Witness the great migration in the Maasai Mara in Kenya from a safari jeep. Get a feel of Italy's crisp air while driving down the Amalfi Coast in a vintage car. Or go on a road-trip to uncover the spellbinding beauty of Iceland. All of this virtually!
Yes, the most exotic locations are now available from the confines of your drawing room by merely strapping on a virtual reality (VR) headset, as VR transforms the travel industry.
VR is already revolutionising the way medicine, gaming and cinema works in a global VR market that is predicted to reach $34 billion by 2022. And tourism is fast catching on, giving prospective travellers the opportunity to sample a brand new travel experience through 360-degree immersive videos.
With VR, travellers gain a first-hand experience of what it is like to be in a particular destination, or live in a specific resort. This helps in deciding destinations and types of accommodation, before actually booking tickets, and thus streamlines the travel experience in a holistic manner.
"We are developing VR experiences for locales across the world such as Cambodia, Vietnam, etc. VR gives the feeling of being in the destination and experiencing the moment," says Vikram Ahuja, founder, Byond Travel, which is bringing VR in the tourism industry.
Besides consumers, VR is set to benefit travel industry stakeholders as well. For Manish Pole, director of Total Yoga, which organises yoga retreats in Bhutan, Bali and Ladakh, VR has been quite a boon. "Doing yoga at the shores of the Pangong Lake (in Ladakh) is an out-of-the-world experience that cannot be explained through images. A VR experience of yogis practicing at the lake has helped us showcase the experience to interested travellers. We are now presenting this at travel and yoga related events. A VR experience is much better than a flat screen experience."
Experts feel VR can be leveraged as a sales training and enablement tool to promote destinations. Instead of attempting to sell a destination through brochures and presentations, travel organisers can have consumers witness the very tourist hot-spot through a VR headset. This, in turn, can lead to higher conversion rate for the organisers.
"The VR videos recreate a real world environment virtually and will certainly work towards convincing consumers about obtaining the experience by actually visiting the destination," says Ashit Taneja, country manager, Jordan Tourism Board, which has created VR videos on Jordan's popular sites like Petra and the Dead Sea.
But will consumers slowly start overlooking actual travel, by simply strapping on VR headsets?
Not really, says Ahuja. "VR will supplement the travel experience for those who have the ability for travel. However, there is a vast segment of people who may not be able to go everywhere. For example, not all of us can scale Mt Everest. And something like the Everest experience can well be experienced through VR, without actually training for the climb."
AHEAD OF TIME
- Virtual Reality is giving prospective travellers the opportunity to sample a brand new travel experience
- Besides consumers, VR is set to benefit travel industry stakeholders
- Experts feel VR can be leveraged as sales training tool to promote destinations
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Virtual reality")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}