The determinants of the adoption of blockchain technology in the tourism sector and metaverse perspectives

The purpose of this contribution is to provide some answers to the following issue: how to explain the intention to adopt blockchain technology in the tourist accommodation sector? This study focusses on the applications of this technology for the following uses: loyalty programs, online booking, reliability and traceability of customer testimonials on review sites. Blockchain also helps to secure metaverse data, an innovative and immersive technology in a virtual universe, which is gaining ground in the tourism sector. This paper mobilizes the Technology Acceptance Model theory to explain the adoption of new technologies. This model is based on three closely related concepts: perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use influence the attitude toward using the technology. By following the literature, trust in technology and promotional efforts of change agents, two other determinants that can have a positive impact on the adoption of blockchain applications, have also been introduced to extend the theory. A quantitative survey is conducted to obtain the data. Thus, a questionnaire is administered to a hundred respondents, graduated in tourism management and future professionals in this sector of activity. The fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis is implemented to consider the complexity of the phenomenon studied by identifying paths composed of several conditions. The objective is to explain the intention to use blockchain applications by future managers of tourist accommodation.