ABSTRACT
As can be seen from the fact that the tourism information system, which was produced in paper-based format, is evolving to be based on the Internet, the tourism information platform has been continuously developed with the proliferation of information technology (IT). Social media, which has been rapidly increasing, has become a popular tool for ubiquitously collecting and sharing tourism information based on a mobile digital environment. The evolution of the travel IT system brings a question like, “What will be the next tourism information platform?” Metaverse has attracted enormous attention because of the combination of the non-face-to-face lifestyles resulting from the prolonged pandemic and convergent digital technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). As the VR, AR, and virtual influencers have been prolific rapidly, it is expected that the Metaverse is vital for marketing toward tourists. This chapter discusses the definition of the Metaverse, some exemplary applications, and its four categories: AR, lifelogging, mirror worlds, and virtual worlds. This chapter provides meaningful insights into tourism marketing by understanding that the Metaverse can be used as a new travel IT platform and promotion channel in the digital environment.
