Purpose

Innovative immersive technologies and techniques are being applied in the events industry to create new experiences and services for guests. However, academic research in this field is dispersed and lacks coherence. Although event professionals are increasingly turning to immersion for competitive advantage, there is little agreement in the literature on the nature and impacts of immersion, or on how to measure these. This paper classifies and analyses the main academic studies to date in this field, and presents a conceptual model and future research agenda for its study.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review was carried out using the PRISMA methodology, using sources drawn from Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar. Articles were identified through a keyword search. Following this process, 65 articles published in English from 1990-2023 were thematically analysed.

Findings

The study analyses the characteristics of immersive events research, identifies its main themes and research gaps and suggests future directions to this emerging field. Thematic analysis revealed four dominant thematic areas: immersion theory, technology and innovation, event design, and attendee behaviour.

Originality/Value

This paper proposes a new conceptual model for research into immersive events, from a multidisciplinary perspective, drawing on insights from fields including hospitality and tourism, events, technology, computer science and engineering. Additionally, a future research agenda is proposed for this field, based on the identification of research gaps and the proposal of novel research questions.