Abstract
The digitalization of society is crucial in achieving economic competitiveness and societal well-being. The pandemic has accelerated the digitalization of the tourism and hospitality sectors, which has fostered the emergence of more competitive, innovative, responsible, inclusive and sustainable business models. As the tourist experience is at the core of tourism management and constitutes the essence of tourism and hospitality (Tussyadaiah, 2014), most business models are oriented toward the tourist experience.
Among the technologies known as Industry 4.0, immersive technologies are crucial for digitizing the hospitality and tourism industry due to the intangible and experiential nature of the tourist experience (Tussyadiah et al., 2018). Immersive technologies transform how people experience real and virtual environments (Hoyer et al., 2020). Milgram and Kishino (1994) introduced the reality-virtuality continuum to categorize different realities. Flavián et al. (2019) further developed the continuum by introducing the concept of pure mixed reality, in which virtual objects perfectly integrate with the physical world. This advancement reflects the technological progress that supports digital-physical interactions. In the commercial context, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), augmented virtuality (AV) and pure mixed reality (PMR) are creating new environments where real and digital elements are combined at different levels. This integration results in hybrid customer experiences.