An outlook on VR as a tool in tourism promotion

Digitalization changes the way how we travel, how we get inspired for a trip or how we book it. According to a study by the German market research company Bitcom Research GmbH, in 10 years from now we will inspect and experience hotel rooms, destinations or attractions virtually before the actual travel.  Virtual Reality will allow prospective travellers to get a more detailed impression beforehand, which will help them to distinguish one destination or hotel from another. 74% of 103 surveyed CEO’s of touristic companies share the opinion that by 2025 the usage of VR in tourism promotion will offer great opportunities not only for the prospective travellers but also for travel agencies and touristic companies.

More and more touristic players are already discovering VR as a tool in promotion, as we were able to see at the ITB 2016 last week. Several destinations including for example British Columbia, Las Vegas, Austria, South Tyrol or Ireland as well as airlines such as Lufthansa, Emirates or Austrian Airlines provided the visitors with an immersive virtual experience. According to the exhibitors, the biggest advantage of VR as a tool in tourism promotion is seen in the possibility to give potential customers a better idea about an intangible product and to trigger emotions. As the virtual experience will arouse interest and desire to do the real thing, the exhibitors do not consider VR as a threat to the real experience.

Stay tuned for more detailed information about VR at ITB!

Virtual Trip to Vegas at ITB 2016 #VegasDE

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Julia Beck

Master Student at University of Applied Sciences Salzburg

Julia discovered her interest in the field of eTourism during her master program at UoAS Salzbug. She is fascinated how fast technology develops and finds its way to tourism. Julia wrote her master thesis on the topic of "Virtual Reality as a tool to trigger emotions in tourism marketing" and investigated the impact of VR with subjective as well as objective measurements.

Latest posts by Julia Beck (see all)

• VR & Travel in COVID-Times: Interview with Daniel Sarkady - 7. September 2020
• VR Time Travel: Step into Old Hong Kong - 18. December 2018
• How will technological developments influence VR travel? - 4. July 2018