestry of Scotland” are still in the development stage.

From a different perspective, K. Yoo et al. (2023) seek evidence on the role of retailers in the metaverse compared with the real world, while Gursoy et al. (2023) and Kim (2021) advocate for further research on whether advertising in the metaverse functions similarly to traditional advertising. The current paper suggests that conducting business in the metaverse differs from the real world. In the metaverse, users have the “try before you buy” option, which is particularly impactful for service-based industries like tourism. Tourists can thoroughly inspect a venue before their visit, reducing reliance on promises and minimizing misunderstandings. This distinction paves the way for innovative marketing strategies and necessitates a redefinition of traditional business frameworks when transitioning to the metaverse. Additionally, this shift grants firms that embrace the metaverse a considerable advantage in the competition arena. Furthermore, as Chen (2023) highlights, the metaverse enables tourism providers to respond in real-time and ensures a seamless flow of information for their guests. This level of immediacy and clarity in service delivery, pursued by 66.6% of tourism early adopters according to this study, partially addresses the call by T.H. Cham and M. Sigala in Koohang et al. (2023) to explore how the metaverse can enhance the competitiveness of hospitality and tourism businesses. Furthermore, this paper highlights the potential of the metaverse to impact key elements of the marketing mix, such as “Position”, Place”, and “Promotion”. At this point, it is crucial to shift our focus to smaller businesses, which form the backbone of the global hospitality industry. These enterprises may face challenges related to limited resources or technical expertise (Filimonau et al., 2022), hindering them from competing effectively in a metaverse-driven environment. This study clearly shows that early adoption has been the case among global hotel chains, large hotels, and destinations. As a result, smaller and family-run businesses may currently be at a disadvantage due to the requirements for entering the metaverse. However, once metaverse hotels become fully operational, conducting field research on this issue will be essential to understanding the evolving competitive landscape.

Allam et al. (2022) examine the governance structures of the metaverse and their limitations, stating that “it is doubtful that the Metaverse will be able to address and overcome the common challenges of urban governance, including continuous negotiation and contestation, varied interests and incentives, disagreements and struggles, unpredictable decisions, inefficient collaboration, ineffective networks, and so on” (p. 786). This paper highlights six cities currently developing digital twins in the metaverse, primarily for government–resident interactions for daily matters and promoting tourism, rather than as a governance tool. However, metaverse applications at the destination level are still in their early stages, with many features yet to be explored. At the moment, addressing Allam et al.’s concerns remains challenging, at least until these cities or future initiatives expand their use of the metaverse beyond basic service delivery and tourism promotion. Finally, Jung et al. (2023) and Dwivedi et al. (2022) call for further research on why organizations invest in NFTs and the key drivers behind individuals purchasing them. Also, M. Sigala in Dwivedi et al.’s (2023) multi-contributor study is interested in where and how real estate and hospitality operators “build” their virtual hotels in the metaverse. Given the strong connection between NFTs and virtual real estate, this study provides some practical evidence addressing these calls for research, with identifying 10 primary purposes for using NFTs, namely: strengthening brand engagement and community building, creating a new revenue stream, establishing innovative rewards or crowdfunding systems, enhancing a company’s marketing mix through positioning, place, and promotion, and improving the guest experience. The cases of “Marriott”, “Intercontinental”, and “Hilton” exemplify these strategic uses of NFTs, while “Crypto Hotel” and “CitizenM” illustrate the real-estate model and the financial potential of selling virtual land as NFTs. Additionally, the ”Great Tapestry of Scotland” represents a unique model where NFTs serve an educational purpose while simultaneously funding the managing organization. In the real estate sector, NFTs are leveraged either for funding projects in their early stages or as a long-term revenue stream, generating royalties each time an NFT is resold. From a guest’s (individual) perspective, the potential benefits of acquiring NFTs include entertainment, direct financial gains, exclusive real-world privileges, a sense of co-creation and brand participation, socialization within NFT holders’ communities, and “edu-rtainment” opportunities.

The present study adopts both UTAUT and TAM to further analyze the findings. While UTAUT provides insight into the organizational perspective, explaining what drives tourism providers to adopt metaverse technologies, TAM focuses on end-user benefits, revealing what tourism providers intend to offer as a value to consumers. Together, these frameworks offer a holistic view of metaverse adoption, capturing both strategic and experiential dimensions. From the organizational side, most adoption motives align with Performance Expectancy, which reflects expectations of improved business outcomes. Tourism enterprises view the metaverse as a tool for promotion, enhanced services, revenue generation, and distribution expansion. It also offers opportunities to reduce operational costs while increasing customer value, positioning it as a strategic enabler. Effort Expectancy captures motives related to operational simplification. Enterprises adopt the metaverse as an educational tool, for implementing rewards programs, collecting user feedback, and fostering community building—all of which aim to make technological integration smoother and day-to-day operations more efficient. Social Influence, on the other hand, reflects the sector’s need to stay competitive, socially responsible, and relevant. Motives such as empowering the workforce, co-creation, improving residents’ quality of life, and aligning with sustainability trends are common. The metaverse is also seen as a way to enhance guest and student experiences while helping organizations maintain a modern brand image. Lastly, Facilitating Conditions include factors such as smart city initiatives and crowdfunding mechanisms that support implementation. For the anticipated benefits, TAM highlights that Perceived Usefulness is the dominant driver. According to the present study, providers seem confident that tourists and other users will be attracted to the metaverse for its ability to provide enhanced, immersive experiences that combine entertainment, socialization, and personalization. It will also serve as a useful tool for decision-making, information seeking, and cost-saving, while offering emotional engagement through escapism, co-creation, and motivational environments. These diverse benefits will make the metaverse a compelling part of the tourism journey, positioning it not just as a digital add-on but as a core experiential layer. Perceived Ease of Use, while less frequently cited, still contributes to adoption. Users are offered the ability to access education/training, earn real-world rewards or privileges, and provide feedback through intuitive and practical systems. These features contribute to greater accessibility and convenience, particularly for those interacting with the metaverse in structured settings such as the workplace or educational environments. The joint use of UTAUT and TAM in the present study illustrates that metaverse adoption in tourism is performance- and opportunity-driven from the provider perspective, while being functionality- and experience-driven from the user perspective is the goal to be achieved.

In two relevant studies on adoption drivers from Agnihotri et al. (2025) and Fazio et al. (2023), the former introduces an interesting dimension to the discussion by examining the role of CEOs’ personality traits in the decision-making process. According to their findings, future hoteliers or CEOs are more inclined to adopt metaverse technologies, especially if they feel competitive pressure. In the latter case, the authors highlight stakeholders’ fascination with innovativeness as a key motive for metaverse adoption. Both studies present compelling empirical insights that the current study cannot explore, as the use of secondary data does not provide evidence from this perspective. In another relevant study, Nagirikandalage et al. (2025) recognize enhanced accessibility, provision of unique visitor experience, reduction of marketing costs, and generation of revenue streams as benefits of metaverse adoption, all of which align closely with the findings of the current study. Additionally, the authors note the preservation of cultural interest through virtual museums as a major benefit. While this particular outcome is not directly observed in the present study, the culture-related use of the metaverse is primarily tied to educational purposes in a single case. Similarly, Akyürek et al. (2024) demonstrate that the metaverse environment holds substantial potential for tourism education, in terms of theory, practice, and language learning. In the current study, education also emerges as a motive for metaverse adoption, however, it accounts for only 9% of the early case studies identified (n = 3). At last, from a TAM perspective, the current review coincides with several empirical studies (Ledesma-Chaves et al., 2024; Wu et al., 2024) that confirmed the role of perceived usefulness and ease of use in metaverse adoption from both the supply and demand side.

As Buhalis et al. (2022) suggest, all types of hospitality and tourism businesses should take into consideration research findings to develop new strategies or adjust their current ones accordingly. The current study encourages practitioners to explore the potential of establishing a metaverse presence if the identified adoption drivers align with their operational framework. On the other hand, the establishment of a metaverse presence poses a serious challenge for many businesses due to the substantial financial investment and expertise required, as noted by Chen (2023). However, as the metaverse continues to evolve, access to expertise in disruptive technologies is likely to become more widespread and readily available. Advances in technology could help mitigate the high costs and operational complexities currently associated with the metaverse, making virtual presence more feasible, similar to how internet adoption was transformed from being complex to commonplace. In this evolving landscape, every tourism business, regardless of size, has the potential to thrive as long as it stays vigilant and informed, not only about technological advancements but also about driving forces and trends among competitors, to ensure it stays ahead of the curve.

Regarding the limitations of this study, the motives behind metaverse adoption were analyzed only from the supply side, as no empirical studies on consumer behavior in the context of metaverse and tourism had been identified at the time of the research. It should be noted that while a variety of studies have identified evidence on consumers’ adoption motives, none have concentrated solely on the tourism sector. This may be attributed to the absence of a fully developed metaverse specifically serving tourism purposes. As one of the first attempts in tourism literature to analyze the motives of early metaverse adopters within the supply side, this study reflects the very early stage of consumer adoption rate and engagement, with little to no evidence available regarding tourists’ motives. As the literature on metaverse tourism expands and empirical consumer studies gradually emerge, future research should fill the gap by evaluating tourists’ behavior in the metaverse and their adoption drivers and should aim to compare findings from both the supply and demand sides.