Can you imagine going on holiday wearing a VR headset?
How about spending the weekend in an office-style cubicle in your city, where you experience the sights and sounds of an exotic destination, without having to fly?
No, we can’t imagine this either. Not when there’s a whole world out there for us to explore.
But VR and the Metaverse will revolutionise where and how we travel.
The Metaverse Can’t Replace Travel
Some people argue that if we could travel anywhere in the metaverse, there would be no need to actually travel. Such people have obviously never stood in the Sistine Chapel or Angkor Wat and been overcome with emotion.
Sure, it’s fun to play in the metaverse. To feel the sounds, smells and sights of a destination.
We can never replace travel. Travel creates a feeling from within that cannot be replicated.
VR Will Create New Desire to Travel
Visiting new and exotic places in VR will make us more excited to fully experience these places in real life. In an interview for Explorer magazine, Serandipians President Quentin Desurmont told us:
It’s another way to show ideas, to create desire. People will see the real thing, they will see the level of luxury, of comfort, of experience, of everything.
With virtual reality we can travel to places we never thought possible. We can be camping in the Oman desert, going on safari in Tanzania, trekking with gorillas in Rwanda and riding with eagle hunters in Mongolia.
A virtual experience will help us feel more comfortable visiting places outside our comfort zone. We’ll understand how these exotic destinations can meet our standards of comfort and luxury.
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VR Will Help Us Travel More
VR is already being used to help us travel more. Quentin Desurmont explains.
The metaverse will give us better knowledge and preparation for where we are going. If you can find yourself immersed electronically it will give you more desire to go and see it, to go and do it.
It’s not the future. It’s happening now. A virtual tour of a hotel helps us understand how comfortable it is, what room category we want, whether it suits our style, whether it’s good enough for us. Here’s an interesting example from Franschoek, South Africa.
A virtual tour of an airline helps us understand the quality of business class and first class tickets. Qantas has a Virtual Reality app that shows both their aircraft and Australia’s destinations. Do you know about Hamilton Island?
The National Geographic Explore VR will only currently take you to Machu Picchu and Antarctica, but it’s an immersion in the entire travel experience, including how to get there and even where you camp.
The Metaverse Will Help Us Travel Better
Today we receive an itinerary and read what to expect. We see photos and picture ourselves there.
But imagine meeting your guide in the metaverse before you travel. She tells you all about where you are going, what you will be doing and what you need to bring. She gives you an introduction to your destination, before you travel. Take a look around this national park in Uganda!
Imagine meeting your concierge in the Metaverse. You can ask him questions, listen to his advice, understand what is and isn’t possible, before you get there.
If we can explore destinations before we go, we’ll be better prepared. Just think how much easier it will be to pack. We’ll better maximise our time when we arrive, because we’ll already know the basics. We’ll also learn a lot more and have a deeper, more immersive experience.
We’ll Be More Adventurous in the Future
The metaverse is in its infancy. It’s not a smooth experience. But the change is coming. Ultimately, a virtual world will make us more adventurous in the real world. So we can explore further, in comfort.
At EliteVoyage we help you holiday easily and comfortably anywhere, every time. VR is going to help us to do that. But we don’t live in a virtual world. With EliteVoyage you can speak directly to skilled travel designers about your next holiday.
