Spatial Analysis of the Metaverse's Role in the Development of Tourist Villages: A Case Study of Targhab District, Binabad County

From the perspective of rural tourism providers, the metaverse offers a powerful means of promoting products and services through immersive interactions. It supports organizations in enriching their knowledge of the needs, wants, and preferences of potential consumers. Therefore, the main objective of this research is a spatial analysis of the metaverse's effects on the physical and environmental development of tourist villages. The research is descriptive-analytical in terms of methodology and applied in terms of purpose. The sample population includes individuals residing in tourist villages in Targhab district, Binabad County, who were selected randomly using Cochran's formula with an error rate of ۰.۱. The study area comprises rural tourism destinations in Targhab district, Binabad County, Mashhad. SPSS software and the multi-criteria decision-making models MARCOS and MEREC were employed for data analysis. The study variable, the effects of the metaverse on the physical and environmental development of tourist villages, was examined using ۱۶ components. Research findings indicate that the lowest mean scores were associated with the statements 'reduction in air pollution of tourist villages' (mean = ۳.۱۰) and 'reduction in natural resource pollution of tourist villages' (mean = ۳.۱۲), while the highest mean scores corresponded to the statements 'providing information about the health and quality of rural tourism destinations' (mean = ۳.۸۷) and 'easy access to information for tourists regarding the region and tourism destination' (mean = ۳.۸۳). Furthermore, the most significant identified effect in this research was the impact of the metaverse on the physical and environmental development of tourist villages, specifically on 'spatial quality,' which accounted for ۱۸.۵۱% of the variance. The MARCOS ranking model revealed that Azfgad village was the best-performing village in terms of the metaverse's impact on rural tourism development, while Ardame village had the lowest performance.

کلیدواژه ها:

rural tourism ، metaverse ، physical ، environment ، Targaba sector