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Covid-19 may have disrupted pre-planned travel experiences, but this pandemic will probably never extinguish the burning passion for travel. Therefore, experiencing virtual tours on the internet will lay the groundwork for real adventures in the not-too-distant future.
Virtual reality tourism – tourism 4.0 – is a smart travel trend that is attracting a lot of attention today. No need to travel far; just stay at home and technology will take you on a journey to explore the world at a very affordable cost.
Google Arts & Culture
First, you should experience Google Arts & Culture. This is an incredibly great digital platform developed by the tech giant Google. Google Arts & Culture has partnered with over 2,000 cultural organizations around the world, allowing users to explore works of art, architectural works, and famous landmarks worldwide, offering users exciting online collections and journeys.
Google Arts & Culture will take you on a virtual tour of the world, exploring unique cultures and classic works of art, all through your smartphone. With its visually stunning design, Google Arts & Culture offers journeys through images, 3D visualizations, and 360-degree videos, giving you the most realistic view of your destination.
If you're feeling stifled by the confinement of being indoors, a journey to conquer the majestic Grand Canyon in Arizona, in the southwestern United States, is sure to soothe your mind. Or you could experience the thrill of kayaking among icebergs at Kenai Fjords National Park in Alaskan glaciers, or take on the challenge of ice climbing, exploring the natural crevices created by the ice sheets.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is one of the national parks that Google Arts & Culture collaborates with to bring the pristine beauty of the natural world right into users' living rooms. A 4.0 travel experience exploring lava-formed caves in the Thurston Lava Tube and venturing into the tropical rainforest within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park will be an unforgettable journey.
Besides adventurous destinations, you can also sit at home and admire the idyllic beauty of some of the world's most famous parks, such as Central Park in the heart of New York or Hyde Park – London's largest Royal Park.
For culture enthusiasts, it's absolutely essential not to miss some of the world's most extraordinary art spaces, such as the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, and the Tretyakov Gallery in Russia.
Google Street
If adventurous virtual tours aren't enough to captivate you, don't forget the Google Street View feature! This function lets you wander around the galleries at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, stroll through the sunny courtyard at the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico, or climb the stairs at the British Museum in London to explore its interior. Or, more simply, you can wander the famous streets of Paris, Tokyo, or Seoul.
Soundscape and Podcast
Although Rocky Mountain National Park in the US is currently temporarily closed to visitors due to Covid-19, you can still experience everything happening there with the Soundscape audio library. Listening to the sounds of dawn, the howling of wolves, the babbling of a river, or the wind blowing through the canyons will help you feel more relaxed after a day of working from home.
Or, if you don't want to stare at a blue-light screen that strains your eyes, try a travel podcast. Similar to Soundscape, podcasts are also a form of audio travel experience, but in the form of a longer journey rather than just a random audio file. Each podcast is usually around 35 to 40 minutes long. It introduces you to trips that might be on your "don't miss" list, or trips you'd never want to try, like swimming with sharks.
Webcam
In addition, there are live webcam programs for 4.0 tours that are sure to captivate animal lovers. The San Diego Zoo may be temporarily closed due to Covid-19, but the adorable animals are still there and you can watch them 24/7. You can watch live koalas sleeping in trees, mingle with playful baboons, or stroll alongside tigers, giraffes, or baby apes.
