Virtual Reality in Travel – Are You Up For It?

In the last couple of years, many tech companies have introduced an array of options to implement virtual reality (VR) for travel. However, not everyone enjoyed the idea of VR as they feared it could mean a drop in the tourism industry. But the year 2020 may be just the time to re-evaluate that idea. In fact, there are a number of ways that VR actually compliments the tourism industry.  

How Virtual Reality Can Aid the Travel Industry

Amidst the COVID-19 crisis,it’s no secret that the travel industry was hit particularly hard. One of the suggestions to aid the tourism industry was to increase budgets for promoting travel destinations. And this is also where VR could actually help the tourism industry. As one of the more obvious downsides of travel is that it’s costly and you can’t try before you buy. 

VR gives users the opportunity to do just that. Additionally, Once travel restrictions have been lifted, it will no doubt take people some time to rebuild their confidence and get excited about travel again. VR would allow for personalized experience for users intrigued by these destinations, helping to rebuild the hype that used to surround travel.  

Personalized Experience

VR is a great opportunity to get a better “feel” for a destination than simply looking at static pictures could. And when it comes to promoting destinations, this is especially important. It allows for a highly immersive experience, vs. just reading about or looking at pictures of these destinations. From the comfort of your home, with your Oculus, Sony Playstation or other VR devices, you can truly experience unique experiences, such as crossing the Grand Canyon or climbing Mount Everest

VR experiences provide a new dimension — literally — for travellers to experience well before they decide on their final destination.

Cost-Effective Alternative

As previously mentioned, one of the bigger issues with travel is that it’s expensive. And indeed, you definitely can’t “try before you buy.” But VR allows us the opportunity to visit these places, without having to book a ticket. If you’re the indecisive type, this should definitely help when trying to narrow down where to visit next. And since you’re more familiar, you’ll probably be less likely to think twice about booking the tickets. Why settling for Tripadvisors’ reviews when you can see a potential hotel for example?

It’s a Small World After All

VR can be helpful in finding common ground regardless of age, culture, or linguistic orientation. By being able to visit another part of the world virtually, it can help generate a sense of wonder and familiarity toward a  place you didn’t think to visit before. Additionally, finding out which places are commonly admired by people throughout the world, helps create a sense of unity. People can be tied together by similar interests globally instead of their geographical location.

Where would you take your VR travel today?

[Photo by Bradley Hook from Pexels]