Close your eyes. You’re on a Caribbean island. Or not.
A sunny beach. An achingly blue tropical sea. Rainbow parakeets wheel above you. You stretch your legs into the cool silky sand and – whoops! This is where your significant other trips over you with a mug of hot coffee.
Virtual travel might grab some and fill others with horror. It’s where virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) meet. The idea was popular during the pandemic when would-be travellers had nowhere to go except imagination.
The metaverse (AR/VR) and its opportunities may amount to $20 billion, some analysts think. This includes applications like virtual travel.
Japanese company First Airline for example offers VR experiences from a ‘boarding’ location in Tokyo. Destinations include Germany, Switzerland and Ukraine. Virtual travel could be a great immersive experience for some. But could it ever beat the experience of real, actual travel?
Virtual travel is most likely to appeal to the younger generation of current XR users who are travellers of the future. According to National Geographic, what began as a pandemic stopgap is looking increasingly viable3.
Not least because it can allow real destinations to vividly showcase themselves before people visit for real. It has an educative function, enabling users to learn about historical landmarks and cities.
However, some elements that make travel memorable and worthwhile simply cannot be replicated. Smell, for example – one of the key things that gives an authentic sense of place (as Proust knew well).
It also seems self-evident human beings enjoy talking about where they have been, rather than where they haven’t.
For this and other reasons, virtual travel is unlikely to replace physical travel. However, it could be a complement and a lifeline for people whose circumstances preclude physical travel. It might also allow people to experience unattainable places, like the moon or the Mariana Trench.
However, the travel industry as a whole is likely to continue concentrating on improving earthbound travellers’ experiences, evolving technologies that make real travel leaner, robust and more profitable.
Journey Mentor uses advanced technology to improve the travel industry, from dynamic availability and monitoring competition to e-portals for travellers and agents.
Make your revenues fly
Book a free demo with our specialists
Let us show you how Journey Mentor works for your business.
- Complete request form
- Select preferred date & time
We’ll connect within 24 hours.