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Article

Exploring Regenerative Tourism Using Media Richness Theory: Emerging Role of Immersive Journalism, Metaverse-Based Promotion, Eco-Literacy, and Pro-Environmental Behavior

by
Xiaozhe Hui
1,
Syed Hassan Raza
2,
Sanan Waheed Khan
3,
Umer Zaman
4,* and
Emenyeonu C. Ogadimma
5
1
Intercultural Communication Research Center, Hebei University, Baoding 071000, China
2
Institute of Media and Communication Studies, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 66000, Pakistan
3
School of Multimedia Technology and Communication, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Sintok 06010, Malaysia
4
Endicott College of International Studies (ECIS), Woosong University, Daejeon 34606, Republic of Korea
5
College of Communication, University of Sharjah, Sharjah P.O. Box 27272, United Arab Emirates
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 5046; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065046
Submission received: 31 January 2023 / Revised: 5 March 2023 / Accepted: 10 March 2023 / Published: 13 March 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Moving beyond Sustainable Tourism Rediscovery through Regenerative Travel)
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Abstract

:
The evolving tourism industry and increasing number of travelers are not only raising environmental concerns about tourism sites, but also posing challenges for local communities. In this scenario, the notion and agenda for sustainable tourism are widely criticized due to their limited scope and emphasis on creating a balance between economic and adverse environmental and communal benefits. In response, the call for a necessary paradigm transformation has become intense. Consequently, a new approach—regenerative tourism—has been developed to create awareness about pro-environmental behavior to satisfy the primary needs of the community. Regenerative tourism supports the quality of life of local people. Therefore, there is a great need to promote eco-literacy through innovative and better audience experience-laden communication strategies, such as immersive journalism and metaverse-based promotional content. However, little is known about how these future technologies interplay with psychological and social mechanisms to enhance regenerative tourism intention. Drawing an analogy from pro-environmental theory and media richness theory, this research intends to identify whether virtual, augmented reality merger (i.e., immersive journalism), and metaverse-based environmental delineations may contribute to educating tourists and lead to regenerative tourism intention. This research was carried out using a cross-sectional online survey that collected data from 776 digital media users from Pakistan who plan to visit a destination or have done so previously. The results from the data, based on structural equation modeling, suggested that immersive journalism and metaverse-based regenerative tourism promotion are communication strategies that effectively enhance eco-literacy and lead to pro-environmental behavior. However, dispositional empathy has critical moderating implications; the greater the extent of the empathy concerns that individuals uphold, the stronger the eco-literacy and pro-environmental behavior. Finally, regenerative tourism intention can be predicted by these antecedents effectively. Therefore, these pioneer results confirmed that innovative technology-driven media content can augment awareness of regenerative tourism activities and transform travelers’ intention to adopt regenerative practices during destination visits. This research suggests strategic guidelines for organizations and governments to implement practical, innovative, and communicative tools that support adopting regenerative practices among prospective travelers.

1. Introduction

The critical challenge of the current era is ingraining informed and responsible tourism among visitors [1]. Therefore, developing eco-literate tourism with an affirmative approach to leave the intended destination in a better form than before the visitors’ arrival is a critical need of the time [2]. The influx of travelers is averse to the environment. For example, the beaches of the most visited destinations need conservational activities to restore nature [1,3]. Tourism is a major income earner but at the same time, it desecrates the environment [4]. An example is the United Kingdom, where yearly festivals, apart from robust revenues, generate 875 tonnes of plastic waste that must be thrown into landfills. Based on this, the United Nations and tourism experts have suggested numerous ways to comply with the sustainable development approach in tourism, comprising accountable, viable, resilient, responsible, and optimal use of environmental resources, and transformational tourism, among others [5]. Primarily, the sustainable tourism paradigm pursues diminishing tourism’s potential damage to the destinations and defusing it [6]. The major emphasis is on the tourism destinations’ ecological, economic, and socio-cultural facades [7]. To illustrate, sustainable tourism is pursuing a balance between monetary benefits and adverse environmental and communal effects. In recent times, growing demands for sustainable vocations are becoming the trend, and tourists are becoming aware of sustainable tourism requirements [8,9]. As a result, there is a gradual growth in demand for pro-environmental, climate-neutral travel facilities. However, it has prompted a greenwashing phenomenon and led to competition among tourism-associated industries pretending to be more sustainable than they are in reality [10].
Therefore, a more pragmatic approach than sustainable tourism was needed [4]. Following this line of action, various tourism researchers and experts disparage these sustainable tourism and development outlines for their limited scope that primarily focused on the developmental imperative supporting adverse social, economic, and environmental concerns about the destinations [11]. In contrast, regenerative tourism seeks net gain for all stakeholders, including the environment, hosts, travelers, and local communities, in promoting the well-being of future generations [4,12]. The emergence of regenerative tourism gives new directions to adopt a more inclusive strategy, and unlike sustainable tourism, it is not limited to minimizing adverse environmental effects, but also focuses on improving the local population [13]. Moreover, regenerative tourism goes beyond sustainable development efforts to lessen harm. It involves the stakeholders’ participation in pursuing the net benefits of tourism for them and the destination [11]. Notwithstanding that regenerative tourism has moved from the sustainable tourism approach, it positions tourism practices as the focal point to develop the capabilities of tourist sites, local populations, and travelers to function congruently with interrelated social, economic, and environmental structures [2,5].
Consequently, regenerative tourism endorses tourism inventions by establishing tourism activities within local populations and conservation progressions that uplift social and ecological well-being to ensure the long-term viability of destinations [2]. Regenerative tourism originated and evolved from an indigenous and western standpoint and knowledge, and emerged as a niche targeting the growth and transformation of the socio-ecological systems during tourism activities [12]. The regenerative approach mainly focuses on tourism practices that involve various aspects such as the sustainability of the environment, local community participation, environmental justice, conservation, and the development of tourism areas [9]. The United Nations elaborated the regenerative tourism values based on holistic understanding, collaborations, the diversifying of tourism business, involvement, transformation, the protection of culture, and environmentally responsible tourism. Thus, regenerative tourism mainly focuses on the sets of actions required for the stakeholders, including travelers and other individuals involved in the value chain of tourism. The critical issue is about the awareness of the actions required to support this set of principles.
Regenerative tourism underpins crucial factors, such as social and ecological sustainability, that are important for destination competitiveness and supporting continuous tourist activity [13,14,15]. While the phenomena and actions required for regenerative tourism need the active participation of travelers, no prior study has offered appropriate communication strategies to transform travelers’ behavior toward adopting regenerative activities during a destination visit [2,16]. However, past research has identified a few tactics that can support destination sustainability. For instance, several studies reported communication [17], social, psychological [11], and promotion management as factors that influence destination sustainability. Although these studies are carried out in the sustainable tourism sector, to our knowledge, no study has been conducted in the context of the regenerative tourism domain to unveil how the contributing factors can impact regenerative activities. Nonetheless, few studies have underpinned the regenerative phenomenon in different disciplines, such as regenerative food, farming, and regenerative agriculture [18]. These studies affirmed the efficacy and role of media-related content and psychological and social elements to support the acceptance of regenerative framing [17,19].
Considerable theories in environmental behavior change, such as pro-environmental theory (hereafter PET), explain the determinants and process of pro-environmental behavior adoption [20]. However, PET has boundaries in terms of unveiling the informational and communicative factors’ attributes delineated by the media richness theory (hereafter MRT). The MRT describes how media features such as design, richness in explanatory power (e.g., animations), and formats can help transform people learning about particular phenomena [21,22]. In the context of regenerative tourism, the question remains whether media richness and the determinants of sustainable tourism identified in previous research can equally intensify the regenerative tourism intention. Departing from the gaps mentioned earlier and significant theories, PET and MRT propose a conceptual model (see Figure 1). The model suggests improving the understanding of modern communication tools, such as immersive journalism and metaverse-based promotion, for informing and promoting regenerative tourism practices among prospective visitors.
This research further extends the literature by exploring and moderating implications of dispositional empathy that have established socio-psychological factors in developing pro-environmental behavior. In sum, this research intends to examine the influence of immersive journalism and metaverse-based regenerative tourism promotion in developing eco-literacy that can lead towards pro-environmental behavior and regenerative tourism intention. Another gap in the tourism literature is the tradeoff of the psychological and emotional aspects that have not been explored. In tourism research, humanness and tendencies towards others (i.e., empathy) were rarely studied [23]. In response to the call for research to analyze the possible role of the emphatic aspect in the tourism context, this study attempted to explore the untapped moderating implications of dispositional empathy. This study highlighted that the awareness of eco-literacy issues could prompt pro-environmental behavior; however, we argue that when a person upholds a greater extent of dispositional empathy, this link would be intensified. Therefore, this study answers the rarely studied question of how the degree of dispositional empathy yields a strong link between an eco-literate person and their pro-environmental behavior. Therefore, this research advances the understanding of the phenomenon of regenerative tourism with a novel approach, bearing on the use of communication technology influence on eco-literacy, pro-environmental behavior, and dispositional empathy as determinants of the regenerative tourism intention.

2. Literature Review and Theoretical Underpinning

2.1. Regenerative Tourism

The severe decline in travel and tourism resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 offered a window of opportunity to take stock, as well as reaffirm the need to consider new models and strategies to boost the tourism industry [11]. For instance, in late September 2020, a debate was organized by UNESCO to discuss how this downturn “can be used to develop new models and approaches for a resilient and sustainable tourism recovery that supports communities, creates jobs, promotes culture, and protects the heritage and its transmission [24]”. During this discussion, experts called for “inclusive and regenerative tourism” as nations strengthened their tourism efforts in the wake of COVID-19.
This was the genesis of regenerative tourism which has evolved to promote sustainability in the tourist industry [18]. From this point of view, the primary emphasis is not on the long-term viability of tourism [17]. Nevertheless, in many ways, tourism may accelerate improving local conditions and contribute to preserving natural resources. It aligns with integrated approaches to local development while simultaneously emphasizing “micro-scale” regeneration efforts rather than “large-scale” regeneration programs. Instead of just “lifting”, regenerative tourism actively revitalizes local neighborhoods, historical landmarks, cultural institutions, natural environments, and more. The goal of regenerative tourism is to go beyond more conventional sustainable practices, such as those that emphasize minimizing environmental harm. More recently, scholars defined regenerative tourism as schemes based on tourism actions that should align with social and natural outlines, blended with indigenous growth methods, and point to tourism activities as regeneration processes [12,23]. Regenerative methods are a potential solution because they are outcome-oriented and not just about damage-reduction, since they are system-based and promote harmony between human culture and the natural world [3,15].
Regenerative methods, on the other hand, recognize the emergence of post-capitalist economies and markets prioritizing goals other than economic expansion [4,25]. Because of this broader perspective, regenerative tourism approaches may “deconstruct economic practices in tourism” and prioritize sustainable growth over rapid expansion. In this regard, widespread public participation is essential to highlight and comprehend each location’s uniqueness, including the narratives from local history and community tales [13,26]. An increased sense of community, ownership, and empowerment can be fostered through multi-sectoral community engagement, as it promotes an in-depth sharing of values and aspirations, facilitates dialogue between different actors and sectors, and contributes to the long-term success of a given initiative [26].
From this vantage point, we identify two main applications of regenerative tourism that hold great promise. First, the revitalization of tourist hotspots damaged by mass tourism (and mitigating its adverse effects) [27]. Second, the renewal of a formerly underserved landscape, community, or location that may one day attract tourists [5,28]. However, research argues that regenerative strategies may be excellent supplements for tourists. These methods are only effective if decision-makers and local agents are fully committed to a local development plan that limits tourist growth to sustainable levels while considering the host community’s needs [29]. Another aspect rarely studied is the adoption of regenerative tourism practices and requirements by travelers [2]. This research is interested in how a communicative environment can educate the public on regenerative practices. The following section draws attention to modern communication tools and theoretically links them to propose hypotheses.

2.2. Eco-Literacy

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) emphasize managing natural and environmental resources sustainably [30,31]. Human behaviors in several aspects of life pose a severe threat to the environment. Therefore, in recent times, emphasis has shifted to addressing these behaviors in order to mitigate their adversities. One of the key drivers of human actions against environmental issues is ignorance [32]. To reduce or counter this challenge, eco-literacy becomes imperative. Scholars have defined eco-literacy as the capability to comprehend the natural systems that make life on earth possible. This definition is not limited to awareness, but goes beyond actionable literacy [33]. Eco-literacy focuses on providing information that can help people understand the values of natural systems, and facilitates the practice of those values for establishing sustainable human communities [34]. This research considers communication to encourage participation in a typical setting. It is an ongoing process that expands on previous answers “to a context inherent in the interactions of people, places, materials, and activities”. Understanding the world is an ongoing process, and communication is a crucial building block. In recent years, the term “literacy” has come to include more than just the capacity to read and write; it also refers to the ability to use language in various social and cultural settings [35].
In general, literacy is generally concerned with relational and communicative behaviors of meaning-making, both within us and with others [35]. In regenerative tourism, eco-literacy is an outcome and function of the communicative resources to make people understand the values of the regenerative approach. This research conceptualized eco-literacy in the context of the pro-environmental and participatory knowledge that can help people engage in constructive ecological behaviors during their destination visit. The eco-literate travelers may understand the required behaviors to support the local communication and environment to attain destination and local cultural sustainability. The following section discusses the communication power in altering eco-literacy.

2.3. Immersive Journalism

Immersive journalism is a new form of journalism production that utilizes immersive and reality technologies aiming to introduce audiences to the stories. It allows the audiences to better comprehend the enormousness of the information and become more immersed in the situation in the stories. Immersive journalism involves the use of virtual, augmented, 3D, and 360-degree technologies to give enhanced experiences to audiences. Immersive journalism employs immersive narratives and extended reality technologies to deliver an emotionally persuasive, all-inclusive involvement of the story or the issues in question. Thus, immersive journalism engages an audience that seems evasive, much as we witnessed with the growth trajectories of web journalism, mobile journalism, and data journalism earlier [36,37]. Recent studies have shown that this demographic is more adaptable, mobile, and, one might argue, a more participative view of news values [37]. For instance, News Consumption in a UK study conducted by Ofcom found that the consumption of news online through any device was much more significant for those aged 16–24 (59%) than those over 55 (23%) (Ofcom 2015). The consumption of news on mobile devices is a growing trend that shows no sign of abating, and news organizations are being forced to adapt to keep up with how “the real-time world of news and events fits in your pocket”.
Immersive journalism targets a fragmented audience by providing material that can be socially shared on mobile devices, is accessible instantly, and tells a narrative in a novel manner [38,39]. Mainstream media and new media organizations have begun striving to generate immersive news [38]. In 2015, there was a surge in mobile applications that were pushed to support 360-degree immersive films [40]. This increase was brought about by developing technology that reacts directly to this new audience. Journalism that “elicits a connection, strives against apathy, and depends not on presentation but on experience” is what we mean by immersive journalism [41]. Films illustrate this with a 360-degree field of view, where a camera captures the scene from all directions surrounding the subject. Because of the immersive properties, users can gaze anywhere they want, whenever, and for as long as they wish. In recent years, similar technology has been accessible as an option on mobile devices called “tilt and rotate”. It works by utilizing the gyroscope to detect movements and convert them into one’s viewpoint, allowing one to glance around a scene [42].
The high expense of 360-degree videos significantly prevents their widespread use in journalistic settings [43]. Even while virtual reality headsets are becoming more accessible, the cost of purchasing one is still far more than reasonable for general consumers [41]. The introduction of Google Cardboard in 2014, on the other hand, presented an opportunity for immersive journalism to reach a broader audience. The Google Cardboard virtual reality (VR) headset in mobile devices is equipped with lenses and a magnet that may alter one’s perspective or cause certain events to occur throughout an encounter [44]. Because of the development of these fundamental methods, it is now possible to watch any 360-degree movie or virtual reality material using headgear made of cardboard. The previous literature suggested that journalistic contents have a more significant informational role in improving knowledge on different issues [43,45]. Journalistic content is created and disseminated with particular emphasis on the informative, awareness, and educational angles. Therefore, it is a fact that journalistic content such as news can influence the literacy level of the public on multiple issues, including health, the environment, and tourism. Immersive journalism is a new phenomenon, and the use of VR, AR, and 360-degree views makes it a powerful medium for providing environmental awareness to the audience. Immersive journalism allows journalists to produce more demonstrative and appealing stories that can educate the public. In the context of tourism, it can assist in creating a better understanding of environmental issues and literate prospective travelers. The demonstrative aspect of immersive journalism can educate prospective travelers about the actions necessary for regenerative tourism. The literature also affirmed that immersive and extended reality technologies were found to be associated with learning consequences through the amplified presence and cognitive aids, such as enhanced understanding and awareness. Now, owing to the presence of digital and mobile technologies, people can access immersive content, so its reach is increased. These simple, immersive technologies-based applications offer plentiful prospects for audiences to explore immersive content for several purposes, including awareness. Likewise, journalists are using these applications and different digital platforms, such as YouTube, to share awareness and educational content on numerous issues, including health and environmental awareness. In Pakistan, Orbit-ed is an example that provides a learning platform that can be used for the said purpose of promoting eco-literacy. The use of 360-degree videos is also gaining popularity in Pakistan among people. Thus, immersive technologies have provided a new horizon for eco-literacy. We, therefore, propose that the explanatory power of immersive journalism can effectively influence the level of people’s eco-literacy. It can also provide insightful information about regenerative tourism with a better learning experience, and it is hypothesized that:
(H1): 
Immersive journalism will positively influence eco-literacy.

2.4. Metaverse Tourism

The concept of the metaverse is evolving into “a parallel world where people may work, play, and communicate” [46]. Therefore, MR connects the online and offline worlds in real-time via the development of linked and interoperable functionality; this opens up novel avenues for social, economic, and cultural pursuits in the resulting hybrid realm, while also bringing about several new disruptions [47,48]. Defining metaverse tourism is coupled with understanding the origin of the metaverse and the technology related to it. The first appearance of the term metaverse was in the fiction novel Snow Crash, written by Neal Stephenson. The expansion of augmented reality and virtual environment technologies has accelerated the metaverse experiences of environments and products through a wide range of media (e.g., social media, websites, video games, and eSports) and technologies (e.g., satellite images, 3D graphics, wearable devices, and multiple sensory devices) [49]. Metaverse was initially situated within virtual and social media contexts and is interchangeably used with virtual reality. There is confusion about the difference between metaverse tourism and virtual tourism [46]. Recently, metaverse has often been used for augmented reality and mixed environments of physical and virtual reality. Metaverse has incorporated a more extended scope of experiences to include a physical world rather than only a virtual environment that primarily deals with 3D virtual worlds or non-physical elements/environments [46]. Thus, metaverse could include beyond or mixed-spatial experiences that use virtual and physical environments [50]. To develop a clear understanding of metaverse tourism, it is necessary to define and distinguish it from virtual tourism in the tourism and hospitality context.
For the tourism and hospitality fields, metaverse tourism involves metaverse environments that provide tourists with spatial (or tour) experiences. Interacting with metaverse environments can enhance tourist experiences with a destination or product. The metaverse environments can be composed of the intersection of the physical and virtual environment, generated by infrastructures, multiple sensory information, and metaverse technologies. Therefore, this paper defines metaverse tourism as tourism that provides a product or experience with collaborative spatial environments enhanced by multi-sensory information processing in the convergence of physical and virtual environments, and effectively improves the literacy level of individuals about regenerative tourism. Therefore, we propose that metaverse can be an effective channel to promote regenerative tourism due to its enhanced features, and it is hypothesized that:
(H2): 
Metaverse-based regenerative tourism promotion will positively influence eco-literacy.

2.5. Pro-Environmental Behavior

The definition of “pro-environmental behavior” is widely known as any activity that reduces a negative influence on the environment [20,51,52,53]. Recycling is only one example of the many types of operationalized behavior that fall under pro-environmental behavior innovation [51]. Others include civic engagement [54], purchase of environmentally friendly products [55], the use of transportation [56], and waste management [57]. Reducing waste, finding new services for old things, and recycling are the three primary environmental habits that can be distilled from this list. Not only do behaviors relating to waste management connect to recycling or reuse behaviors, but they also link to consumption activities, such as buying items made from recycled materials [58]. Recently, some academics have elaborated on pro-environmental behavior from a more composite view, classifying such behavior as basic environmental behavior, environmental decision-making behavior, interpersonal environmental behavior, and civic environmental behavior [54]. Basic environmental behavior refers to actions taken to protect the environment, such as recycling [58]. Actions in the public realm that can protect the environment include participation in ecological citizenship and support for environmental policies [54]. People may do their part to conserve the environment through actions in their spheres, which requires their efforts (time and energy). Citizenship activities, financial actions, persuasion behaviors, and ecological management behaviors are the four categories that identify the different forms of environmentally conscious behaviors [59]. However, ecologically conscious behaviors are directly influenced by the level of eco-literacy. Therefore, this study argues that eco-literacy is vital in determining these behaviors [20]. In tourism literature, pro-environmental travelers are described as those who endeavor to decrease ecological adversities and underwrite environmental preservation and conservational efforts without disturbing the environment of a destination during their visit.
While regenerative tourism has expanded this idea and is also concerned with improving the local communication and environment of the destination, the literature suggested that pro-environmental behavior can lead to the adoption or willingness to participate in other closely associated actions [3,12]. In the tourism domain, the development of pro-environmental behavior due to eco-literacy has also been widely verified in previous studies. For example, the literature suggested that how eco-literate travelers value actionable pro-environmental building designs remains consistent with their pro-environmental behaviors. A higher level of eco-literacy can prompt pro-environmental behaviors by providing people with regenerative tourism values. This leads to regenerative tourism intention. Thus, we hypothesize that:
(H3): 
Eco-literacy will positively influence pro-environmental behavior.
(H4): 
Pro-environmental behavior will positively influence the regenerative tourism intention.

2.6. Dispositional Empathy

Empathy is the capacity to feel another person’s mental state, which implies a socially adaptive relationship between the parties involved [60]. Empathy has two categories: dispositional and situational. In dispositional empathy, the amount of empathy is independent on a specific circumstance; as a result, it is seen as a constant within the individual [61]. In other words, dispositional empathy refers to the inclination to picture the possibilities or views of other people in various scenarios [60]. This is referred to as the cognitive feature of empathy. Dispositional empathy has three dimensions. First, perspective-taking refers to the propensity to accept another person’s point of view [62]. Second, fantasy refers to the person’s inclination to identify with fictional characters in movies or books [62]. Finally, the empathic concern is the person’s propensity to feel compassion and concern for others, and personal discomfort [61].
Dispositional empathy can be developed over time (known as the tendency to experience an uncomfortable and anxious feeling when witnessing a negative situation). According to the literature, dispositional empathy is responsible for the automatic generation of empathic responses [63]. On the other hand, situational empathy is affected by a person’s social ability for a particular circumstance, which is developed in more specialized circumstances [64]. In this respect, it is important to stress that, in contrast to the empathy formed with a target, dispositional empathy produces good mental states in the person with whom one interacts. In other words, predisposition empathy is associated with a healthy emotional state responsible for creating sentiments of joy. A predisposition to feel empathy for another person is related to improved social interaction [65]. This is due to more comprehensive knowledge and respect for the other person.
As a matter of fact, a person who interacts with another person with strong dispositional empathy simultaneously acquires a favorable state of mind compared to someone who has only been urged to be sympathetic [60]. Therefore, this research argues that a greater extent of empathy concern would influence literacy and pro-environmental behavior. The previous literature has also validated that a stronger level of dispositional empathy can lead to pro-environmental behavior. However, this study proposes that regardless of the awareness factor (e.g., eco-literacy), people’s psychological mechanism of empathy would function as referent criteria to define the outcome of pro-environmental behavior. A person with more empathy would act upon the environmental knowledge gained from communicative sources and adopt more pro-environmental behavior.
(H5): 
Dispositional empathy will positively moderate the relationship between eco-literacy and pro-environmental behavior.

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. Design, Participants, and Procedure

This research used an online cross-sectional quantitative design to investigate the antecedents of regenerative tourism intention. Drawing an analogy from the PET and MRT, this research proposed a conceptual model that involves the nexus between futuristic and new communication technologies, such as metaverse and immersive journalism with eco-literacy and environmental concerns in predicting regenerative tourism. For this reason, this research used the online survey method to collect data from digital media users. Digital media users frequently encounter futuristic and new technology-based communication content; therefore, it provides a rationale for collecting data using digital platforms. This study also aimed to understand the potential influence of these technology-driven communication contents (e.g., immersive journalism). Therefore, the current research targeted the adult digital media users of Pakistan. Data was collected from the 776 respondents using the online postings of the link to the survey questionnaire from 10 October 2022 to 20 November 2022.
The link was shared on tourism social media pages, websites’ comment sections, and through a list of the emails of recent travelers (e.g., using online booking services) that was obtained from the tour operators. Only emails that allowed the tour operators to receive promotional activities and already showed consent were marked. This data collection strategy enabled this research to approach the sample frame during their real-life routine and natural settings. However, to approach the sample, specific filter questions were used to reach out to the appropriate sample. The participants were requested to respond to the two filter questions that included: (1) did they visit or plan to visit tourist sites, and (2) did they ever experience virtual or augmented reality-based technologies online, or experience viewing immersive journalism (360-degree) content? Onwards, those who responded positively and remained eligible to participate in this study were requested to give ethical and informed consent. Those who agreed were invited to fill out the questionnaire.
The sample size determination was calculated before collecting the data using two standards: (1) Morgan’s Table and (2) G-power analysis. According to recent statistics, there are around 89 million internet users in Pakistan. Therefore, 384 was an appropriate number of participants according to Morgan’s estimate. Next, G-power analysis based on the number of variables of interest in this study revealed that for five antecedents and one dependent variable, 700 participants are enough to draw predictions and inferences from the data. Albeit 700 participants were an ample number to draw predictions and inferences, however, this research continued to obtain at least 10 percent more data to counter the future challenge of data normalization during the structural equation modeling (hereafter SEM). Overall, 776 responses were received, and details of the analysis are provided in the next section. Before the data collection, the questionnaire along with the definitions of the constructs were also sent to the six academicians for getting inputs and translational validity. Minute changes were made based on their inputs. Later, a pilot study was carried out involving the 50 students’ samples. The result of the study demonstrated a satisfactory outcome regarding the reliability of the scales (<0.60). The final questionnaire contained items and definitions of the constructs, and the following section delineates the details of the instruments used in this research.

3.2. Instrumentation

3.2.1. Immersive Journalism

The variable of immersive journalism was measured using three items derived from the literature and modified into the context of this research. These items were drawn on potential knowledge acquired due to the immersive journalism pro-environmental content. The statements read as: (1) “I felt I will learn about regenerative tourism from the 360-degree journalistic content (i.e., documentary) based environmental awareness program for visitors”, (2) “The 360-degree journalistic content (i.e., documentary) based environmental awareness program for visitors will enhance my environmental knowledge required for regenerative tourism”, and (3) “The environmental awareness 3D/360-degree media contents for visitors will help me to learn about activities promoting regenerative tourism”. The response of the participants was measured on a five-point scale (1 = strongly agree, 5 = strongly disagree).

3.2.2. Metaverse-Based Regenerative Tourism

This research modified the marketing communication channel attributes three-item scale to tap the metaverse-based regenerative tourism. This scale measures the perceived channel attributes in the marketing and promotional context. The semantic difference scales read: (1) “How acceptable is the regenerative promotional content you will receive in a Metaverse scenario”, and the response was measured on “1 = Not at all acceptable 5 = Extremely acceptable”; (2) “How reliable do you consider the information you will receive about the regenerative tourism activities if they are promoted through the exposure of Metaverse scenario”, and the response was measured on “1 = Not at all reliable 5 = Extremely reliable”; and (3) “How appropriate do you consider promotional content about the regenerative tourism you will receive through the exposure of Metaverse scenario”, and the response was measured on “1 = Not at all appropriate 5 = Extremely an appropriate”.

3.2.3. Eco-Literacy

The eco-literacy (hereafter EC) was measured using a four-item scale that was modified from the previous work of Rejikumar (2016). The items read as due to journalistic and promotional regenerative tourism content: (1) “I understand about activities that harm the environment during traveling”, (2) “I understand different ways to minimize pollution during traveling”, (3) “I understand the environmental laws in the destination country”, and (4) “I am willing to creatively engage in corrective actions that promote net-zero tourism during traveling”. All items were measured on the five-point Likert scale anchoring “1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree”.

3.2.4. Pro-Environmental Behavior

The pro-environmental behavior was measured using the four items adapted from the work of Cheung and Fok (2014). The items read as: (1) “Now that I have experienced the environmental awareness program required for visitors for regenerative tourism, my lifestyle will change to become more environmentally friendly”, (2) Now that I have experienced the environmental awareness program required for visitors for regenerative tourism, I am more concerned with nature and the environment, and I will take action to protect it”, (3) “Now that I have experienced the environmental awareness program for visitors required for regenerative tourism, I will have a preference for environmentally-friendly products and services,” and (4) “Now that I have experienced the environmental awareness program for visitors required for regenerative tourism, I will participate in voluntary work for environmental conservation”. All items were measured on the five-point Likert scale anchoring “1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree”.

3.2.5. Dispositional Empathy

The dispositional empathy towards regenerative tourism was measured using a seven-item sub-scale from the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). The study used and modified the version of the sub-scale to tap the empathetic concern dimension, “the tendency to feel sympathy, concern, and warmth regarding regenerative tourism”. Items were measured on a five-point scale from “1 (does not describe me at all) to 5 (describes me very well)”.

3.2.6. Regenerative Tourism Intention

The regenerative tourism intention (hereafter RTI) was measured on five-point Likert scale anchoring (1 = “strongly agree”, 5 = “strongly disagree”) using three modified items deducted from the literature. These items were adjusted to reflect three regenerative tourism practices and read as: (1) “I am willing to participate in activities to help local communities during my visit to a destination”, (2) “I am willing to actively assist environmental restoration campaigns during my visit to a destination”, and (3) “I am willing to serve the local community to make the place more attractive for future visitors during my visit to a destination”.

4. Results

4.1. Descriptive and Demographic Analysis

The demographic analysis was performed, and the results are accessible in Table 1. The results suggested a diversity of data in income, gender, educational background, and age.
Onwards, the descriptive analysis was performed using SPSS 24.0, which involves evaluating the normality checks, outliers, the correlation between the variables, and multiclonality. The analysis of the normality (e.g., visual and statistical) initially revealed problems regarding the normality of the data. However, outlier determination and deletion were performed using bivariate, univariate, and multivariate outlier assessments. After the deletion of 59 cases, the data met the normality assumptions using the threshold values of skewness and kurtosis (±2.58) when divided by the standard error reported, as suggested by Hairs et al. [66]. Next, the remaining data of 717 proceeded to the bivariate analysis reported in Table 2. It suggested significant relationships between variables of interest. Further, the Variance Inflation (VIF) test for multiclonality was conducted. The VIF values for each item of this study were found to be lower than 10. Thus, with no multicollinearity issue in this study, analysis proceeded to the SEM. In addition, common method biases were also observed using Herman’s test through exploratory factor analysis (hereafter EFA) on SPSS 24.0. To do so, all items of each variable (i.e., IMJ, MP, ECL, DE, PEB, and RTI) were loaded on a single factor. The results of EFA revealed only a 39.8% variance, and no issue was found regarding the common method biases, and the study proceeded to the SEM.

4.2. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA)

Further, using SEM, we conducted confirmatory factor analyses (hereafter CFA) on AMOS 24.0. SEM was applied to investigate convergent and divergent validity, model fitness for structural and measurement models, and hypotheses testing. It (SEM) is considered a superior method for valid and reliable results compared to regression. Prior to SEM analysis, the CFA was initially carried out to analyze the model fitness statistics for the measurement model. Therefore, the measurement model was computed on AMOS based on the constructs and 717 responses. However, there was an issue with model fitness in the first attempt at CFA, mainly due to the low loadings of the two items (see Table 3). These items were removed from the analysis to attain the model fitness. The item removal persisted within the suggested threshold of 20%, which is allowed to obtain model fitness. After that, the results of CFA revealed a good fit model based on the multiple indices, such as x2/df = 2.81, GFI = 0.94, TLI = 0.96, IFI = 0.95, CFI = 0.96, and RMSEA = 0.48, reported by AMOS 24.0.
Moreover, the convergent validity of all variables (i.e., IMJ, MP, ECL, DE, PEB, and RTI) was calculated. (see Table 4). The discriminant validity was also assessed using the Fornell-Larcker criterion. To do so, the extent of mutual discrepancy among the latent constructs (i.e., IMJ, MP, ECL, DE, PEB, and RTI) was evaluated based on the results of the CFA. The results revealed that the values representing the square root average variance extracted in Table 4 were higher than the correlation extracted between the latent constructs (i.e., IMJ, MP, ECL, DE, PEB, and RTI) of this research (see Table 4).

4.3. Hypothesis Testing

Once the validities, reliability, and measurement model fitness were achieved, the study proceeded to the structural models’ fitness. The results revealed satisfactory outcomes based on the multiple indices applied to examine the model fitness. Onwards, the research proceeded to the hypotheses testing using the path analysis technique. This research proposed four direct hypotheses and one moderating hypothesis. Two hypotheses were on the direct influences of immersive journalism (H1) and metaverse-based regenerative tourism promotion (H2) on eco-literacy. The path analysis results demonstrated a positive and significant impact of immersive journalism (β = 0.41 and p = 0.001) and metaverse-based regenerative tourism promotion (β = 0.34 and p = 0.001). Thus, H1 and H2 were supported (see Figure 2 and Table 5), and it is empirically verified that using modern technologies with the capability of giving direct experience to individuals can influence eco-literacy. This aligns with the MRT’s notion that media content effectively educates people.
The third hypothesis (H3) postulated that eco-literacy directly influences pro-environmental behavior. The results of the path analysis validated that there is a positive and significant influence of eco-literacy (β = 0.53 and p = 0.001) on pro-environmental behavior, and H3 was also supported. Therefore, it can be safely said that environmental and ecological literacy can help inculcate pro-environmental behavior. Lastly, H4 was proposed to examine the direct influence of pro-environmental behavior on regenerative tourism intention. As expected, the results also established that pro-environmental behavior positively and significantly influences regenerative tourism intention (β = 0.39 and p = 0.001), and H4 was also supported (see Figure 2).

4.4. Moderation Analysis

This research employed the stepwise approach that Hayes [67] suggested to verify the (H5) moderating role of dispositional empathy between eco-literacy and pro-environmental behavior. As mentioned above, the primary influence of eco-literacy on pro-environmental behavior was significant. However, to test the moderating effect, another model was computed by adding the interactional term (DE X ECL). The analysis results verified the positive and significant moderating influence of dispositional empathy (β = 0.27) between eco-literacy and pro-environmental behavior (see Table 6). A 12% moderate variance was also observed in pro-environmental behavior, which supported H4. Therefore, it is evident that the greater extent of dispositional empathy as an individual trait can strengthen the relationship between eco-literacy and pro-environmental behavior. Consequently, if a person upholds eco-literacy and a higher degree of dispositional empathy as a personal trait they can have more robust pro-environmental behavior.

5. Discussion

This research departed from the notions of the MRT. It utilized established paths (H1 and H2) to discover how the illustrative power of new media technologies, such as immersive and metaverse, can steadily provide a better learning experience in regenerative tourism. Furthermore, the study underscored the notions from PET to determine the role of pro-environmental behavior and its antecedents in transforming the traveler’s intention towards regenerative tourism (H3 and H4). Moreover, this research examined the role of the psychological trait of dispositional empathy as a moderating factor. The study hypothesized whether an increased level of eco-literacy due to communication or informational factor results in pro-environmental behavior or whether it was a function of the empathy level of the individuals (H5). The study employed SEM in the online cross-sectional data (collection) of internet users with more potential exposure to immersive and metaverse-based content. Using the quantitative design, the antecedents of regenerative tourism intention were measured. Thus, we drew up a conceptual model that explained how metaverse and immersive journalism with eco-literacy and dispositional empathy determine regenerative tourism. The online survey collected data from digital media users who often encountered futuristic and new technology-based communication content. The ample sample size was drawn based on Morgan’s Table and G-power analysis.
The SEM results were consistent with previous studies and indicated that innovative communication technology-driven media contents may induce issue-specific knowledge and awareness in the public [45]. The H1 and H2 of the current study sought to examine possible communication strategies to overcome these challenges. The results of H1 are similar to previous research that advocated using journalistic content to promote environmental knowledge [68]. Likewise, the H2 verified earlier findings on using promotional content for cause-related issues. For instance, recent research has underscored the impact of VR technology-based content in promoting awareness [47]. This research drew these two hypotheses from the MRT that emphasized that message presentation and engagement capabilities can give a better insight into the phenomena. In this research, it has been verified that tourism-specific environmental information can be effectively conveyed to the people through the use of VR and AR-based immersive and metaverse content in the future. The literature has also anticipated that these new technologies have more potential to give powerful perception and public awareness [69].
It is no gainsaying that the knowledge from the above strategies, such as immersive journalistic content and metaverse, offers a diverse learning experience that can shape an individual’s eco-literacy on regenerative tourism. The H3 assumed the role of eco-literacy in the development of pro-environmental behavior, which was also verified by the results. This aligns with previous findings based on the PET which validates the PET, which posits that individuals depend on such knowledge in devising pro-environmental behavior [52,54,70]. Thus, we identified in this study, in line with past studies, that improved eco-literacy through rich media content can induce pro-environmental behavior. These cognitive cues inculcated through eco-literacy about the values of regenerative tourism go beyond, and pro-environmental behavior will result in regenerative tourism intention, as posited in H4. The results also verified that pro-environmental behavior remained instrumental in indemnifying the regenerative tourism intention. The moderating influence of empathy also supported the fifth hypothesis. Dispositional empathy remained a critical intensifier between eco-literacy and pro-environmental behavior. This is supported by previous studies which espoused that empathy is vital in strengthening pro-environmental behavior [62,64]. In the context of this study, people with greater empathy interact with the existing knowledge about the situation, which may induce a more substantial effect that has been verified in the case of regenerative tourism.

5.1. Theoretical Implications

The study used a cross-sectional online survey to verify the postulation proposed in the conceptual model and set out to explore the influence of immersive journalism and metaverse-based regenerative tourism promotion on regenerative tourism through improving eco-literacy. Apart from reinforcing the previous literature, this study also verified critical psychological factors, such as dispositional empathy, to understand the mechanism of the information a person upholds due to the possible exposure to the newest forms of journalistic and promotional content. In this regard, this study is first, to our knowledge, to link the futuristic facades, such as immersive journalism, and metaverse-based promotional content attributes’ role in communicating the social and environmental benefits to enhance the domain-specific knowledge (e.g., eco-literacy) on the acceptance of regenerative tourism. Furthermore, the study extends the implications of the MRT theory by tapping the novel constructs of the perceived influence of immersive journalistic content and metaverse technology-based regenerative tourism using marketing communication attributes.
This is geared toward enabling people to develop the necessary environmental objectives and pertinent knowledge about regenerative tourism, so as to adopt actions supporting the environment and local communities. Furthermore, the results of the study indicated that the ultimate goal of regenerative tourism activities necessitates the positive transformation of the destination and development of the local population. Therefore, regenerative tourism goes beyond reducing risk for the regional population approach, as assumed in sustainable tourism. This research aligns its assumptions (H1 and H2) with the MRT, which stipulates simple descriptions and interoperations of the phenomena in question. This study verified that the availability of rich media, such as immersive (e.g., VR and AR-based) and metaverse, have implications that are essential for individuals to gain a learning experience that leads to the development of the regenerative tourism intention. Therefore, the study applied the notion of the MRT in the context of futuristic technologies like immersive journalism and metaverse. The study’s results verified that the domain knowledge outlined in this research as eco-literacy could be significantly improved by using media content with diverse capabilities, such as VR, which is vital in shaping travelers’ intention toward regenerative tourism. The study also extends the implications of PET in the tourism context—results have established that pro-environmental behavior is key to developing further regenerative tourism intention.

5.2. Managerial Implications

This research offers several managerial implications for existing and futuristic media contents, in terms of their attributes-based learning capabilities, to develop effective marketing communication promotional campaigns to persuade individuals to engage in regenerative tourism activities. This is expected to be of enormous benefit to policymakers and the tourism industry in overcoming the challenges they would face concerning the active participation of the communities and practices of regenerative tourism. The greater the extent of the tourism influx, the greater the potential to harm the local environment and cultural settings. Overall, the result of this study suggested that immersive journalism and metaverse can deliver regenerative tourism-based promotional and educational messages effectively. Therefore, the traveler’s intention to participate actively for the betterment of the destination and local communities can be exemplified in these more interactive and experience-laden media contents. This finding will be helpful in not only promoting the regenerative activities of the travelers, but also improving the regenerative tourism intention to participate in these activities actively. Organizations that promote the action-oriented tourism approach can also use immersive content at places such as airports to provide better exposure and create awareness about regenerative activities.

5.3. Limitations and Future Recommendations

This study has certain limitations regarding appropriate sample selection, but can be improved in the future using the Mturk or other sources to target a specific sampling frame. Moreover, the experience factor of these technologies, such as immersive, can be better evaluated in an experimental design; therefore, this research recommends conducting causal studies to replicate or validate these results. In addition, this research is limited to exploring only informational, social, and psychological influences. Future research may consider other predictors, such as the economic and socio-cultural factors of regenerative tourism intention. Furthermore, the research is based on a single issue, and the findings may not be generalizable to immersive and metaverse-based promotional contents about other concerns. Future research is required to explore learning impacts as a response to these contents about other issues, such as health awareness or climate change. Lastly, future studies may ensure steps to reduce social desirability bias.

6. Conclusions

Regenerative tourism aims to safeguard global tourism, bringing a net positive advantage to the public, destinations, and the environment, and it supports the longstanding regeneration and prosperity of our societal and environmental systems. In the past, tourism was one of the sources responsible for the environmental degradation of the destinations. Tourism often places a burden on ecological resources through excessive consumption, often in destinations where resources are, at present, threatened. Therefore, promoting regenerative tourism has global implications by putting enormous stress on supportable means of traveling without harming local resources. The conceptual model of this study helped to determine the positive and significant influence of immersive journalism and metaverse-based regenerative tourism promotion. For example, the study establishes that the exposure of individuals to modern technologies (immersive journalism and metaverse) influences their eco-literacy, which in turn affects individuals’ pro-environment behaviors. The influence of pro-environment behavior on regenerative tourism intention is also established. This research provides appropriate solutions to capitalize on in the promotion of regenerative tourism. The results suggest that eco-literacy is central to promoting regenerative tourism. However, the instrumental role of technology-driven communication technology is due to its rich ability to educate travelers to change their understanding of the value of regenerative activities. Hence, these communicative resources can have strategic implications/potentials for policymakers, the tourism industry, and organizations raising regenerative tourism awareness and its adoption.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, X.H., S.H.R., S.W.K., U.Z. and E.C.O.; methodology, X.H., S.H.R., S.W.K., U.Z. and E.C.O.; software, X.H., S.H.R., S.W.K., U.Z. and E.C.O.; validation, X.H., S.H.R., S.W.K., U.Z. and E.C.O.; formal analysis, X.H., S.H.R., S.W.K., U.Z. and E.C.O.; investigation, X.H., S.H.R., S.W.K., U.Z. and E.C.O.; resources, X.H., S.H.R., S.W.K., U.Z. and E.C.O.; data curation, X.H., S.H.R., S.W.K., U.Z. and E.C.O.; writing—original draft preparation, X.H., S.H.R., S.W.K., U.Z. and E.C.O.; writing—review and editing, X.H., S.H.R., S.W.K., U.Z. and E.C.O.; visualization, X.H., S.H.R., S.W.K., U.Z. and E.C.O.; supervision, S.H.R. and U.Z.; project administration, X.H., S.H.R., S.W.K., U.Z. and E.C.O. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Institutional Research Ethical Committee of Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 66000, Pakistan, and approval Number. MAS/2022/347.

Informed Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request due to ethical and privacy restrictions.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Sustainability 15 05046 g001 550
Figure 1. Conceptual model.
Figure 1. Conceptual model.
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Sustainability 15 05046 g002 550
Figure 2. Structural models (AMOS 24.0 output).
Figure 2. Structural models (AMOS 24.0 output).
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Table
Table 1. Demographic attributes.
Table 1. Demographic attributes.
DemographicFrequencyPercentage
Gender
Male44857.7
Female32842.3
Educational Background
High School14618.8
College diploma12516.1
Undergraduate26333.9
Master and Above24231.2
Age
18–2510213.1
26–3527635.6
36–4532141.4
46 and above779.9
Income in PKR (1 US dollar = 227 PkR)
50,000–100,00018223.4
100,001–200,00041553.5
200,001 and above20926.9
Table
Table 2. Descriptive statistics.
Table 2. Descriptive statistics.
VariablesMeanIMJMPECLDEPEBRTI
IMJ4.151
MP3.970.341
ECL4.260.420.271
DE3.650.210.490.311
PEB3.930.260.190.280.431
RTI4.040.470.350.510.230.341
IMJ = Immersive journalism, MP = Metaverse-based promotion, ECL = Eco-literacy, DE = Dispositional empathy, PEB = Pro-environmental behavior, and RTI = Regenerative tourism intention.
Table
Table 3. Standardized weights.
Table 3. Standardized weights.
ItemsLoadings
Immersive Journalism
IMJ10.78
IMJ20.86
IMJ30.81
Metaverse-based Regenerative Tourism
MP10.91
MP20.84
MP30.82
Eco-literacy
ECL10.80
ECL20.75
ECL30.86
ECL40.67
Pro-environmental Behavior
PEB10.86
PEB20.82
PEB30.77
PEB40.71
Dispositional Empathy
DE10.45 *
DE20.85
DE30.76
DE40.37 *
DE50.88
DE60.81
DE70.93
Regenerative Tourism Intention
RTI10.92
RTI20.74
RTI30.81
CR = Composite Reliability, AVE = Average Variance Extracted, and * = removed items
Table
Table 4. Convergent and discriminant validity.
Table 4. Convergent and discriminant validity.
VariablesαCRAVEIMJMPECLDEPEBRTI
IMJ0.890.880.671
MP0.860.890.730.221
ECL0.790.850.590.340.161
DE0.810.870.630.130.410.131
PEB0.730.930.710.190.110.190.261
RTI0.840.860.680.360.290460.310.251
Table
Table 5. Hypotheses results.
Table 5. Hypotheses results.
Modelβp-Valuet-ValueHypotheses
Immersive journalism → Eco-literacy0.410.0015.69 H1 Supported
Metaverse-based promotion → Eco-literacy0.340.0014.92 H2 Supported
Eco-literacy → Pro-environmental behavior0.530.0018.31 H3 Supported
Pro-environmental behavior → Regenerative tourism intention0.390.0013.87 H4 Supported
Table
Table 6. Moderation results.
Table 6. Moderation results.
Stepwise ModerationResults
Dependent Variables: Pro-environmental behavior
Step 1: Independent Variables: Eco-literacy0.53
Moderator: DE0.19
R2
Step 2: Moderator: EC X DE		0.47
0.27
R20.59
ΔR20.12
Entries are random effects with a robust standard error. R2 = proportion of variance explained by antecedent in models 1 and 2.
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MDPI and ACS Style

Hui, X.; Raza, S.H.; Khan, S.W.; Zaman, U.; Ogadimma, E.C. Exploring Regenerative Tourism Using Media Richness Theory: Emerging Role of Immersive Journalism, Metaverse-Based Promotion, Eco-Literacy, and Pro-Environmental Behavior. Sustainability 2023, 15, 5046. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065046

AMA Style

Hui X, Raza SH, Khan SW, Zaman U, Ogadimma EC. Exploring Regenerative Tourism Using Media Richness Theory: Emerging Role of Immersive Journalism, Metaverse-Based Promotion, Eco-Literacy, and Pro-Environmental Behavior. Sustainability. 2023; 15(6):5046. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065046

Chicago/Turabian Style

Hui, Xiaozhe, Syed Hassan Raza, Sanan Waheed Khan, Umer Zaman, and Emenyeonu C. Ogadimma. 2023. "Exploring Regenerative Tourism Using Media Richness Theory: Emerging Role of Immersive Journalism, Metaverse-Based Promotion, Eco-Literacy, and Pro-Environmental Behavior" Sustainability 15, no. 6: 5046. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065046

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