This winter is a dark, rainy period. Many therefore like to leave the country to seek out the sun. Unfortunately, we don’t always have the time or money to go out. But what if I told you that you can visit a beautiful destination and experience a cool adventure, right from the comfort of your home? In this article I share some special metaverse holiday hotspots.
Major research from Booking.com in recent months shows that almost half (43%) of global travelers will use virtual reality in the coming year to inspire their holiday choices. More than a third (35%) of travelers say they would like to experience a multi-day virtual reality travel experience.
Metaverse and tourism
There is a clear link between the development of tourism and that of technology. From the computerized booking centers of the 1970s, to the introduction of the internet in the late 1990s, technology has always been used in tourism to develop new practices. The metaverse is part of this evolution of the Internet.More and more immersive technologies are being used to deliver physical experiences. This blurs the boundaries between real and virtual life.
Do you need VR glasses for that? Certainly not. You can also visit most destinations from your laptop or tablet. I’d like to share a few of my favorite destinations that you can visit from the comfort of your couch.
Museums
Louvre: This famous museum is flooded with enthusiasts wanting to see the Mona Lisa. For people who do not want to travel to Paris and want to get to know the woman in the work of art in peace, this virtual experience is definitely recommended!
MoMa: for modern and contemporary art in New York.
Historical hotspots
The Sistine Chapel: also a frequently visited destination, where you can virtually walk through in peace and quiet.
Yourescape: here you can visit countless special buildings, such as the Acropolis and temples, in 3D. You can walk and fly through it and enjoy a lot of cool content, reconstructions. You can also visit parts that cannot (anymore) be visited physically.
Places, cities and countries
Time Square: the popular traffic intersection in New York.
Tuvalu: you can walk on the beach on the Maldives in this 1-1 clone of this island.
The tallest tower in the world: the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
Moyaland: The most successful metaverse destination in my opinion. A Frenchman has set up a completely new, virtual country in his spare time. Complete with a tourist office, museums, an airport and a historic center where residents and tourists can virtually walk around.
DokomoDoors: offers tons of cool VR tours of Japanese cities.
Australia’s most popular island: Hamilton Island.
Nice with the rain you see falling through the window: the Maldives
Natural areas
National Geographic: from high mountains to deep seas, jungles to deserts. Truly a great source of lots of VR adventures! You can view the many destinations with VR glasses here and simply from a flat screen here.
Costa Rica has created this amazing VR environment where you can watch thousands of turtles lay their eggs.
Virtual hotels
Millennium Hotels and Resorts
LEVENverse has great graphics
Other special metaverse environments
Jurrasic Park: You do need VR glasses for this destination… But you also want them when walking around among the T.rexes!
LEVENverse: More and more hotels, such as CitizenM and Eleven, are opening hotels in the metaverse. You can find visualizations worthy of Lord of the Rings in the LEVENverse resort, where you can virtually walk around endlessly.
The virtual Duty Free!
Would you like to take a look at the airport lounge and on the plane? This is possible with Qatar Airways, Emirates and KLM.
A really great VR environment for kids: the Vacation Simulator.
Holiday in your own country
Over the past year I worked with a number of governments in the Netherlands. We looked at the possibility of offering our own holiday destination in the metaverse. The tools are becoming increasingly accessible and you even have ready-made ‘Software as a Service’ solutions with which you can easily set up your own environment.
Some officials became scared when they saw the cool virtual vacation destinations available. But will these types of virtual environments replace physical holidays? Certainly not: a virtual trip can never replace the sensation of certain tangible experiences from real life. Even though there are already headsets with feeling and smell. In addition, the metaverse is far from ‘finished’. Many elements of the technology are still in their infancy.
But no matter how you look at it: people want to fly less and sometimes don’t have a budget for going on holiday. In addition, the metaverse can provide a great new tool for the tourism and travel industry to connect with consumers.
The impact of VR
Now that VR headsets are increasingly becoming a common consumer item, VR is quickly finding its way into the daily lives of many people, including tourism. Although it has its roots in the gaming industry, I see virtual reality becoming increasingly important for other sectors. From metaverse travel to fast-paced VR tours, virtual reality is already having a huge impact on the way people choose destinations, make bookings and discover travel inspiration.
Which destination will you visit virtually this Christmas holiday?
