During the pandemic, travel at home with virtual reality glasses.

With the explosion of digital technology, travel enthusiasts can now escape their familiar daily routines while remaining safe during the pandemic. By using virtual reality glasses, we can travel the world right from the comfort of our own homes.

Virtual reality technology allows users to step into a new space. Through pre-programmed artificial visual, auditory, and tactile systems, users can move around, explore, and even interact with elements within the virtual space.

Born with the expectation of enhancing video game experiences, virtual reality technology has shown its potential not only to be limited to the entertainment industry but also to be embraced in other fields, most notably media and marketing.

Global travel companies are using virtual reality technology as an effective marketing method, allowing customers to experience the services offered instead of just static images and videos. During the pandemic, these companies leveraged virtual reality technology to create new products, temporarily replacing traditional travel.

By using special cameras capable of capturing 360-degree images, travel companies record panoramic views of tourist destinations and then provide them to customers.

Accommodation companies quickly recognized the potential of this technology and jumped right in. They offer customers the opportunity to observe and experience the hotel/resort's space, allowing them to choose their desired room type at a much lower price. This is both a new business model and an effective marketing method to prepare for reopening when the pandemic shows signs of subsiding.

The advantages of virtual reality tourism include: allowing users to visualize themselves at the tourist destination; providing a panoramic view of the destination with high-resolution images; allowing users to explore at their own pace; creating a memorable experience for users; minimizing the impact of tourists on sensitive or easily damaged areas; and allowing tourists to explore challenging terrain while ensuring safety, etc.

Although it doesn't offer the full experience of actual travel, this form of tourism reaches a wider range of customers, including those who have difficulty traveling long distances, such as the elderly, people with disabilities, and the sick.

With the aforementioned benefits, virtual reality tourism has developed strongly in the last two years. According to statistics from the website...Compare the MarketThe number of Google searches for "virtual reality glasses" has surged since February 2020, peaking in May 2020 with 580,000 searches. This number has remained consistent to this day.

PageStatistaA survey conducted in Germany revealed that approximately 50% of respondents wanted to use virtual reality technology to choose destinations for future trips, with 13% willing to pay for higher-end virtual reality services.

Website statisticsTourism AustraliaThe study showed that 20% of people who own virtual reality glasses have used travel services to choose their next destination. 25% said they would use this technology in the future.

In the future, as this technology develops, users may experience more than just sight and sound; they may even be able to touch objects and smell the unique scents of the places they are exploring. However, surveys still show that this technology is unlikely to replace actual travel. Nevertheless, it remains a temporary solution for travel enthusiasts at the present time, given the ongoing and potentially dangerous pandemic situation.

Bo Di