Imagine walking atop the snow-capped Mount Everest that slowly takes your breath away as you ski down its slopes and whiz past your better half during your honeymoon. And then imagine getting teleported to the sands of Sahara in just a flick of two fingers. The majestic sand dunes welcome you to the parched land which boasts of its own beauty and enigma. And the moment you think you are feeling homesick, you just look at your better half to confirm a return and land up in your bed with just another sway of your hand.
Well, I have not described a travel channel to you just now. What I have given you is a quick sneak peek into the redefined avatars of vacations and adventure trips. With people getting a little concerned with international travel and with the threat of pandemics showing no sign of decline in the future, people will be compelled to rethink the way they plan for vacations, honeymoons and leisure trips. And with pandemics reinforcing the concept of minimalism, people may not prefer shelling out volumes of money for travel. This is where comes to picture the new paradigm in vacations – Holiday 2.0.
Virtual reality for vacations
The vacationers of tomorrow will simply put on their Virtual Reality headsets, hold hands and log into a virtual vacation world. Companies providing VR-enabled vacations will have well-developed virtual simulations of the most favorite scenic spots from around the world. These realms may include some of the most sought-after spots, like the Champs Elysees, Seychelles, Niagara Falls and the valleys of Switzerland to name a few. The vacationers will opt for one or a set of destinations and will pay a calculated fee for the VR services. By entering a passcode and login details, followed by a retina scan check for authentication, the vacationers will fly into the virtual world to witness the splendor of various scenic pots from across the world.
The vacationers will find their friends alongside them and will be exploring the place either together or as scattered wanderers. They will have an option to call everyone back at the base location in case there is some adventure to be explored together or any group activity to be done. Such group activities will be value-added services provided by the virtual travel companies. The vacationers will get an immersive experience of existing in the actual scenic landscapes and the desired destinations.
Virtual photography – the new possibility
Travelers don’t just cherish the places they visit through their memories, but also through the innumerable photographs that they click throughout their journey. Virtual vacations are not going to make it history, but rather going to add a fresh gust of life in travel photography. Virtual vacationers will have an option to click photographs of different locations in a variety of ambience jut through a few facial gestures and have the snaps getting added automatically to the most relevant album, based on image analytics and artificial intelligence.
I am sure you remember Google Glass. Please don’t say that it has entered the recesses of oblivion. Google Glass required just a mere voice command to click a snap. Sixth Sense technology by Pranav Mistry showed how pictures could be clicked with just a few gestures using hand and fingers. The same will soon be done by mere facial expression and wink of an eye in the virtual world. Vacationers will have an option to preview the clicked snap immediately and approve it for uploading on social media handles by passing a smile, or rejecting it with a frown. Photographers will evolve in the virtual world and it will also redefine the way photography is done. VR photography will soon be the new reality.
Customizable itineraries for virtual vacations
At some point of your vacations, you may have come across a feeling that your choice of travel destination has not been a worthy one. Maybe you perceived a place to be cool and cozy, but the weather makes you just sweat all the time. Or maybe you planned to have a clear view of the landscapes with your spouse without much of chaos, but the onslaught of crowd simply puts your mood off the track. Or even a situation where you getting nothing but humidity, while you wished to revel in snowfall at a hill station. Itineraries can go haywire as things may not happen as per schedule and you may end up missing the events you have been waiting for the most.
Virtual worlds are never going to betray vacationers on this part. Explorers will be able to customize the environment that they want to enter in and the views that they want to experience. The virtual world will present to them the very sights that they have planned for some serotonin rush. Moreover, they will also be able switch from one destination to another, in case the former one doesn’t engage them well or appears to be utterly against the expectations. The virtual world will ensure that the vacationers get exactly what they look forward to.
Safety at a new high
No more hassles while roaming in a foreign land. Vacationers can be well-assured of safety against deceits who tend to fleece the tourists. No more worrying about lodging and commute expenses and arrangements, for the virtual world will simply be all about exploration, right from the comfort of people’s own homes. Vacation junkies will feel safer and more assured of exploring places without any fear of any crime around them.
Value-added Services for new experiences
Third-party service providers will also collaborate with virtual vacation platform providers to provide additional value-added services on a chargeable basis. Suppose a group of vacationers is roaming on a beach. A notification pops up, inviting them for an adventure in a maze. All or few of the vacationers can opt in for the service, pay for it and then enter into a virtual maze which will provide them an adrenaline rush as they run helter-skelter to find the exit of the maze. Another third-party service provider may provide a paragliding experience at the virtual destination, whereby the willing travelers will be provided a virtual paragliding experience.
These new experiences and virtual rooms will open new avenues for collaboration between technology-led companies and bring in two-sided network effects on the virtual vacation platforms.
Reduced carbon footprints
Yes, this is a no-brainer. Travel and tourism are significant contributors to the global carbon footprint. With virtual travel becoming a reality soon and a commonplace later, the carbon footprint can be hoped to reduce, if most people show a preference for virtual vacations. However, the energy spent in creation of virtual worlds and the hosting of virtual spaces of global servers will offset some of the good done for the climate.
Can you imagine that tourism-related emissions increased by around 15% from 2009 to 2013, from 3.9 Gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon-dioxide equivalent (CO₂-e) to 4.5Gt? From air travel to lodging in hotels to commuting to various tourist spots, everything adds up to the gigantic carbon footprint. This can be reduced by virtual vacations without losing much of the travel experience.
Will it be really that good?
Here comes the big question – will virtual vacations indeed replace physical travel? Will virtual vacations really be good enough that one will get a complete sensory experience as during a real vacation? The answer is most probably, “No”.
Virtual vacations sound good when one wants a visual and an auditory pleasurable experience. Tactile experiences may also be simulated to some extent. However, the simulation of climate conditions may still not be possible. We often go to hill stations not to just have a scenic view of the mountains, but also to experience the cold weather. We go to beaches not only to say “Hi” to the sea, but also to sunbathe at times. The simulation of climatic conditions and giving weather experiences to a vacationer may require design of special pods inside which the virtual vacationers may sit and get a complete 360-degree experience of a virtual tour. However, that will again translate to higher carbon footprint and moving out of home to visit a special pod service provider, which does not sound too amazing anyways.
Final thoughts
In a nutshell, virtual vacations will certainly be a reality soon. Now that we already have virtual tour services and virtual reality environments being made for gaming platforms, having vacations in virtual world is not a distant reality at all. What needs to be seen is how well can the vacation providers give a holistic experience to the vacationers and how synergies are built between these platform providers and third-party service vendors. The new ecosystem over virtual tourism will evolve beyond imaginable proportions very soon.
