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The virtual world environment presents new business opportunities for building destination images that allow customers to make an informed decision and initiate travel arrangements. The purpose of this study is to investigate the applicability of flow theory and the concept of involvement in understanding the impacts of virtual experiences of Second Life on people's travel intentions.

Undergraduate college students at Clemson University were chosen as participants and data was collected in April 2009, entailing 42 usable surveys.

The results validate the notion that flow is a useful and practical instrument to understand users' experiences while navigating the 3D virtual world of Second Life. The achievement of an engaging and pleasant experience in Second Life is influenced by three factors: the skills available to tackle challenging tasks, the perception of interactivity, and the degree of presence sensation perceived by customers. Furthermore, the findings indicated that flow experience mediated the association between involvement and people's behavioral intentions.

This study is a stepping stone on the road to investigating new marketing media, as more systematic research is needed to investigate the virtual experience and its effects on how travelers make decisions.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of Islamic beliefs and practices on leisure and travel behavior of Muslims in Clemson, South Carolina. With the increase of Muslims in the USA, from both conversion and immigration, it is important to examine the effects of their religion on leisure and travel behavior.

Using the grounded theory approach, semi-structured interviews with six Muslim men and six Muslim women of different nationalities were conducted in English in the local Mosque of Clemson, South Carolina, in the fall of 2011.

The results provide some evidence that Islamic beliefs and behavioral practices influence leisure and travel behavior of Muslims in the USA. The study identifies seven major themes that play an important role in determining leisure and travel behavior of Muslims in Clemson. These are the importance of mosques, traveling with a Mohram, Hijab and a dress code for men and women, drinking alcohol and being in places where alcohol is served, eating pork, Holy Month of Ramadan and Dabiha.

The study highlights the need for tourism marketers to pay more attention to the influence of religion on leisure and travel behavior of Muslim travelers.

The study provides the tourism industry with a better understanding of the importance of religion influences on the special needs of Muslim travelers and shows how the industry can better accommodate these needs.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between tourists’ motivation, experience, perceived value and revisit intentions to creative tourism destinations. The ever-growing concept of creativity has been introduced into the tourism field. Creative tourism has been viewed as a strategy to regenerate destinations physically, culturally and socially. To develop tourism products and provide services that integrate the concept of creativity to satisfy tourists’ needs by developing a more active and long-lasting form of experience, this study aims to examine tourist consumption psychology in the context of creative tourism destinations. Past studies have identified motivation, perceived value and experience as three major antecedents affecting tourists’ revisit intentions.

The empirical study was carried out in three popular creative tourism spots, Meinong, Shuili and Yingge, located, respectively, in the north, middle and south Taiwan. These creative tourism sites provide pottery, crafts, arts, workshops and other creative activities that integrate authentic local culture to engage tourists with fulfilling and meaningful experiences. The on-site survey was conducted on both weekdays and weekends during March 2012. Self-administrated questionnaires were distributed to participants who were systematically selected at the main gate of the study areas. In total, 417 questionnaires were collected.

The results indicated that on-site tourism experience was the most influential antecedent of revisit intention to creative tourism sites in terms of the magnitude of the standardized coefficient. The unique variances of motivation factors and perceived value were too small to be statistically significant to explain revisit intentions. The present study contributes to the ever-increasing tendency for creative industries in Taiwan to develop creative tourism products and services that encompass authentic local culture and art in enhancing tourist experience.

For business operators, this study suggests that if owners of creative destinations would like to attract repeat tourists, the tourists’ experiences are surely critical in developing service blueprints to meet the needs and wants of customers; they should pay more attention to understanding what tourists experience when they visit creative tourism attractions.

Tourism is being utilized as a key economic development tool of the 21st century. Serious concern over the benefit of tourism for the poor has contributed to discussion on community involvement and community participation in contemporary literature. In particular, sustainable development has become a way to address the long-term viability of income and employment in least-developed countries while attempting to preserve traditional customs and culture in the face of globalization. Sustainability refers to finding solutions to poverty without compromising the natural and cultural resource base needed by future generations to pursue their own economic goals. This task requires attention to the economic, cultural and social needs of all groups while focusing on solutions that are also viable for the long term (Bramwell, 2001; Davidson, 2007; Mfaume & Leonard, 2004). It is also important to note that social structures and cultural references vary noticeably within countries and regions. Therefore, three separate, independent instrumental case studies (also known as collective case studies) were conducted in three distinct Tanzanian communities in or around tourism destinations. The objective was to allow for the autonomy of specific cultural, social and business networks to be reflected in the research methodology.

Case studies allow for the investigation of constraints to economic participation within real-life experiences, as there is no clear distinction between the phenomenon and the context. Instrumental case studies strive to develop theory, or in this case, facilitate understanding of pervasive problems and do not require typical study populations (Stake, 1995). An instrumental case study is utilized where a ‘particular case is examined mainly to provide insight’ into a phenomenon and the case supports understanding of the phenomenon (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005). The emphasis is placed on specific issues rather than on the case itself. The case in then used as a vehicle to develop a better understanding of the situation or problem (Stake, 2003). Single case studies are ideal for investigating a phenomenon that has not been previously studied and can make a significant contribution to knowledge (Yin, 2003). Since constraints to economic participation within Tanzania have not yet been empirically studied, each individual case study is exploratory in nature.

Once the specific case studies were independently derived and themes developed, a cross-case comparison offered insight into reoccurring themes or case-specific constraints. Using an iterative process, the strength of this methodology lies in the inductive approach that provides suggestive rather than definitive analysis (Welch, 1994). The first phase of analysis results in ‘within’ themes specific to a particular region. Using cross-case comparisons, emergent patterns provide similarities and differences between the three communities.

Maria Amoamo is a post-doctoral fellow in Te Tumu, the School of Māori Pacific and Indigenous Studies at University of Otago in New Zealand. Maria's research interests include the representation of indigenous, cultural and heritage tourism. Her PhD thesis examined the issue of identity in relation to Māori regional tourism within a post-colonial framework. She is currently examining the economic value of identity in relation to determining ‘what is the profile of Māori tourism in Dunedin?’ Maria is also examining the issue of social vulnerability and resilience of Pacific Island communities in relation to tourism.

The purpose of this paper is to explore user engagement (UE) within the Metaverse (MV) environment, emphasising the crucial role of immersive experiences (IEs). This study aims to understand how IEs influence UE and the mediating effects of hedonic value (HV) and utilitarian value (UV) on this relationship. Additionally, the authors examine the moderating impacts of user perceptions (UPs) such as headset comfort, simulation sickness, prior knowledge and ease of use on the utilisation of the MV. This study seeks to elucidate the dynamics of virtual travel at a pre-experience stage, enhancing the comprehension of how digital platforms can revolutionise UE in travel and tourism.

This study used a triangulation methodology to provide a thorough investigation into the factors influencing UE in the MV. A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted to frame the research context and identify relevant variables. To gather empirical data, 25 interviews were performed with active MV users, supplemented by a survey distributed to 118 participants. The data collected was analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) to test the hypothesised relationships between IEs, UPs, HV and UV and their combined effect on UE within the MV.

The findings from the SEM indicate that engaging in the MV leads to a positive IE, which significantly enhances UE. Additionally, it was discovered that HV and UV play a mediating role in strengthening the link between IEs and UE. Furthermore, UPs, including headset comfort, simulation sickness, prior knowledge and ease of use, are significant moderators in the relationship between IEs and MV usage. These insights provide a nuanced understanding of the variables that contribute to and enhance UE in virtual environments.

This research contributes original insights into the burgeoning field of digital tourism by focusing on the MV, a rapidly evolving platform. It addresses the gap in the existing literature by delineating the complex interplay between IEs, UPs and value constructs within the MV. By using a mixed-method approach and advanced statistical analysis, this study provides a comprehensive model of UE specific to virtual travel platforms. The findings are particularly valuable for developers and marketers in the hospitality and tourism sectors seeking to capitalise on digital transformation and enhance UE through immersive technologies.