virtual reality in tourism marketing

How virtual tourism can rebuild travel for a post-pandemic world

The Faroe Islands is just one destination using new technologies to create a virtual tourism experience Image:  Knud Erik Vinding/Pixabay

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Stay up to date:, virtual and augmented reality.

• The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the travel and tourism industries;
• Businesses in this sector must build infrastructure and practices that allow people to travel safely in a post-pandemic world and support local communities that benefit from tourism;
• Augmented, virtual and mixed reality technologies can offer alternative ways to travel the world and an exciting new model for the industry.

The tourism industry has hit a nadir owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will continue to feel the effects for at least the first three quarters of 2021 – according to a recent UN report , tourist arrivals globally in January 2021 were down 87% when compared to January 2020.

Travel will prevail over post-pandemic anxiety, making it incumbent on the aviation and tourism industry to build safer infrastructure and practices that take care of travellers’ well being.

Have you read?

International tourism is set to plunge by 80% this year – but some regions could recover more quickly, how global tourism can become more sustainable, inclusive and resilient, virtual reality adds to tourism through touch, smell and real people’s experiences.

After a year thwarted by the pandemic and with the future not looking too upbeat for the industry at this juncture, tourism business owners should look at alternative modes of interaction for holidaymakers that can also aid the people and economies who depend on tourism.

The COVID-19 pandemic has noticeably hastened the testing and rollout of forward-looking technologies. Technology has not only enabled citizens globally to interact with loved ones, but also helped industries such as healthcare, information technology, education and many more to work remotely.

In the last few decades, technology has helped travel and tourism industries increase their reach through travel booking websites, videos, blogs and travel photography. Digital tools and content are a vital source of information for vacationists organizing their next holiday or creating a destination wish list. Whilst remote or virtual tourism has been a futuristic theme within industry forums for some time, the world today, shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, might now be ready to accept it.

A human-centric design that draws insights from cognitive behaviour, social psychology, neuroscience and behavioural economics applied with cutting edge technologies such as augmented, virtual or mixed reality (AR, VR, MR) could be a game-changer. AR, VR and MR can enable a seamless, uninterrupted interactive experience for viewers from their own private space. The design principles will create a frictionless digital user experience and construct a positive perception of a tourist destination.

There have been previous attempts to achieve this feat: if you are an aqua sightseer, you might be aware of a documentary exploring the Great Barrier Reef . Through an interactive website, one can view the clear, tranquil currents of the Pacific Ocean and the biodiversity of the reef, and experience the sounds of a healthy coral reef. Another much-discussed VR experience is Mission 828 which allows you to take a virtual parachute jump from the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The Official Tourist Board of the Faroe Islands has also crafted a virtual experience to entice post-pandemic visitors from across the world.

Imagine a human-centric designed, interactive space online that makes a destination accessible and so real for a sightseer with sound captured by electro-acoustics researchers. You could view holiday sites in a video or through self-navigation using voice or joystick controls, interact with people using video-calling platforms, travel through the streets of said location, eavesdrop on local music and much more. This could be stitched together in a single platform individually or in silos on the internet and further enhanced by setting up physical experience tourism centres locally. Such a setup would allow tourist guides, artisans, craftspeople, hoteliers and transport business to create their own digital and virtual offerings and interact with possible customers.

Here’s how it might look: a vacationer starts their experience from the time their flight commences. The plane descends to the destination runway and pictures of the vicinity from the aircraft window pane are captured. The airport signage welcomes passengers and directs them to a pre-booked taxi. The vacationer gets to choose their first destination and travels through the streets in a chauffeur-driven car whose interactions en route become part of their cherished memories. On arrival, a tourist guide walks you through the destination all controlled with just a tap on your gadget. During the sightseeing, you hear random people speaking, posing for photographs and more. You take a photo to post on social media, go shopping and negotiate with a local vendor to purchase an artwork and get it delivered to your door. You learn how a local dish is prepared and get familiar with local customs.

A virtual platform could even provide an opportunity for people to explore areas that are affected by or fighting terrorism. For example, imagine seeing the diverse wildlife and snow leopard of the Gurez Valley, in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It doesn’t stop there: if thought through, one could experience travelling to the South Pole, space and beyond. It could also serve as a learning portal for students to understand geographies, culture, art and history.

With technology improving lives globally, virtual tourism could reignite the tourism industry and its people and help build a more sustainable economic model. As a human-centric platform, it can establish local tourist guides, artisans and others as global citizens in the tourism industry.

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Virtual reality and modern tourism

Journal of Tourism Futures

ISSN : 2055-5911

Article publication date: 29 April 2020

Issue publication date: 2 June 2021

The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight as to how recent trends in virtual reality (VR) have changed the way tourism and hospitality industry communicates their offerings and meets the tourists’ needs.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach is based on systematic literature review, where the relations between focal concepts are given to analyze potential future developments concerning VR.

The paper identifies and analyzes how VR technology affected tourism and hospitality industry through three main touch points – future tourism planning and management, technology-based marketing of tourism destinations and VR potential in changing consumer requirements. These concepts were analyzed to identify changing forces and suggest potential paradigm shifts that tourism and hospitality suppliers and marketers need to consider. These included realistic virtual travel replacements, the importance of interactive experiences and innovation in future tourism systems.

Originality/value

While there has been increasingly larger number of discussions on how tourists and tourism and hospitality industry have been using information and communication technology recently, there is little evidence of scholars and practitioners applying such methods. This paper used systematic literature review to illustrate means in which VR could be ingrained into tourism and hospitality services to meet the needs of tourists. It suggests that VR can and probably will fundamentally change the way in which tourists’ experiences and requirements are managed entirely.

• Virtual reality
• Development
• Emerging trends

Pestek, A. and Sarvan, M. (2021), "Virtual reality and modern tourism", Journal of Tourism Futures , Vol. 7 No. 2, pp. 245-250. https://doi.org/10.1108/JTF-01-2020-0004

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2020, Almir Pestek and Maida Sarvan.

Published in Journal of Tourism Futures . Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

Introduction

One of the most significant developments in the field of information and communication technology (ICT) expected to greatly impact the tourism industry today is virtual reality (VR). Many of the recent innovations such as VR platforms, devices and content production tools enable the evolution of VR. As such, VR technologies nowadays offer unbounded potentials for mass virtual visitations to actual tourism destinations. Moreover, the roles of such technologies in tourism and hospitality industries, its management and marketing have been described in literature as capable of showing their intricate abilities to simulate real-life situations and contexts, occasionally being touted as a substitute to actual travel, making it a very powerful tool for meeting the needs of tourists.

The changes that are supposed to occur in the next few years are always underestimated and come even sooner. Tourism and hospitality organizations should be urged to be more future-oriented and prepared fully for the planning of technology adaptations. The paper aims at establishing relations between concepts of VR and tourism and hospitality industry and presenting opportunities for the tourism sector taking in consideration the values expressed in the concept of VR marketing in efforts of meeting the needs of tourists in the future. The paper explores the potential of valuable tool such as VR with regard to tourism planning and management, technology-based marketing of tourism destinations and effects of VR on consumer requirements.

The paper is based on the literature review. The following digital bases were used in the process of research: Emerald Database, IOPscience, SCOPUS, EBSCO, ABI/INFORM Complete – ProQuest. The items in the search string were connected with OR statements, to make sure that all relevant papers were retrieved - “virtual reality,” “virtual reality marketing,” “virtual reality experience,” “augmented reality experience,” and “ICT in tourism”. Only 49 articles were yielded because of their relevance after applying the exclusion/inclusion criteria. Inclusion criteria include: published articles between 2010 and 2019; articles written in English, scientific and peer-reviewed articles; studies published in electronic digital libraries from newspapers or journals; and educational conferences. Exclusion criteria are as follows: duplicated papers and studies returned by different search engines, papers and works that focus on low-level comparison, editorials and non-reviewed articles. Based on these studies the conclusions are drawn throughout the paper.

Technology-based marketing of tourism destinations

VR is often defined as the technology using the computer-generated 3D environment often referred to as “virtual environment.” The real-time simulation of one or more of the five senses of the user is often a result of navigation through this virtual environment and interaction with it ( Gutierrez et al. , 2008 ). Physical immersion and psychological presence are provided in VR experience as well.

The marketing and promotion segments of the tourism sector have most often been used with the assistance of visual imagery ( Aziz and Zainol, 2011 ). The intangible properties of tourism, as a service, constantly reminds the marketers that there is a need to continuously innovate the forms of visual imagery with the objective to promote a positive destination image ( Griffin et al. , 2017 ). As a useful tool used by marketers in establishing the communication of emotions and experiences influencing the consumers and tourists, VR is often used because of its ability to induce the emphasized sensory and emotional experience.

The opportunities of VR in regard to destination marketing organizations are found in the way in which marketing messages are targeted to specific markets, whilst capturing the attention of potential visitors and giving assistance in relevant factors identification that essentially create motivations for those that engage in any form of VR and awareness development in reference to future travel decision-making processes ( Huang et al. , 2013 ). Research indicates that virtual tourists can have their travelling needs easily fulfilled under the following conditions: taking into consideration the hedonistic and emotional experiences, virtual tourism destinations can give visitors the chance to enhance their perceptions and virtual world is displayed as a source of useful information.

To conclude, VR in marketing of tourism destinations can be associated with attachment ( Wu et al. , 2016 ), stimulation ( Neuburger et al. , 2018 ), evaluation (Gao et al. , 2012), decision-making ( Guo and Barnes, 2011 ) and experience ( Jung et al. , 2017 ).

Virtual reality changes tourism planning, management and consumer requirements

VR is considered a very valuable tool in tourism policy creation as well as in the planning processes ( Cheong, 1995 ). The tourism planner’s consideration of possible developments in the sector is often aided by VR’s ability to create realistic and navigable virtual environments.

The tourism planning and management can be benefited by VR technology, as it possesses the unique testing capabilities ( Sussmann and Vanhegan, 2000 ). The understanding of visitors’ patterns of space, time and place is a very important element in developing management plans, which include shifting the burden from areas with heavy use to those with limited use. 3D visualizations are excellent tools in doing so ( Lew and McKercher, 2005 ). Furthermore, as VR technology continues to evolve, the entertainment industry has found a way to make these evolutions very useful in regards to marketing the entertaining tourist attractions ( Gutierrez et al. , 2008 ).

A set of concepts which are interrelated identify the current trends in tourism and its references to marketing, consumer behavior and tourist needs and the ways in which these affect the end users’ attachment, stimulation and decision-making process ( Epple, 2018 ). Research that explores the consumer behavior in VR tourism through the example of using the stimulus – organism – response model identifies that the brands and tourism organizations are able to affect the users’ opinions and decisions directly and effectively through this interactivity, experience and immersion ( Kim et al. , 2018 ).

The roles of hedonic experience and emotional arousal are found to be large in regards to determining the potential tourists’ behavioral intentions to visit a given destination and also in motivating them to become the potential tourists ( Jung et al. , 2017 ). On a similar note, the navigation of 3D environment is found to induce positive emotions, flow and emotional involvement, which results in positive effects on behavioral intentions, further extending the engagement and immersive experience that enhances the tourist’ needs.

As a subsequent consequence of advancement in virtual technologies, the impression of investors and consumers continues to grow and VR is being envisioned and implemented largely to meet the future needs of tourists. The potential of VR technologies in meeting the future tourists’ needs is large and the research identifies the major trends in tourism sector in regards to this in the further text ( Nayyar et al. , 2018 ).

Identified trends in tourism industry are found in effective planning and suitable management. As the almost-realistic, easy and detailed navigations created through the VR are readily available for tourists to help in their trip- and activity-planning processes, its potential is further widened. Furthermore, the trend is identified through creation of various types of simulators which allow for the virtual experience, where potential tourists are able to experience a destination in advance, such as in the case of some destination marketing organizations ( Tussyadiah et al. , 2018 ).

The VR technologies are already used in provision of tourists with experience previews of sites, destinations and attractions, such as hotels, cruise ships and similar, as a part of the marketing strategy ( Samuely, 2016 ). Virtual conative image that most often results in potential purchase intention is yielded through Web-mediated virtual information ( Hyun and O’Keefe, 2012 ).

The applications of VR are largely found in the initial phases of customer buying cycle in the area of tourism, because it enables the extensive information about important factors that play a significant part in the search stage of the process of decision-making ( Kim et al. , 2018 ). Furthermore, the perfect digital environment enables for the creation of virtual attractions at an effective cost, which are identified in simulators and marketable tourist attractions. Examples of these include the “Sensorama Simulator” that, through the 3D images, aromas, sounds, wind, set vibrations and similar, offers entertaining, simulated motorcycle rides through New York City ( Gutierrez et al. , 2008 ). Also, an example of such application of VR in entertainment industry is found in theme parks, such as the Dreamworld theme park, with simulated car rides ( Dreamworld, 2009 ) and also Cyber Speedway in the city of Las Vegas ( Sahara Hotel and Casino, 2009 ).

A large trend in the sector is identified in provisions of virtual tours as well, including the handling of virtual objects, interactive and immersive experience and a realistic picture of the site. This is most commonly used in heritage areas, hotels and museums, including the zoo exhibits ( Bowman et al. , 1999 ), VR exhibits in cultural centers globally ( Roussou, 2004 ), viewing of heritage sites ( Thomasson, 2006 ), production of interactive tours ( Tholos, 2009 ), selection of tourist attractions within an area ( Linaza et al. , 2008 ) and so on.

Many hotels have demonstrated that the VR trend is very useful in the destination marketing area as well and as such the room booking process has been entirely transformed ( Neuburger et al. , 2018 ). Technology provides for prospective guests to virtually visit rooms and consider their offers, like in the case of Marriott Hotels, including the previews of the local attractions, giving potential tourists insights in destinations.

Another example of VR trend is identified by Telexistence, a company that has been working with a real-life avatar, where the user is enabled to see what the avatar sees and to also receive haptic feedback (Telexistence Inc., 2020). Such example is very important in identification of possibilities in meeting the tourists’ needs in the future, such as a travel decision that will immediately satisfy their need after a particular interest and desire is awaken, whilst also enabling for VR travel to be possible, allowing the tourists which might possibly be intimidated by certain destinations and as such, would only visit them virtually, as in the case of possible existence of potential geographical barriers, fears, dangerous locations and similar.

The identified trends indicate that VR technology will most likely become an invaluable tool in the next few years ( Barnes, 2016 ), which consequently will dictate the marketers to custom make the VR experiences for the varying users and offer the best possible VR services to meet the consumers’ future needs most optimally.

Certain conclusions can be drawn implying that the VR is changing tourism planning and consumer requirements can be associated with 3D visualizations ( Brent Ritchie et al. , 2011 ), simulators ( Tom Dieck et al. , 2016 ), virtual tours ( Tung and Law, 2017 ), previews ( Epple, 2018 ) and effective planning ( Kask, 2019 ).

Conclusions

VR is being developed as a part of smart tourism to provide information about destinations and attractions while showing its potential to become a new tourism service. Nonetheless, the trend has proven to be very useful, however slow, because of the difficulties of tourists to keep up with new technologies. Thanks to VR, tourists are able to experience a destination in advance and to preview local attractions. Interactive, realistic, easy and detailed VR navigations help tourists in the trip-planning processes and activity planning.

VR technologies will surely continue to advance, and as such, the opportunities in the tourism sector will grow exponentially. Regardless of the direction in which these advancements and developments take place, immediate applications and trends are identified and used within the tourism industry already.

Whilst many limitations do exist, the future will show the technologies to be much better understood. VR can and probably will fundamentally change the way in which tourists’ experiences and requirements are managed entirely.

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Further reading

Gao , L. , Bai , X. and Park , A. ( 2017 ), “ Understanding sustained participation in virtual travel communities from the perspectives of is success model and flow theory ”, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research , Vol. 41 No. 4 , pp. 475 - 509 .

Corresponding author

About the authors.

Almir Pestek is based at the School of Economics and Business, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia And Herzegovina.

Maida Sarvan is based at NLB Bank d.d. Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia And Herzegovina.

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Applications Of Virtual Reality In Tourism Marketing Strategy

Virtual reality is a handy marketing tool in the tourism industry. As a field that opens up a vast space for creativity, tourism embraces VR-based marketing projects. 

Marketing gets the most out of tech opportunities to boost engagement and build relationships. Specifically, VR marketing strengthens companies’ hands to approach their target audience with an exciting and impactful medium. 

The potential customers of the tourism industry are looking for an appealing experience. So, when brands can share the experience they offer in their communication, they increase their chances of being chosen by the audience.

Why is VR Being Used in Marketing?

In today’s world, people are used to communicating virtually, and VR is moving communication one step further. 

Brands have already integrated VR into their digital marketing strategies. Indeed, it is a great idea considering that VR offers a realistic experience. It’s worth noting that it’s what consumers expect from the brands to engage and be a customer, especially in tourism.

Using virtual reality in tourism marketing strategy enables companies to 

• explain themselves better,
• convey their messages more clearly,
• build strong relationships and
• increase the sales and brand awareness.

Benefits of virtual reality in marketing come from the digital, so-to-say, more accessible experience representing the physical one. Therefore, VR technology is far beyond being limited to the gaming industry, and it is expanding its presence and impact in all industries like the wind.

How Could a Travel and Tourism Company Utilize Virtual Reality to Enhance Their Business?

A travel and tourism company can promote and showcase their products and services using 360-degree videos. The immersive experience helps the audience connect with the brand. 

Even though sales-focused communication still works, people tend to engage more with experience-focused approaches. As a result, travel and tourism companies need to go creative as much as possible to reach out to more people and get some ROI for their marketing efforts. 

Here are some ideas to implement VR into your tourism marketing strategy. We hope to give some inspiration and help you enhance your business with VR with this article.

• Virtual reality hotel tour
• Virtual wine tasting
• Virtual tour of travel destination
• A guided virtual city tour
• A virtual visit to museums and galleries
• Virtual adventure and such

Virtual Reality Hotel Tour 

One of the most common use cases of VR in tourism is creating virtual hotel tours. You can invite your potential guests to a virtual experience to present your rooms, amenities, and location.

You can easily use 360-degree photos or videos and add them to your website. So, your visitors will get an immersive experience and feel how it’s to be in your hotel. Improve your visuals with storytelling and make them watch the video like they are the main character in it. 

Here is a great example of a virtual reality hotel tour. The video displays flawlessly even on a regular screen as it’s high-quality. 

Virtual Wine Tasting

You can even offer wine tasting from the comfort of your audience’s house with a more impressive experience. You can simply create VR videos for your vineyard and restaurant with a guide giving information about the wines they are testing. 

So people will see the grapes in the vineyard, take a walk in your beautiful venue, and learn more about your wines. In this way, you will offer them a digital experience that is much more enhanced than only tasting the wines.

These wine tastings are great for wineries themselves but also to promote wine regions, retailers, and wine clubs. It’s quite a creative use of virtual reality in tourism.

Virtual Tour of Travel Destination

Travelers are starting their vlogs one by one because people like watching travel videos! You can also take advantage of this rising trend and create virtual tours of travel destinations. You can be a tour company or a restaurant on the beach. No matter what your business does in the tourism industry, you can benefit from VR in marketing by creating virtual tours. 

Make sure to include your business in the video in an organic way instead of turning it into an advertisement. Well, a 360-degree video ad is also a good idea, but if you’re taking a tour video for a travel destination, we recommend you join the game accordingly. 

A Guided Virtual City Tour

A guided virtual city tour is informative, enjoyable, and engaging. Rather than just taking the videos of the streets in your city, try creating a more valuable experience with the support of a local guide. 

You can showcase the city attractions and landmarks in the video, and your guide can tell about the historical and cultural background, just like walking around the city with a guide. 

Take this video as an example. The viewer gets the sense of wandering in London and learns catchy info from the guide. 

A Virtual Visit to Museums and Galleries

It has been quite popular since the beginning of the pandemic. When people were locked in their houses, they fed their hunger for art by visiting museums virtually. But apparently, it will stay longer. 

Google already has a huge collection of virtual museums under Google Arts & Culture . For example, it’s possible to visit The British Museum in London, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Guggenheim in New York City, and many more.

If you’re operating a museum or an art gallery, you can get inspired by them to create your own virtual space. 

Virtual Adventures and Such

Virtual reality can also share a glimpse of adventure. If you are selling adventure tours, you can create magnetic VR content that will attract your audience. Rock climbing, skiing, skydiving, bungee jumping, scuba diving, and more… 

Videos of real adventurers or even animation videos can turn into your next amazing marketing material. 

When people feel the adrenaline rising up in their body even just by watching the 360-degree videos, they will be excited to book their spot on your next tour. 

Here is National Geographic’s underwater video to give you an idea.

Technology in tourism is opening more space for imagination and creativity. VR is definitely a great option to make use of to reach out to many more people. If you have questions about how to apply VR in your tourism brand’s marketing strategy you can seek assistance from the best travel & tourism marketing agencies in the USA.

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The Rise of Virtual Reality Tourism/Digitization of Culture in the Time of COVID-19

Flights canceled, famous attractions closed to the public, once crowded streets now vacant— emptied of tourists snapping photos. In the age of the COVID-19 pandemic, traditional tourism has ground to a screeching halt in most places. Tourism has had to evolve to match the unprecedented and prolonged global travel restrictions, a situation that has made a profound impact on nations and industries around the globe. It has been indicated that the global tourism sector should expect to suffer a drop of about US$8.1 trillion in revenue due to the pandemic and will likely not recover until 2024. With many of their most popular landmarks, cities, and heritage sites closing or implementing restrictions, countries have had to radically rethink their tourism industries and cultural institutions have had to adapt to a time of reduced visitors and in-person engagement. The intersection of innovation with the need to digitize experiences and content in order to reduce human interaction have converged uniquely in 2020, marking a critical moment in the rise of virtual reality tourism and the digitization of culture.

Virtual reality tourism technologies have been evolving for the past few years, used primarily as an educational tool, allowing users to engage with the history, geography, and cultural aspects of location and serving as a substitute for physical visitation. It incorporates cutting edge technologies, such as high resolution 360- degree imaging and simulated movement capabilities to enable users to view, tour, and engage with landmarks and tourist destinations without leaving their homes. Museums, cultural sites, and locations of worldwide-renown can be explored on personal computers and tablets. One such site, the Seokguram Grotto hermitage and monastery complex in South Korea, utilized VR technology to construct a 3D stereopsis of the site and provide a digitized experience for visitors. The COVID-19 pandemic has created an additional opportunity for virtual tourism to provide travel-related content accessible around the world and explore the additional benefits of VR technology.

Many governments have been crafting virtual tours in hopes of attracting viewers who wish to visit cities around the world without the current risks of travel: exposure to the virus, or the logistical complications of widespread, pandemic-related bans and restrictions. Cities such as Paris, which attracted 38 million tourists in 2019 alone, have adopted virtual technology to continue to showcase iconic landmarks, by using the interactive features of Google Arts and Culture: users can select sites of interest and navigate the landscapes by clicking their way from one vantage point to another. The Paris Tourist Board website, for example, also allows users to view landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and the Palais Garnier. Because of the 2020 Olympics’ postponement, the Japan National Tourism Organization created a 360-degree virtual tour that can be viewed via smartphone or with VR goggles, Japan: Where Tradition Meets the Future , which virtually transports users to well-known landmarks including the Tokyo Tower and the Sagano Bamboo Forest, blending culture and technology in an innovative and engaging way. Smaller towns that are less tourist-dependent are also hoping to retain exposure and relevance by creating virtual representations of their architecture. This way people can continue to experience the landscapes and perhaps become inspired to travel to the destination post-pandemic. Germany’s Herrenberg is one such town; they created a “virtual twin” utilizing computerized technologies usually used for high-level aerospace tasks to replicate the town’s architecture on a digital platform, enabling visitors to immerse themselves in the sites of the town center via VR glasses.

Digitization of Culture

Outdoor landmarks and city streets are not the only places that can now be enjoyed virtually as people hunker down in their homes. Cultural institutions, particularly museums, which face  a severe reduction in the number of visitors strolling through galleries and perusing collections due to pandemic-related restrictions, have also started to adapt and modernize to continue to attract attention and virtual visitors. An empirical study of 100 of the largest state museums in Italy revealed that, throughout the most restrictive period of national lockdown, there was a sharp increase in online cultural initiatives conducted by museums via social media in order to continue stimulating viewer engagement through digital material. In this way, social media platforms—such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter—have been an invaluable tool in promoting cultural engagement during the COVID-19 crisis.

Besides simply engaging people in museum content, social media and digital platforms have also connected people during this time of limited social interaction. The Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage, for example, organized unique, virtual community events including the ArtYouReady virtual flash mob, an initiative that encouraged online users to post pictures of their favorite Italian cultural sites. Such virtual opportunities and initiatives have continued throughout the pandemic, likely remaining a staple for cultural organizations’ public engagement strategies.

The evolution of digital engagement at museums in Europe was highlighted in a post written by Chiarra Zuanni, assistant professor in digital humanities at the Centre for Information Modelling at the University of Graz, for Europeana, a European organization that works to support and empower the digitization of cultural heritage. Zuanni compiled a map to visually depict the evolving digital activities of museums throughout Europe. The map identified various categories of digital offerings, such as contemporary collecting projects, social media initiatives (local hashtags, targeted projects, etc.), streaming content, virtual tours, online exhibitions, games, and educational content. The map enables users to select locations or activities of interest and access direct links to the respective museum’s interactive sites. The map shows a widespread rise in online activity from museums across the continent, providing a look into just a small fraction of museums that are adopting modernized and digitized tactics to maintain and foster relationships with a global audience in a time when in-person interactions and the usual flow of tourists have been severely curbed.

COVID-19 has caused museums’, galleries’, and historic residences’ usage of digital technology to transition from being a mere supplementary tool used to offer additional and secondary services and content to being the primary source of continued engagement with the arts. The pandemic has created the unique opportunity for museums to radically redefine their marketing and content strategies, forcing traditionally archaic institutions to adapt to the modern world at a rapid speed.

New Opportunities to Explore

Is this the future? Are the days strolling through cobblestone streets, snapping photos at iconic landmarks and wandering through bustling art galleries simply experiences of the past? Not necessarily. When the pandemic subsides and the world reawakens from lockdowns, restrictions, and travel bans, travel will likely resume. While it may take years for the industry to fully recover, tourism will eventually reemerge as a prominent economic sector. Cultural institutions will reopen, welcoming visitors from around the world to engage with history and art once more.

Yet, although the COVID-19 pandemic devastated numerous economic sectors and rendered several aspects of daily life and travel unrecognizable, it has also unlocked the enhanced opportunity for countries and organizations to harness the full potential of virtual reality tourism. Museum attendance across several countries, particularly attendance at art museums,  has been in decline in recent years. Virtual offerings however, seem to be driving significant user interest due to the increase in virtual engagement with cultural and artistic content on cultural websites. The increased adoption of technology could help prevent museums from buckling under the weight of low visitor rates if they can identify ways to accrue revenue through digital means.

In the same vein, the COVID-19 epidemic and subsequent lockdown have prompted countries to rethink their tourism strategies, opening the door for an already burgeoning virtual tourism industry to take root. Easily accessible for users around the world, providing access to landmarks and locations that are currently restricted, and free or low in cost for users, virtual tours allow for global experiences to be enjoyed by large, international audiences. While not a replacement for the thrill of physical travel, the virtual tourism sector offers intriguing opportunities for accessible global experiences.

The intersection of modern, cutting-edge innovation with a global pandemic has created a pivotal moment in how we access, view, and support tourism and cultural markets, both of which are critical to developing and sustaining national economies. The use of digital technologies in light of the COVID-19 epidemic highlights the benefits of rising technological innovations, offering viable and fascinating avenues for nations to adapt to a largely unprecedented world in the years ahead.

Abby LaBreck

Abby LaBreck is an Executive Content Editor & Staff Writer for the HIR. She is interested in European affairs and transatlantic relations. She has previously written about French culture/politics.

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Augmented Reality (AR)

Augmented Reality in Tourism and Travel

13 minute read

October 18th, 2023

Rock Paper Reality

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Augmented reality (AR) is revolutionizing the way we travel and interact with the world. From interactive maps and personalised recommendations to remote assistants and translation apps, the potential for AR usage in tourism is boundless. The virtual tourism market alone is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30.2% between 2023 and 2028, to reach a valuation of $23.5 billion. There is no doubt that augmented reality is reshaping the tourism industry, empowering brands to remain relevant in a competitive and changing market space.

With informative overlays and augmented attractions, this transformative technology seamlessly blends the physical and digital to offer new immersive experiences. Augmented reality in tourism doesn’t only enhance customer satisfaction but enables next-level marketing and opens up new revenue streams for travel businesses.

Let’s explore the many ways that the use of augmented reality in travel and tourism can shake up your business with remarkable competitive advantages.

Key Takeaways

• AR enables travel operators to enhance their services by offering simplified navigation, on-demand destination information, and eliminating language barriers.
• AR helps agents and operators improve travel personalization—a key component to fostering engagement and customer satisfaction.
• AR in travel opens avenues for new revenue streams and improves consumer confidence by allowing customers to gain detailed insights before committing to a booking.
• AR tourism tools in hospitality establishments can significantly reduce operational and administrative costs. They can also help drive bookings to on-site services and improve guest experiences.

How Can AR Enhance Travel Experiences?

As the quality of augmented reality improves and increased accessibility leads to lower implementation costs, AR is becoming increasingly popular as a travel tool. Whether it’s a museum visit or a trip to a foreign country, AR promises to change, improve, and expand the very nature of travel and tourism.

Enabling the Use of AR Travel Guides to Explore Destinations Virtually

Although the experience of travel is proverbially priceless, the truth is that it can put quite a dent in your client’s pocket. An augmented reality travel guide can help ensure that the destination your clients spend their money on is just as beautiful as the brochure promises.

Using AR, tourists can explore famous landmarks, interactive museums, and natural wonders from the comfort of their own homes. They can view 3D models of iconic buildings like the Eiffel Tower or the Taj Mahal and even take virtual walking tours through bustling city streets or far-flung wilderness. An example of this is the travel app Antarctic Heritage Trust AR , which takes users on an expedition to Antarctica. Here a user can explore the icy landscape with 360º images and videos and access artefacts from the buildings.

AR also allows tourists to learn about the history and culture of a destination through interactive exhibits, historical reenactments, and educational games. Augmented reality travel apps can depict how an area looked in the past and restore historical scenes and events. It can also invite users to preview exciting new sites currently under construction.

Historik is a tourism app that recreates historic buildings and objects at specific points of interest. By pointing their mobile camera at a landmark, travelers can access a visual representation of the history and significance of the site. They can swipe through artefacts and even set up self-guided tours.

The Benefits of an AR Travel Guide

By allowing your clients to explore destinations virtually with integrated AR, you’ll offer the following unique benefits:

• Increased accessibility – AR technology allows people with limited mobility or disabilities to experience and explore destinations that might otherwise be inaccessible to them.
• Improved buyer confidence – By first experiencing a destination virtually, travelers can make more informed decisions. When they book the real adventure, they’ll be sure to pick the right option for them, reducing the risk of refunds and complaints.
• Enhanced educational opportunities – AR can provide interactive and informative experiences that truly add value. It can be used to efficiently inform travelers about the history, culture, and natural wonders of a destination.

Leveraging AR to Navigate Unfamiliar Places

With its ability to blend the virtual and physical, tourists can use AR for navigation. When exploring an new area, a traveler can point their mobile phone camera into the street and sit back while an AR tourist guide superimposes directions on the view. With real-time directions and a visual orientation of where they are, they can navigate unknown places with ease.

For example, the AR tourism app World Around Me highlights nearby ATMs, restaurants, hotels, attractions, hospitals, shops, and transportation stops. Similarly, PeakVisor enhances outdoor activities by providing interactive guides for hiking trails, mountaineering, and adventure sports.

Using AR to Entertain Guests

AR can add a new dimension to your guest experiences at museums, art galleries, historical sites, and other attractions. Besides offering augmented reality tour guides on the traveler’s mobile phone, AR apps can also offer real-time information about paintings, artefacts, animals, and more.

For example, Museum Buddy offers self-guided tours, object narrations, museum maps, and a wealth of information for some of the world’s most popular museums. What would traditionally be a one-way viewing encounter can now become an immersive cultural experience, enabling visitors to truly submerge themselves in an era or environment.

Additionally, AR travel gaming apps such as Geocaching engage visitors in virtual treasure hunts or invite them to solve puzzles. This can take exploring parks, zoos, gardens, and historical sites to a new level of fun.

How Can AR Improve Customer Satisfaction in Travel and Tourism?

Integrating AR into customer experiences is key for travel and tourism companies that wish to stay competitive. In 2021, the AR market was worth $8.6 billion, and it is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 38% by 2030.

This rapid expansion only serves as testament to how powerful AR is in helping businesses deliver better customer service.

Using AR to Provide Personalized Travel Experiences

With competition fiercer than ever, the key to standing out is providing a high quality, uniquely personal experience. In fact, 63% of customers say they will stop using a brand if it uses poor personalization tactics .

With ready-made packages and all-inclusive deals, traditional travel itineraries and activities are often a one-size-fits-all approach. But what if you could tailor every part of your customer’s journey, certain that they will love what they get? You can. With AR integrations and features, your clients can book a room after virtually browsing multiple options, seamlessly navigate points of interest to them, and enjoy interactive, tailored itineraries.

Improving Customer Communication and Collaboration Through AR

Using AR, customers can leave reviews and ratings for places they visit in real time. This feedback is invaluable for travel and hospitality businesses and can help to enhance communication with your audiences. You could also consider implementing useful features like AR avatars or virtual representatives to guide customers through their travel experiences. These avatars can provide assistance, suggest activities, and answer common questions, improving communication and customer support.

How Can AR Increase Travel and Tourism Revenue?

AR features can captivate visitors, streamline the travel experience and drastically enhance visitor interactions. From informative overlays to real-time translations, these tools can drive engagement, confidence and ultimately consumer spending.

AR can also help travel and tourism businesses to move into new markets and expand their offerings in ways that differentiate them from their competitors. Here are some opportunities for building new revenue streams using AR:

Enhanced Virtual Tours

Users can explore destinations virtually, navigate attractions, and even interact with virtual elements in real time. This technology opens up opportunities to generate revenue through augmented tours, ticket sales, and partnerships with local businesses.

Virtual Shopping Experiences

AR technology can transform traditional souvenir shopping. Using AR-enabled apps or devices, tourists can virtually try on clothing, accessories, or test products before purchase.

This not only enhances the shopping experience but provides a unique way for travel companies to generate additional revenue. They can partner with local retailers to offer exclusive discounts and promotions for AR shoppers. This creates a win-win situation for both travelers and businesses.

Smartify’s eShop platform, for instance, lets users access art from galleries like The National Gallery in London and buy prints, souvenirs, mementos, and gifts directly from their smartphone.

Augmented Advertising

With AR-enabled devices, marketers can create interactive and engaging advertisements that blend seamlessly with real-world environments. Featuring creative design work and animation, these campaigns extend your brand into the digital layer and can be highly impactful.

Gamification in Travel & Tourism

With integrated game-like features, users can participate in interactive challenges, complete quests, and earn rewards as they explore different destinations. Jurassic World Alive is a prime example of this. The app invites users to find virtual dinosaurs in different real-world locations, enabling them to learn about the ancient creatures at the same time.

Applying this concept in various settings can make travel more engaging and educational. It also provides opportunities for travel and tourism companies to generate additional revenue. They can offer premium game experiences, extra features, or in-game purchases and upgrades.

AR as a Tool to Boost Sales and Conversion

By providing virtual tours of destinations, cruise ships, and leisure facilities, travel agents and marketers give potential customers a sneak peek into holiday bliss. This can increase interest and likelihood of booking.

AR also makes it easy for travelers to book day tours on demand. They can browse and engage in activity options from within an app—and use the same app to instantly book the activity. This is especially useful for weather-dependent activities or to avoid long lines.

How Can You Leverage AR in the Hospitality Industry?

Leveraging augmented reality in hospitality has the power to turn your customer experiences—and your bottom line—around. AR tools can reduce operational, training, and administrative costs, improve the guest experience, and drive more bookings.

AR in Hotels

Holiday Inn uses augmented reality to offer virtual 360º hotel tours to prospective visitors. These tours help users to:

• Decide which room size is the best fit for them
• Get a realistic idea of amenities
• Explore leisure and dining facilities
• Evaluate the suitability and capacity of conference and event rooms
• Explore room upgrade advantages and compare the benefits
• Gain a comprehensive overview of the facility layout, room privacy, noise levels, and views

Furthermore, you can integrate AR with social media platforms to create interactive and shareable content, increasing brand exposure and engagement.

Training Hotel Staff Using AR

AR can enable employees to learn in a hands-on manner. They can use AR tools to visualize complex processes, simulate real-life scenarios, and receive real-time feedback. They can also practise handling customer-facing scenarios in an augmented environment and receive enhanced training with interactive guides and demonstrations.

Improving Guest Services With AR in Hotels

AR brings a whole new dimension of convenience to the way guests interact with hotels. With virtual concierge services, visitors can instantly access information, make bookings, and request assistance by simply scanning their surroundings. Whether it’s making a dinner reservation, finding out how the entertainment system works, or getting directions to the fitness center, guests can access everything in the palm of their hand.

Holding a mobile phone camera toward the entertainment system might cause an overlay with instructions to appear on the screen. Or, as a user points their camera down the hallway, the AR application might superimpose directions to the restaurant, spa, or fitness center

AR can also enhance dining experiences. By scanning a menu, guests could access information or ingredients, or even see how the dish was prepared. They could also scan a bottle label, as in the case of Chronic Cellars Purple Paradise , to access games.

Similarly, prestigious Scotch whisky brand The Glenlivet partnered with Rock Paper Reality to create a virtual tasting room , so as to expand whisky access and education to a new swathe of younger consumers. The Sample Room experience immerses users in the heart of a 360º tasting room, where they can learn more about the story behind the brand’s 18-, 21- and 25-year expressions—all by scanning a QR code on the back of a bottle. An AR tool like this offers twofold advantages for hospitality establishments: educate staff on the fly, and enhance the guest experience.

Augmented Reality: The Future of Tourism

Augmented reality is transforming the tourism industry and shaping the future of travel experiences. It holds immense potential to offer travellers a whole new way to explore and engage with the world around them.

Rock Paper Reality can help you take full advantage of this technology to drive growth in your travel or tourism business. From Fortune 500s to start-ups, we’ve been helping companies leverage the latest technology to drive growth strategies for over a decade.

Our team of highly skilled innovators looks forward to bringing your augmented reality vision to life. Let’s chat .

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The Rise of Virtual Reality in Tourism: Benefits and Examples

Introduction to Virtual Reality in Tourism

Virtual reality in tourism provides viewers with an immersive tourism experience. There are many different types of virtual tourism services available. They use a combination of virtual reality, still images, video, audio, narration, and other multimedia formats.

It gives users an experience of a destination that they wouldn't get from looking at pictures or visiting a website.

Virtual tourism content can be accessed using a virtual reality headset for the most immersive experience. It can also be viewed on a regular computer or even a mobile device.

Virtual Reality in Tourism

Viewers can take part in activities, travel to different locations, and visit different destinations. They can do all this from the comfort of their own homes. Virtual tourism has many distinct advantages. The most obvious advantage is that viewers can see and experience a destination without having to travel there.

This means they are not restricted by available flights, travel logistics, safety concerns, or whether destinations are open. They aren't even concerned with time zones or weather conditions.

Another advantage for viewers is the cost

Millions of people who otherwise would not be able to afford to travel to these destinations can now do so. Viewers are embracing the rise of virtual tourism destinations to see and experience things they never imagined were possible.

The ability to read the minds of potential customers and highlight a location, amenities, and offerings is a clear benefit for hotels and destinations. Viewers who have been to a hotel or visited a location through virtual tourism are more likely to book a future stay. They also look forward to experiencing the activity in the “real world.”

Virtual tourism technology also provides excellent marketing opportunities. Instead of flat images on a brochure or website, potential guests can see a 360-degree view of a property and its amenities. Viewers who experience a property in this way are more likely to want to return in the future. They can also share the virtual offerings with their friends and family.

How is it used: Virtual Reality in Tourism?

There are many ways for hotels and destinations to enjoy this technology and the growing popularity of virtual tourism.

Virtual tourism has been in use for years to highlight the unique aspects of a location. These aspects can be history and culture to exciting activities, local attractions, and fun trivia.

360-degree VR video is used by hotels and local governments to capture everything about a destination in an immersive way. With the press of a button, viewers can travel to a remote mountaintop, a beautiful beach, a network of hiking trails, or a bustling city.

VR photography combines still images with specialized software

It creates an immersive image that allows the user to look in any direction. This technology is ideal for displaying hotel interiors, artwork, museum exhibits, and anything else that can be fully appreciated without the use of sound or motion.

Users can get in on the action with immersive VR experiences. They can interact with the environment and learn more through their actions. A curated experience focusing on one aspect of the location, such as the food scene, music, history, or art, is common. Virtual reality yoga classes, nature walks, stargazing, and bird watching are all popular ways to promote a location.

Before landing, passengers can take a 3D tour

Virtual reality can aid in the planning of tourist attractions, when there are delays in the travel schedule, travelers can use vr tech, take a virtual reality tour of the plane, travel planners can use virtual reality to create engaging presentations, virtual reality is a fantastic way to advertise on social media, virtual reality can assist travelers in locating locations on a map, the faroe islands, bristol from home, dubai 360 is a virtual tour of dubai, the great barrier reef, benefits of virtual reality in tourism.

There's nothing quite like knowing where you're going before you arrive at your destination. One of the benefits of virtual reality in tourism is that visitors can take a 3D tour of their destination before arriving. Virtual reality is distinct from traditional photography.

It allows users to immerse themselves in the experience. Tourists can thus sense a city's culture before ever setting foot in the city. It makes them feel less like outsiders when they arrive.

Vacations always seem to be too short because visitors never get to see everything they want while on vacation. A lack of good planning is one of the reasons why key sights go unnoticed by tourists. Virtual reality allows visitors to learn the names and locations of all the town's major attractions ahead of time.

Tourists can also look inside famous landmarks to see if they want to take a virtual tour of them in real-time. Because virtual reality allows visitors to only entertain the locations that intrigue them the most in real-time, they get the most out of their sightseeing experience.

There's nothing worse than getting stranded at the airport for an unknown amount of time. During these times, boredom has a way of creeping in and clouding the vision of the excitement. When unexpected delays occur, the best way to re-establish excitement for the trip ahead is to take a virtual reality tour of the vacation destination.

Some passengers feel more at ease after seeing the plane and knowing where all the emergency exits are located. Virtual reality allows passengers to take a 3D tour of the plane before boarding.

The future of virtual reality in tourism does not completely end the need for actual tours. When it comes to presentations, travel planners should think about the advantages of virtual reality in tourism. Consider the coordinator who can do more than hand out a brochure listing possible locations.

How many more customers could a planner get if he could take them on a virtual tour of the streets of Venice before charging them for a trip they might or might not enjoy?

Virtual reality in tourism removes the element of surprise from travel. Thus ensuring that customers have a good time in their chosen destination.

A vacation planning company that uses social media does more than just post pictures of popular destinations. Virtual reality can help businesses stand out from the competition. It allows coordinators to post 3D tours of cities to entice customers to contact them.

There's nothing more frustrating than getting lost on vacation and wasting time. In tourism, virtual reality can assist travelers in locating simple items. These can be a nearby coffee shop, reducing the time it takes to find something that would otherwise take 30 minutes to find to only 10 minutes.

Some Examples of Virtual Reality in Tourism

The Faroe Islands are a group of islands off the coast of Iceland. Once COVID-19 began, the Faroe Islands launched a virtual tourism campaign. This provides people with an alternative to traveling to the location. This was a blessing for everyone who had been isolated all over the world. It allows visitors from all over the world to virtually tour the islands through the eyes of a local. It also allows virtual tourists to track the locals' movements in real-time.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Visit Bristol created an immersive experience like the Faroe Islands. Bristol From Home is a collection of travelers' favorite ideas, inspirations, and resources. These ideas allow you to continue to enjoy Bristol from the comfort of your own home during social distancing measures.

The website offers a variety of virtual experiences. It provides tours of a luxury Victorian ship, hot-air balloon rides, gin tastings, and more, all in one convenient location.

Tour Dubai's awe-inspiring architecture with Dubai 360. It is an immersive virtual tourism experience that allows users to travel the city from a bird's-eye view. It helps you learn everything there is to know about the various locations.

Virtual tourism is available on the Great Barrier Reef. Legendary broadcaster and historian David Attenborough hosts the interactive journey. The journey takes viewers on a tour of the world's largest coral reef system. This is more than just a substitute for Great Barrier Reef tours. It's an experience in and of itself, demonstrating the versatility of virtual tourism.

Virtual tours can serve as a starting point for alternative tourism during the Corona pandemic and even after it is over. Furthermore, there are those who lack the necessary resources, financial capacity, free time, or access.

People with disabilities and limited mobility will be able to experience the sensation of recreation through a virtual tour.

Virtual tours, besides being cost-effective, can be used to promote tourist attractions to central and local governments. It does, in fact, need technological advancements such as 360-degree software, virtual reality (VR), and panoramic images.

With this advancement in technology, virtual tours can now be visualized in 3D, making them more realistic and futuristic. A virtual tour can act as an entrance to entice people to visit these tourist attractions in person.

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15 Benefits of Virtual Reality In Tourism (2024)

Virtual reality (VR) technology is rapidly transforming the tourism industry by offering immersive and engaging experiences that allow tourists to explore destinations and attractions in new and innovative ways.

From virtual tours and simulations to training and skill development, VR is providing a wealth of benefits for tourism businesses and destinations alike. 

What is VR In Tourism?

Virtual Reality (VR) transforms tourism by immersing travellers in digital environments. Using VR headsets, users can virtually explore destinations, check out hotels, and experience activities before the actual trip. This tech-enhanced preview adds excitement to travel planning, offering a more immersive and informed way to envision and choose upcoming vacations.

15 Key Benefits of VR In the Tourism Industry You Must Know

1. enhanced destination marketing.

Virtual reality (VR) technology allows tourism marketers to create immersive experiences that showcase destinations and attractions, giving potential visitors a taste of what they can expect.

With VR, marketers can create interactive videos, 3D models, and virtual tours that transport viewers to the destination and provide a sense of its unique features and attractions.

This enhanced destination marketing can help to increase awareness and interest in a destination, driving more visitors and tourism revenue.

2. Increased Engagement

VR can provide a more engaging and interactive experience for tourists, enhancing their interest and enthusiasm for a particular destination.

With VR, tourists can explore destinations in a more immersive and interactive way, experiencing sights, sounds, and even smells that are not possible with traditional media.

This increased engagement can help to create a stronger emotional connection with the destination, making tourists more likely to visit and recommend it to others.

3. Accessible Tourism

VR can make tourism more accessible to people with disabilities or limited mobility, allowing them to experience destinations and attractions they may not have been able to before.

With VR, people with physical or sensory impairments can explore destinations in a virtual environment, making it possible to experience the sights and sounds of a place without the physical barriers that may prevent them from visiting in person.

4. Time and Cost Savings

Virtual reality can save time and money for both tourists and tourism businesses. With VR, tourists can explore destinations and attractions without the need for expensive travel and accommodation, making it possible to experience multiple destinations in a short amount of time.

For tourism businesses, VR can reduce the costs of creating physical marketing materials and can help attract visitors who may not have otherwise considered the destination.

5. Improved Planning and Decision-making

VR can provide tourists with a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of a destination, helping them to make more informed decisions about where to go and what to do.

With VR, tourists can explore destinations and attractions in detail, seeing how they fit into the larger context of the destination and its culture.

This can help tourists to plan their trips more effectively, ensuring that they make the most of their time and money.

6. Enhanced Customer Experience

VR can help tourism businesses enhance the customer experience, providing visitors with more personalized and engaging interactions.

With VR, tourism businesses can create immersive and interactive experiences that allow visitors to explore destinations and attractions more engagingly and memorably.

This can help to create a stronger emotional connection with the destination and the business, leading to increased loyalty and repeat business.

7. Reduced Environmental Impact

Virtual reality can help to reduce the environmental impact of tourism by reducing the need for physical travel and the associated carbon emissions.

With VR, tourists can explore destinations and attractions without the need for air travel, reducing their carbon footprint and contributing to a more sustainable tourism industry.

8. Improved Safety and Security

VR can provide a safer and more secure way to explore destinations and attractions, particularly in areas with high levels of crime or political instability.

With VR, tourists can explore destinations in a virtual environment, avoiding the physical risks associated with travel to these areas.

This can also help to reduce the risk of accidents and injuries, particularly in activities such as adventure tourism.

Learn More: VR Safety Training

9. Enhanced Education and Cultural Understanding

VR can provide tourists with an enhanced understanding of the culture and history of a destination, helping them to appreciate its unique features and attractions.

With VR, tourists can explore historical and cultural sites in a more immersive and interactive way, allowing them to learn about the destination more engagingly and memorably.

This can help to foster a greater understanding and appreciation of different cultures and can contribute to more responsible and sustainable tourism.

See Our Complete Module: VR For Education

10. Increased Access to Remote Destinations

Virtual reality can help to increase access to remote or hard-to-reach destinations that may not have been accessible before.

With VR, tourists can explore destinations that are difficult to reach due to their distance, rugged terrain, or lack of infrastructure.

This can help to open up new destinations and attractions to tourism, increasing tourism revenue and contributing to economic development in these areas.

11. Improved Training and Skill Development

VR can provide a valuable tool for training and skill development in the tourism industry.

With VR, tourism businesses can create immersive and interactive VR training simulations that allow staff to learn and practice new skills realistically and engagingly.

This can help to improve the quality of service provided by tourism businesses, leading to increased customer satisfaction and repeat business.

12. Enhanced Sustainability

Virtual reality can help to promote sustainability in the tourism industry by reducing the impact of tourism on the environment and local communities.

With VR, tourists can explore destinations and attractions without the need for physical travel, reducing the carbon emissions and environmental damage associated with tourism.

Additionally, VR can help to promote more responsible and sustainable tourism practices by highlighting the environmental and social impacts of tourism and encouraging tourists to make more sustainable choices.

13. Increased Revenue and Profitability

Virtual reality can help tourism businesses increase revenue and profitability by attracting more visitors and enhancing the customer experience.

With VR, tourism businesses can create immersive and engaging experiences that set them apart from competitors and encourage visitors to stay longer and spend more money.

This can help to increase tourism revenue and profitability, leading to greater economic benefits for the destination and its stakeholders.

14. Improved Crisis Management

Virtual reality can provide a valuable tool for crisis management in the tourism industry, particularly in the event of natural disasters or other emergencies.

With VR, tourism businesses and emergency services can create simulations of different crisis scenarios, allowing them to practice and refine their response strategies in a safe and controlled environment.

This can help to improve the effectiveness of crisis response and reduce the impact of emergencies on tourists and the local community.

15. Innovative and Future-Proofed Marketing

Virtual reality represents an innovative and future-proofed approach to destination marketing that can help tourism businesses stay ahead of the curve.

With VR, tourism businesses can create immersive and interactive experiences that capture the attention of potential visitors and showcase the unique features and attractions of a destination.

This can help to create a strong brand identity for the destination and position it as a leader in the tourism industry.

FAQ’s

How is virtual reality applied in the tourism industry.

Virtual reality is applied in tourism for various purposes, such as virtual destination tours, hotel reviews, and interactive travel experiences. It allows users to explore and interact with digital environments, offering a realistic glimpse into what a travel destination has to offer.

What is the difference between VR tourism and AR/VR in tourism?

VR tourism focuses specifically on virtual reality experiences in travel, while AR/VR in tourism encompasses both augmented and virtual reality applications. VR tourism provides immersive previews, whereas AR may overlay digital information onto the real world, enhancing the physical travel experience.

Why consider AR in tourism, and what benefits does it offer?

Augmented reality (AR) in tourism enhances the real-world environment with digital information, such as overlays on historical sites. It offers benefits like interactive travel guides, enriched sightseeing experiences, and a unique blend of digital and physical elements to make travel more engaging and educational.

How to use VR in tourism?

To use VR in tourism, one can leverage VR headsets or devices to create immersive digital experiences. Tourists can virtually explore destinations, hotels, and attractions before their trip. Tourism businesses can incorporate VR for virtual tours, enhancing marketing, and offering a preview of their services.

Can VR replace tourism?

While VR provides immersive experiences, it cannot replace the tangible aspects of travel, such as cultural immersion and sensory experiences. VR serves as a valuable tool for trip planning, marketing, and virtual exploration, but it complements rather than replaces traditional tourism, as physical presence remains essential for a complete travel experience.

Final Thoughts Benefits of Virtual Reality In Tourism:

In conclusion, virtual reality is providing a wealth of benefits for the tourism industry, from enhancing the customer experience and increasing revenue to promoting sustainability and improving crisis management.

By leveraging VR technology, tourism businesses and destinations can create immersive and engaging experiences that set them apart from competitors and position them as leaders in the industry.

As VR technology continues to evolve and become more accessible, we can expect to see even more innovative and exciting applications of VR in tourism, offering new opportunities for growth and development in the industry.

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Immersive multisensory virtual reality technologies for virtual tourism

A study of the user’s sense of presence, satisfaction, emotions, and attitudes

• Regular Paper
• Published: 04 February 2022
• Volume 28 , pages 1027–1037, ( 2022 )

Cite this article

• Miguel Melo   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4050-3473 1 ,
• Hugo Coelho 1 , 2 ,
• Guilherme Gonçalves 1 , 2 ,
• Nieves Losada 2 , 3 ,
• Filipa Jorge 2 , 3 ,
• Mário Sérgio Teixeira 2 , 3 &
• Maximino Bessa 1 , 2  

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Virtual reality (VR) technologies have been used successfully in tourism marketing. While most conventional VR applications are of an audiovisual nature, the constant evolution of these technologies allows providing enriched multisensory VR content that can further increase the potential of VR applied to the tourism field. To generate insights into the impact of such VR technologies, this manuscript investigates the impact of such multisensory VR setups and gender on the user’s sense of presence, satisfaction, emotions, and attitudes. A user study with a gender-balanced sample ( N = 80) was carried where two VR setups (audiovisual vs multisensory) were compared taking into account the user’s gender. Results revealed that the female sample scored significantly higher spatial presence across VR setups and reported more involvement and overall presence in the audiovisual condition. In addition, correlations were found between the pairs Spatial Presence–Emotions, Spatial Presence–Enjoyment, Satisfaction–Involvement, Satisfaction–Enjoyment, and Satisfaction and Usefulness to perceive the destination. Results also suggest that multisensory stimulus can mitigate possible gender differences in passive VR scenarios. We concluded that the capability of the VR system to make users feel physically present in the virtual environment contributes significantly to the development of positive emotions and enjoyment, which can contribute positively to the user’s consumer behaviour towards the touristic products and services.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financed by the ERDF—European Regional Development Fund through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation–COMPETE 2020 Programme and by National Funds through the Portuguese funding agency, FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia within project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-031309 entitled “PromoTourVR - Promoting Tourism Destinations with Multisensory Immersive Media”.

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Miguel Melo, Hugo Coelho, Guilherme Gonçalves & Maximino Bessa

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Melo, M., Coelho, H., Gonçalves, G. et al. Immersive multisensory virtual reality technologies for virtual tourism. Multimedia Systems 28 , 1027–1037 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00530-022-00898-7

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s00530-022-00898-7

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Tourism in the metaverse: Can travel go virtual?

Imagine a future where your travel choices have no geographic constraints. Where you can join your friends in the front row of a concert by your favorite star—but the crowd is 300 million strong, your friends are on the other side of the world, and it’s all happening at the Great Pyramid of Giza. Later you’ll do some shopping at the virtual souk and take a digital Nile cruise, before teleporting back home in an instant.

Impossible? Or a tempting package trip that might soon be available from the comfort of your home? With the internet’s rapid evolution, many see this vision of transformed travel on the horizon—in the metaverse. Others caution that this future might take a little longer to arrive, and that travelers resist “metaversification” of key parts of the tourism journey.

The metaverse is seen as the next evolution of the internet—a collective space where physical and digital worlds converge to deliver more immersive, interactive virtual- or augmented-reality (VR/AR) user experiences, often referred to together as extended reality (XR). The underlying technology for this exists and is proving relatively cheap and fast to implement. Driven largely by inspirational advertising and virtual events, the potential rewards for the travel industry are already substantial: more than $20 billion by 2030, by McKinsey estimates.

This has potential to revolutionize the way we explore new worlds: already, you can attend concerts, shop, test products, visit attractions, and take workshops, all without physically traveling anywhere. Currently, the user demographic trends very young, but it’s crucial for the tourism sector to appeal to this segment. 1 Hristina Nikolovska, “Metaverse Statistics to Prepare You for the Future,” February 16, 2023. After all, these are the travelers of the future—and players not keeping pace with their interests will lose out.

But does XR live up to all the hype—with appeal beyond a gamer demographic? A virtual trip can never replace the thrill of certain tangible, real-word experiences, and some traveler touchpoints have proved more ripe for disruption than others.

Despite these hesitations, the XR ecosystem is maturing at pace. Immersive VR/AR devices may well follow the steep adoption curves of laptops and smartphones. Widespread use could lead to a radical extension of the global economy from physical into virtual life, not least in tourism.

So how does a tourism player go about monetizing this virtual paradigm, which is still taking shape and many struggle to define? It’s time for the sector to take a serious look at these complex opportunities—and figure out what best drives traction in the new XR universe.

Touring the metaverse: early trends

The metaverse could enrich the tourism experience in countless unprecedented, innovative ways—but which use cases have the most potential, and which are still deemed risky? Early adopters have already started experimenting, and several trends have emerged. Virtual elements can be layered onto an established business:

• In the wake of the fire that damaged the famous cathedral in 2019, French start-up Histovery produced an augmented exhibition on the history of Notre-Dame de Paris—motivated in part by an increased awareness of the fragility of physical landmarks. To navigate the exhibition, each visitor uses a “HistoPad” touch screen to take an immersive tour that allows interaction with physical elements: giant photographs, 3-D models of statues, replica flooring and stained glass, and audio of Notre-Dame’s organs and bells. Effects include animation and a virtual scavenger hunt for younger visitors. 2 “Notre-Dame de Paris: The Augmented Exhibition,” National Building Museum, April 2022.
• In December 2021, faced with record staff turnover, MGM Resorts International decided to apply a virtual solution. In partnership with immersive platform provider Strivr, MGM developed VR headsets that give aspirant front-of-house staff a realistic sense of what working at MGM casinos and hotels entails. The training package was rolled out at the company’s properties in 2022. It’s designed to speed up onboarding and upskilling, increase employee confidence, and familiarize potential hires with MGM procedures and culture. 3 Grace Dean, “MGM Resorts is letting job seekers try out roles using virtual reality as it looks to reduce employee churn,” Business Insider, December 12, 2021; Phil Albinus, “Rising Star goes all in on VR talent marketplace for MGM Resorts,” Human Resource Executive, June 14, 2022; “4 Examples of Strivr Virtual Reality Training,” Strivr.com.

Other virtual platforms allow visitors to explore major global landmarks, incorporating rich edutainment and retail opportunities. Several such initiatives have been launched:

• Responding to pandemic travel restrictions, ZEPETO World is a smartphone app that allows users to create personal avatars and travel around Korea. For example, the tour includes a highly detailed interactive map of Han River Park; this feature gets almost 257,000 visitors a day. Users are also able to communicate with each other, shop, and watch performances. ZEPETO World has approximately 190 million members. 4 Majid Mushtaq, “Korea Virtual Travel with ZEPETO World,” KoreabyMe, September 6, 2021.
• The BCB Group—a leading crypto banking group—has created a metaverse city that includes representations of some of the most visited destinations in the world, such as the Great Wall of China and the Statue of Liberty. According to BCB, the total cost of flights, transfers, and entry for all these landmarks would come to $7,600—while a virtual trip would cost just over $2. 5 “What impact can the Metaverse have on the travel industry?” Middle East Economy , July 29, 2022.
• Saudi Arabia’s Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) recently announced that the ancient city of Hegra had entered the metaverse, in line with a national program to drive technological transformation and innovation. It is the first UNESCO World Heritage Site to be placed in the metaverse, allowing digital tourists to explore the surroundings as well as Hegra’s Tomb of Lihyan son of Kuza. 6 Divsha Bhat, “Saudi’s Royal Commission for AlUla enters the metaverse,” Gulf Business , November 15, 2022; “Vision 2030,” The Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; “Saudi Arabia’s AlUla enters the metaverse,” Arabian Business , November 14, 2022; One Carlo Diaz, “Hegra’s Tomb of Lihyan in AlUla is recreated in the metaverse,” NTravel, November 7, 2022.

Instead of attempting to replicate real-world experiences, entirely novel environments can also be created, convening people in a single immersive space—as in multiplayer online games. (Indeed, many people currently associate the metaverse largely with games.) The travel industry can harness this utility too.

This is particularly relevant to the meeting, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) sector, with virtual gatherings, exhibitions, and trade fairs looking to become mainstream. These allow people to gather and take part in activities in the same immersive space, while connecting from anywhere. This dramatically reduces travel, venue, catering, and other costs, while avoiding setbacks like adverse weather conditions or disease scares. For example, one Japanese start-up recently held a virtual market that attracted a wide response, with around 60 well-known companies participating. 7 “Metaverse x MICE; 3D virtual world that will transform MICE industry in the future,” Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau.

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What areas of tourism show promise.

As innovative formats become more mainstream, new economic models are emerging. The travel experience of the future will not be exclusively online or offline. Instead, we’ll most likely see a proliferation of hybrid offerings, with virtual events, edutainment, and inspiration combined with physical destinations.

One way to grapple with this complexity is to adopt a traveler-first mindset. By putting themselves in the shoes (or bedroom slippers) of their target tourist, travel companies can identify opportunities to embed relevant virtual elements.

Individual touchpoints, not end-to-end offerings

Virtual experiences that show promise are focused on a few specific, discrete steps in the end-to-end traveler journey (exhibit). Which touchpoints can be most effectively disrupted? Which hold the greatest possibilities for integration? Which steps can be elevated by an immersive element, allowing for exhilarating, fantastical or deluxe experiences not available in the physical world? Three touchpoints show great potential: travel inspiration, virtual events and visitor support.

Inspiration and planning: The metaverse creates a $13 billion opportunity for tourism inspiration, mostly driven by digital travel advertising. Virtual spaces—which can be used to showcase hotel amenities, airline classes, or an entire landmark—spark the desire to travel, give a holistic idea of a destination, help in traveler decision-making, showcase broader offerings, and raise awareness of unfamiliar locations. The case studies of AlUla and ZEPETO demonstrate how this can work. Qatar Airways offers another example: a recently launched VR experience called QVerse allows travelers to view cabin interiors, the business-class QSuite, and the VIP check-in area at Hamad International Airport. 8 Rose Dykins, “Qatar Airways creates virtual reality ‘QVerse’ experience,” Globetrender, June 13, 2022.

Leisure and entertainment: Live streaming soared during the pandemic, followed by a wave of interest in virtual concerts—with significant increases in consumer demand, spend, and audience numbers. 9 John Koetsier, “Virtual Events Up 1000% Since COVID-19, With 52,000 On Just One Platform,” May 27, 2020. In 2020, the metaverse accounted for 0.1 percent of live-music revenues—a figure which rose more than tenfold by 2021. By 2030, we estimate that virtual events could account for up to 20 percent of revenues, driven in part by their capacity to accommodate huge audience numbers at reduced cost.

Ariana Grande leads the way into the music future

In August 2021, Epic Games launched its latest Fortnite event, the Rift Tour, starring Grammy-winning artist Ariana Grande. 1 Isamu Nishijima, “Ariana Grande x Fortnite Rift Tour: The Apogee of Pop Culture or Just the Beginning?”, Headline Asia Publication , Aug 30, 2021. It was a match made in heaven: Fortnite, a wildly popular battle-royale game with then around 350 million registered users, and Ariana Grande, a universally adored pop artist. 2 Emi La Capra, “The Metaverse Concerts: Where Online Games and Music Performances Meet,” Alexandria , 2022. One of the first of such Fortnite collaborations, this was particularly significant: the first time Ariana Grande had performed in nearly two years, and the first concert to allow attendees to participate in minigames.

The concert was an acclaimed success. The Rift Tour was viewed by as many as 78 million players (compared to average conventional concert attendance of under 15,000); the number of streams of Grande’s songs rose by up to 123 percent during the concert, and other featured artists also saw a streaming boost. 3 Maggie Klaers, “PCP: Concert attendance,” SLP Echo, April 29, 2022. While a traditional concert by a top North American performer might rake in less than $1 million, it’s estimated that Grande made more than $20 million from her headline performance—which may be remembered as a critical inflection point for the live-entertainment industry. 4 Bob Allen, “Concert Industry Roars Back! Pollstar 2022 Mid-Year Report,” Pollstar, June 24, 2022.

With top artists generating around $20 million per metaverse concert, this industry has an anticipated income potential of upwards of $800 million by 2025, according to McKinsey estimates (see sidebar, “Ariana Grande leads the way into the music future”). Taken together with XR MICE, this sector is a rich opportunity: an expected $7 billion by 2030.

Visitor support: Some destinations have been exploring the idea of virtual concierges to support travelers at every stage of the journey with real-time itineraries, information, troubleshooting, visa issues, and more. Qatar Airways, for example, provides a MetaHuman cabin crew for an interactive customer experience. Immersive use cases already account for over 1 percent of chatbot investment, and this is expected to increase. Still, it may be several years before this touchpoint gains real traction.

Then there are touchpoints where the disruption potential of the metaverse is still debatable, or where opportunities may take longer to mature:

• Shopping: Multiple stores could be built in virtual destinations, adding a revenue stream with the sale of accessories, souvenirs and other items. These might be digital, or goods to be shipped in the real world. Iconic real-life stores might also operate as digital recreations.
• Booking: Customers are already comfortable with online booking, so a shift to XR interactions with virtual travel agents could be seamless. However, this is a relatively small business opportunity, with uncertain added value: the new technology is not expected to change or boost the functionality of current booking processes in any fundamental way.

There is currently limited interest in adding virtual elements to aspects of travel that are necessarily physical, such as mobility, accommodation, the logistics of arrival and departure, and food and drink (F&B).

Mobility is currently expected to have very limited XR use cases: tourists may access a metaverse experience while in a taxi, but are unlikely to replace physical with virtual mobility. The “stay” category is similarly sized. While people may wish to explore virtual stays in hotels or on cruise ships, these will not yet replace actual stays. Hotel developer CitizenM, for example, has announced plans to build a hotel in gaming world The Sandbox, allowing virtual visitors to explore the digital property and raise awareness of its brand. 10 Cajsa Carlson, “CitizenM to become ‘first hospitality company to build in the metaverse’,” dezeen, April 7, 2022.

Similarly, arrival-and-departure use cases are largely limited to customers seeking XR versions of modes of transport, such as business-class flights or special railway routes, without intending to visit. (Such experiences may serve as “portals” to expanded immersive worlds, however.) The F&B industry will likely be among the last to enter the metaverse.

Post trip, the real potential lies in the capacity to inspire further travel. However, actual follow up, currently often achieved via surveys, is unlikely to be deeply impacted.

Travel Disruptors: Sonder’s Francis Davidson on the future of hospitality

“no-regret” metaverse moves.

Taking the above factors into account, there are certain no-regret functions that tourism-industry players can pursue to be at the forefront of disruption. These promising use cases have already gained traction, with fast-moving industry players stepping in early to bet on their viability.

They fall into two categories: virtual event centers, and recreations of memorable landmarks that inspire visits. As we’ve seen, event centers are already showing substantial revenue potential for organizers and destinations through business gatherings and entertainment, with ticket sales, attendance fees, and ancillary retail opportunities.

At XR landmarks, visitors can explore, socialize, shop, and learn—all while gaining awareness of lesser-known destinations. Young people and tourists may flock to these social spaces for immersive fun. There may be edutainment opportunities, including specialized archaeology, geology or architecture classes. These spaces can be built on established or upcoming platforms (such as Metapolis) and operate in collaboration with third-party vendors to increase retail opportunities.

Themed gaming, too, can drive engagement with a location, and caters to a core XR demographic. This includes game developers: Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) is a newly released PC application for designing and publishing games and experiences directly into the online video game Fortnite. 11 The Fortnite Team, “Unreal Editor for Fortnite and Creator Economy 2.0 are here. New worlds await,” Fortnite, March 22, 2023.

There appears to be public appetite for recreations of individual landmarks rather than entire destinations: a metaverse Eiffel Tower rather than a complete metaverse Paris. An example is Dubai’s Burj Khalifa virtual experience, launched by event-management platform Eventcombo, which offers users a focused tour of the world’s tallest building. 12 “Dubai: Take an immersive tour of Burj Khalifa in metaverse,” Khaleej Times, October 8, 2022. For now, there seem to be fewer opportunities to create whole customer journeys (although this may work well for certain cases like theme parks). When it comes to end-to-end tourism experiences, travelers still seem prefer the “real thing.”

Preparing for the future of travel

How can travel companies leverage the metaverse to create more compelling experiences for their customers? Certain challenges must be overcome: these include enabling interoperability between decentralized worlds, protecting data security, and making immersive devices more readily available.

However, it’s prudent for travel players to think proactively about engaging with the metaverse—and perhaps seize a first-mover’s advantage. Early control will help to sidestep thorny issues like third parties claiming virtual rights to a location.

Once travel players have plotted out potential traveler journeys (whether hybrid or fully digital), they can find the right collaborators to bring these experiences to life—such as virtual-universe and retail platforms, communications channels, and designers. As many tech players are still only starting to come to grips with immersive experiences, companies may be able to secure favorable partnership agreements and experiment with different executions.

Four steps for travel players contemplating the metaverse

Step 1: Create a strategy based on individual traveler touchpoints to be disrupted. Develop offers targeted at travelers of the future, considering demographic groups, travel purpose and likely journeys. Imagining specific future touchpoint needs and desires and how these can be satisfied or enhanced in a virtual world will ensure a targeted strategy.

Step 2: Identify the platform you want to play on. There are several options here, depending on factors like the strength of your brand and how much independence you require. With a very strong brand, you might be in a position to create your own platform. If your brand is less widely recognized—as with most tourism destinations—or the advantages of a dedicated platform are not clear, then it might be unwise to go it alone. It may be possible to integrate your experience with another organization’s platform, with the added benefit that their established users can stumble across your product. Or partner with an existing platform, as Saudi Arabia’s RCU have done with browser-based platform Decentraland and Korean tourism with the ZEPETO app.

Step 3: Choose the right talent. Developing any offer will likely require new skills—not just to make your immersive world look good, but to ensure that it’s smooth and exhilarating to use. Excellent “game mechanics” motivate users to come back repeatedly for new experiences. In turn, this requires constant maintenance, operation and innovation, as with any great tourist attraction. Talent for these tasks can be either recruited or outsourced. Hiring a new, dedicated workforce might make sense for a large service that requires intensive modification and security monitoring. For simpler or once-off offerings developed to test the waters, outsourcing will ensure a smoother, faster process.

Step 4: Understand the agreement you have with your partner. Be sure to clarify safeguards related to IP and other potential challenges. Also ensure that virtual experiences cohere with your existing brand identity, as well as the values and cultural context of heritage assets.

The metaverse promises to shake up many sectors of the global economy. Virtual experiences have huge potential for the tourism and travel industries, with the prospect of hybrid and fully immersive digital destinations. But our research indicates that opportunities may, for now, be limited to a few key touchpoints—most prominently, travel inspiration, events, and edutainment. It may take longer for the metaverse to reveal its utility for end-to-end travel experiences, if it ever does.

Nonetheless, there are undeniably travel touchpoints where metaverse integration feels inevitable, profitable and “no regret.” Players in the sector would do well to start planning their metaverse strategy now, focusing on specific touchpoints and destinations, while this rapidly developing arena matures.

Margaux Constantin is a partner in McKinsey’s Dubai office, where Kashiff Munawar is an expert associate partner; Giuseppe Genovese is a consultant in the Dallas office; and Rebecca Stone is a consultant in New York City.

The authors wish to thank Samvit Kanoria, Hamza Khan, and Kevin Neher for their contributions to this article.

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Benefits of Virtual Reality in the Tourism and Travel industry

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Virtual Reality is transforming the travel and tourism industry in an unstoppable way! VR can create amazing experiences limited only by your imagination. It is an excellent tool for marketing hotel rooms, flights, and travel products. As a hotel or travel company, you can provide unique customer experiences with VR elements on your website or as app downloads.  

Support customer buying decisions and give insights before booking a hotel

The primary benefit of Virtual Reality in the tourism and travel industry is to initially provide a kind of ‘try before you buy’ option. The immersive nature of VR enables everyone to experience a virtual version of a hotel room, attraction, or unique selling point. VR can cause strong emotions more convincingly than just viewing images or reading customer reviews can achieve. Because customers usually require lots of information before they book a hotel room, you can significantly shorten the process of researching and seeking information by using VR. VR experiences offer an effective way to show customers how their stay could look like, and give them confidence that they are dealing with a honest vendor with nothing to hide, before arriving at a purchase decision.

Create a VR experience from your  local attractions to increase publicity

The big-hitting tourist destinations dominate the tourism market, leaving marketers of smaller or less famous attractions a hard time in competing.

VR helps to attract a large audience of visitors to see a destination’s potential and to show how worthy it is to visit. An attention-grabbing, immersive VR experience has exponentially greater impact on increasing visitor intention than traditional media, and at relatively small cost.

Alternatively, you might not want hordes of visitors descending on a place that is literally crumbling under the mass of tourists. Or some environmentally sensitive destinations will have unique ecosystems in danger from human intrusion. Or a destination might just be too expensive for most people to reach. In these cases, VR can provide a satisfying substitute for the real experience. 

Become an innovation leader  in the tourism industry 

Make VR valuable in your area of tourism and travel and be amongst the first to emotionally empower your customers with the help of VR. Typically, tourist customers seek to purchase experiences rather than products, and Virtual Reality offers a great way to provide a completely new customer journey that takes in all the senses. thereby creating maximum customer value. You can diversify your services, meet the demands of the market – and be an innovative leader of your industry. Be aware also that Millennials and upcoming Generation Z customers already spend a lot of time in digital environments and are therefore the perfect target group for digital technologies. 

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„Virtual Reality for Tourism – it is very obvious that the medium offers great possibilities. Buying decisions are often emotional ones and VR again is perfect to support this. At the same time, we always want to offer our clients marketing ideas that are reasonable within a more complex strategy and a step ahead of the competitors. With VRdirect as a proven platform, we can quickly implement our creative ideas in this area and provide our clients with very professional, stable and cost efficient Virtual Reality projects (VR apps and Web Player solutions).”

Stefan Thomsen   Managing Partner at Travel Marketeers

“Virtual Reality / Interactive 360° is a key medium when it comes to tourism and city marketing. Successfully working with hotels, cultural institutions and tourism authorities in Germany and also Spain, edataconsulting is alwaysexploring possibilities in how to add “virtual value” to a campaign. From our experience VR does significantly support the sales process and as an emotional medium can really drive purchase decisions. Our mission is to enable all of our clients to exploit the great potential of Virtual Reality – by offering efficient, scalable and still very stable solutions. As experts in 360° production and marketing we can fully rely on VRdirect here. By using the platform to build and distribute our projects we are saving clients the enormous costs of programming.”

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How to buy your next home using virtual reality

T raveling virtually to other countries and vacation spots is taking off in virtual reality. In fact, 74 percent of U.S. consumers are interested in virtual tourism—far more than those who are interested in games, according to a survey by Greenlight VR.

The real estate industry is picking up on this trend quickly, building virtual open houses and property tours via 360-degree videos, standalone apps, and dedicated platforms.

360-degree photos and videos

The easiest way for a real estate firm to create an open house in VR is by shooting 360-degree photos or videos, then sharing them on YouTube and Facebook. Potential customers with VR headsets are virtually transported to the locations, while everyone else can still look around by using a mouse, or their finger, to get a view of a home.

Regular photographs and videos only show some of what's in a space. Customers never know if there might be, say, a giant hole in the wall just out of sight. With a 360-degree view, they can be assured they're getting the full picture.

For example, check out this 360-degree tour of a house in Dumas, Texas, created by Ad Rem Land Co. LLC.

The agency took several 360-degree photographs, including exterior and interior views, and stitched them together into a single video.

Dedicated platforms

YouTube might have a big user base, but the virtual tours on its site are limited to passive videos. Viewers can't move freely around a property, nor at their own pace. Dedicated platforms, however, offer additional functionality specifically for virtual reality property tours.

The 500-pound gorilla in this space is Google Street View . Companies hire trusted Google photographers to take pictures of their business, which will then show up on Google Maps, like this Rancho Del Oro Apartments property in Oceanside, California, created by Michigan-based real estate marketing company RTV Inc.

Customers can look around while also switching between internal and external views—with and without virtual reality headsets. However, Google limits the amount of sales and marketing information that can be included in these tours.

That's not the case for Matterport , a dedicated platform for real estate marketing. The company is currently converting a quarter of a million 3D tours to virtual reality format and is the most popular dedicated platform for real estate tours.

In addition to offering interactive virtual reality property tours, Matterport also offers three-dimensional dollhouse-style floor plans and other useful functionality. Real estate agents can upload their own photos, or they can hire professional photographers to do the work for them.

Companies can then embed these tours on their websites, as with this Sotheby's International Realty listing for a home in Princeton, New Jersey.

YouVisit is the third big name in this space, a fairly new startup that offers virtual tours of travel destinations, hotels, restaurants, and college campuses—and real estate locations, as well.

Other platforms to check out include Transported VR , Vieweet , and Roundme .

Create your own app.

Many large real estate companies are eager to add virtual reality functionality to their mobile apps and websites. For example, Australia's Realestate.com.au just launched a virtual tour app for the new Google Daydream virtual reality platform.

They built the app on top of the Matterport platform, but there are also smaller technology companies, such as Cubicle Ninjas , Arch Virtual , ReallyThere , Start VR , Case 3D , and Viewport , that will create custom apps for individual properties or agencies.

Do It Yourself

Some real estate agents are even going Hollywood, shooting and editing virtual reality films on their own,. You don't need any special equipment to take your own 360-degree photos other than a smartphone and the Cardboard Camera app for Android and iPhones. You can invest in a 360-degree camera like 360fly and then stitch the photographs together into a 360-degree video with video editing software.

You can also skip the video editing step and just use the 360-degree camera as a video camera. Place the camera in the first room. Film for ten seconds or so, then pause, move the camera to a different room, and film for another ten seconds, and so on until you've got the whole property covered. Use the remote function to hit the record and pause buttons while you're outside the room so that you're not in the video.

The 360fly (2nd Gen) , for example, comes with a smartphone app that allows you to be in a separate room from the camera itself. The 360fly also allows you to upload your finished video straight to YouTube with a click. Or you could import it into a video editing program to add text and transition effects.

Just don't move the camera while filming—the motion could make your customers nauseous. And that will never help sales.

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