Adoption Intention in Metaverse Tourism Platforms – An Empirical Investigation Based on Commitment -Trust and Social Presence Perspective

The rapid rise of the Metaverse, especially since Facebook rebranded itself as Meta back in 2021, brings a whole set of new paths to tourism but simultaneously produces its own unique set of challenges. While interest in Metaverse tourism is on the increase, there is a distinct lack of research into understanding those motivating factors that drive people to jump into these virtual tourism platforms. This research fills that knowledge gap by exploring the drivers of the main users' intention to adopt the Metaverse tourism platform. Guided by Commitment-Trust Theory and Social Presence Theory, this study has looked into the potential of virtual experiences within the Metaverse to emulate traditional experiences in tourism and may even surpass them. This quantitative study surveyed 389 subjects in India through purposive sampling and analyzed using PLS-SEM. The findings revealed that perceived value and satisfaction increased when social interactions featured positive responses with a high sense of presence. These enhancements, in turn, build commitment and trust that may, in general, influence intention to adopt these platforms. The findings of this study contribute to the ever-evolving knowledge of Metaverse tourism, with valuable insights for industry leaders in crafting immersive and trust-oriented virtual experiences. Some of the policy recommendations in the study aim to foster technology adoption in tourism.