Gen Z travel intentions and museum visits in the metaverse: case of Egypt Scotland and Turkey

Abstract

This early-stage study explores Gen Z’s travel intentions and virtual museum visits in the metaverse by experiencing Egypt Scotland and Turkey. The subjective perception and judgment of Gen Z users are investigated in the immersive environment. Semi-structured interviews and laboratory sessions took place with 20 volunteers in three studies. Study 1 and Study 2 reveal different views of Gen Z concerning their travel intentions as two open-air experiences in the metaverse. Study 3 shows Gen Z perspectives of a virtual museum visit as an indoor experience. Through this study we could form a link between the metaverse and Gen Z travel intentions using two travel applications for Egypt and Scotland and a museum application for Turkey which has rarely been discussed before. The study also guides an experience interaction interface design for VR 360 video and future-related tourism products and services for Gen Z users. The study illuminates the travel and metaverse relationship for future studies for practitioners and researchers. © 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.