The Role of Metaverse in Silk Road's Tourism: A Qualitative Study within China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Context

This paper examines the potential of emerging immersive technologies like the Metaverse to promote the Silk Road cultural heritage within the framework of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The ancient Silk Roads facilitated vibrant pan-Eurasian exchange for over 1500 years, catalyzing early globalization. Modern connectivity initiatives like China's BRI focus extensively on infrastructure to revive these cultural linkages that defined the historic Silk Roads. However, realizing the tourism and developmental potential of the intercultural legacy tied to architectural sites, motifs, cuisine, beliefs, and artistic traditions diffused along these historic routes faces contemporary challenges around preservation, geopolitics, site deterioration, costs, uneven access, and cultural homogenization. This study explores the implications of Metaverse in revitalizing this heritage in situ and through digital channels. The paper provides a multi-disciplinary approach to aligning digital revitalization plans around the Metaverse for the future that reconnect modern societies with ancient linkages via immersive storytelling of the Silk Roads.