“Do video game players dream of metaverse traveling?” The role of gamification technology and game immersion experience

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether technology readiness and game immersion experience affect tourists’ intentions to engage in metaverse tourism. In addition, it also investigates the mediating role of engagement, engrossment and total immersion between technology readiness and attitude, as well as the mediating role of attitude between game immersion experience and intention to participate in metaverse tourism (IPMT). Design/methodology/approach An online questionnaire was designed to collect data from gamers in China, yielding 416 valid responses. The data was analysed using PLS-SEM and fsQCA. Findings The results indicate that technology readiness positively impacts the gamers’ engagement, engrossment and total immersion. Furthermore, gamers’ experience during engagement and total immersion positively affect their attitude towards metaverse tourism. In addition, gamers’ attitudes towards metaverse tourism positively influence their intention to participate. In addition, this study supported the mediating role of engagement and total immersion between technology readiness and attitude. Furthermore, the study confirmed the role of attitude as a mediator between engagement, total immersion and intention. fsQCA identified six combinations of factors that explain high IPMT. Originality/value By introducing a novel framework based on attribution theory, this pioneering research establishes a connection between the video game industry and metaverse tourism, linking video game experiences with tourist behaviour. This research not only extends the literature on gamification and metaverse tourism but also offers valuable implications for both tourism providers and game designers seeking to build collaboration and enhance engagement in virtual environments.