Traveling to the Hangang River via Metaverse: Interaction Effects between Avatar Self-Congruence and Digital Age Type

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate how travelers’ destination visit intentions are influenced by avatar self-congruence in the metaverse platform. We extended the impression management theory by considering both perceived enjoyment and social engagement, and illustrated the interaction effect based on users’ digital age. To achieve this, we conducted an online survey with 302 users. The survey results revealed that avatar self-congruence significantly influenced users in terms of perceived enjoyment and social engagement, thereby affecting their destination visit intentions. This study also revealed a significant interaction effect between digital age type and avatar self-congruence on users’ perceived enjoyment. The results of this study are expected to provide not only a theoretical reference for metaverse research and travel research but also managerial implications for destination management and metaverse applications.