By Debolina Dutta, Yuvaraj Srivastava, Eshmeeta Singh
Information Technology & Tourism | September 2023
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40558-023-00258-9
Dutta, D., Srivastava, Y. & Singh, E. Metaverse in the tourism sector for talent management: a technology in practice lens. Inf Technol Tourism 25, 331–365 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40558-023-00258-9
Information Technology & Tourism, September 2023
In an era of talent shortages in the hospitality and tourism sector, the increasing use of technology adoption, including the metaverse, is critical for providing organizations with a competitive advantage. While metaverse adoption is becoming increasingly important for enabling customer experience in tourism, there is a surprising dearth of research on applications in the learning and development of the workforce engaged in this sector. The paper examines how hospitality and tourism HRM practices leveraging the metaverse can meaningfully increase learning engagement with the distributed workforce. Using a qualitative case study research design, we draw on practice theory and attempt to address the changing structures, practices, norms, and interpretive schemes while using the metaverse for learning and development within organizations. The study finds that the metaverse serves as augmenting technology or assistive technology, and its use with partial or wholly immersive environments enables asynchronous and synchronous learning. The implications of the study are discussed.
Debolina Dutta is a Clinical Professor, senior HR leader, and an ICF‑certified ACC level coach with over 30 years of industry experience and 6 years in academia. She brings deep expertise across Human Resources, Organisation Development, and Leadership Capability Building, having worked across diverse geographies and organisational contexts, including multinational corporations, private enterprises, and start‑ups.
Globally recognized for her contributions to the HR profession, Debolina has been named among the 100 Most Influential Global HR Professionals by the World HRD Congress, a Most Influential HR Leader in India, and nominated as one of the Top 16 Women Leaders. As an executive coach, she works closely with mid‑management and senior leaders on leadership transitions, personal effectiveness, and organisational change. Her work is supported by certifications in behavioral facilitation as well as expertise in psychometric tools.She has served on the Board of IIM Indore and advises organisations on talent strategies and AI-HRM adoption.
Debolina has led large‑scale organisational development and transformation initiatives spanning change management, mergers and acquisitions, HRIS implementations, and the design of structured talent and leadership frameworks, often in complex, multicultural environments. She is an alumna of IIM Indore (FPM‑Industry), IIM Bangalore, and the College of Engineering, Pune, and a published thought leader with case studies in Harvard Business Review and research articles in leading academic journals. Through her academic, consulting, and coaching roles, she continues to shape future‑ready leaders by integrating research, practice, and coaching‑led development.
