Metaverse customer journeys in tourism: building viable virtual worlds

Purpose – This research examined the use of the metaverse in tourism and hospitality to comprehend better how the technology might shape customer journey management, especially relative to information provision, experiences, and customer benefits. Design/methodology/approach – This explanatory research used a two-stage approach of media analysis and practitioner interviews to analyse the interactions among tourism information provision, customer experiences, and customer benefits in the metaverse. It conceptualized and mapped the consumer journey of the emerging metaverse experience, focusing on the ideas and practices of metaverse design pioneers in tourism and hospitality. Findings – Based on the media analysis and interviews with 27 designers, the MIEB model was proposed, containing three parts (information characteristics, customer experiences, and customer benefits) and 31 supporting items grouped into nine components. Originality/value – One of the unique contributions of this research is the Metaverse – Information – Experiences – Benefits (MIEB) model for applying the metaverse in customer journey management (pre-, during-, and post-trip). The findings contribute to the current literature with this model based on the practical perspectives of metaverse designers and provide insights on how to incorporate the MIEB model in applying the metaverse in tourism and hospitality management. The findings also address existing literature gaps of insufficient research on metaverse management and design through all stages of the customer travel journey and by paying attention to stakeholders' viewpoints, including the media and designers of metaverse applications. Engaging in semi-structured interviews with pioneers of the metaverse in order to gain insights into the design of tourism experiences was also different from other metaverse tourism research, although this is not claimed as a significant point of innovation