Exploring the role of AR and VR in sustainable travel and conservation

Integrating augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies represents a significant innovation in the tourism industry, transforming how travelers experience and interact with destinations. As these immersive technologies grow in popularity, they are increasingly recognized for their potential to enhance customer experiences, streamline operations, and promote sustainable tourism practices. Given this growing interest, our review paper systematically examines relevant research on the adoption of AR and VR in Ecotourism from Scopus and Web of Science databases. After the selection process, including exclusion criteria, 66 papers were reviewed, with the findings drawn on the Theory-Context-Characteristics-Methods (TCCM) framework. Our paper offers a comprehensive understanding of the extant research, thereby identifying dominant theories (e.g. TAM, TPB), different ecotourism contexts (e.g. cultural tourism, coastal tourism, virtual tourism), characteristics (e.g. a proposed conceptual framework), and methodologies used. Recommended directions for future research to advance knowledge of AR and VR applications in ecotourism are also provided as our theoretical contributions. Thus, our insights offer several practical implications for different tourism stakeholders, specifically as evidence-based guidelines on technology selection, implementation considerations, and evaluation metrics supporting conservation and sustainability goals.