In recent years, Virtual Reality (VR) has taken the world by storm after developers managed to make the devices small and affordable enough for mass production. So, with many users already owning a VR device, can this technology change the travel industry and tourism altogether? If you think about “change” as VR disturbing the travel industry in any way, we don’t think that’s ever going to be a possibility. However, VR can bring a lot of benefits for tourism agencies doing things right. And in this article we’re going to explore how VR can influence the travel industry.
Improving the Offers
No matter how many pictures and videos the travel agencies share with their potential customers, there’s no way to really capture the real feel of those places. Or, should we say “there wasn’t a way”? Because that’s exactly where VR jumps in and is a huge game changer. Since the customers are looking to buy experiences and not just travel products, virtual reality is the missing link that tourism agencies need to show potential customers exactly what they can expect.
No matter if we’re talking about offering a virtual tour of the hotel room you are about to book, or a walk in the city where you’re planning the trip, VR can definitely help travel agencies give their customers a better idea about what they’re about to buy. Even more than that, technology took VR to the next level. Through AR (Augmented Reality), potential customers get the chance of actually walking down the streets of Malta in the same period of the year as they want to book the vacation in. Getting a real taste of what the streets look like, the atmosphere, various restaurants, and the views that await for you, is an extremely important convenience for customers.
Try Before You Buy Becomes Available in Travelling as Well
As mentioned earlier, VR can offer customers a tour of the hotel room or even the city where they’re planning their next holiday. This brings the concept of trying before you buy in the tourism industry as well. Until now, it wasn’t possible for customers buying a vacation to check out the destination before paying because that required actually getting there and the cost of traveling to a new country just to check it out were massive. However, VR changed that and gives customers the possibility to get a sneak peek before buying.
This is especially effective for hotels that can offer customer a detailed tour of the room they’re going to book. Besides using images and videos, talking a VR walk in the hotel room gives customers more transparency and a better idea of what they’ll receive for the money.
VR Booking Interface
Some companies in the travel industry took things a step further. They developed entire booking interfaces that rely on Virtual Reality so that the entire process is smooth and personal for customers. It basically replaces the need to use a mouse, touch screen or keyboard to book your hotel and flight.
Even though the approach and technology is still new, it has the possibility to make booking a seamless experience, with the user being capable of comparing various hotel rooms, cities and even their seat in the airplane.
The list of advantages brought by VR to the travel industry can go on with numerous innovations that are either being developed or are imagined as you read this article. And even if you’re not a huge fan of using VR technology, you can still take a virtual trip to Australia with online pokies at 24Pokies casino. This different type of virtual trip has a huge advantage over the ones mentioned above - you have a good chance to come back with some money from this trip.