The Emerging Trends in the Use of Metaverse in Circular Tourism

Metaverse is a transformative innovation that can revolutionise the tourism and hospitality industry. Circular tourism follows the principle of the circular economy with a key focus on sustainability and minimising environmental impact. We explore how the metaverse (virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), in particular AI assistants) can assist with circular tourism. A systematic review was conducted using PRISMA guidelines. AR and VR technologies improved tourist satisfaction and foster sustainable practices. Bibliometric analysis was used to establish the developments in literature on the emerging trends in the use of the metaverse for circular tourism. AI assistants help with virtual communication and seamless interaction. Some of the emerging trends in metaverse for circular tourism are elevating immersive experience, virtual collaboration/ co-creation, waste management and minimisation and the economic benefits through digital payments. The terms that emerged from the density map, security", "ethical consideration", "accessibility", and "digital divide" indicate the barriers to using AR and VR technologies, and some of these should be considered for future research.