Metaverse: Shaping the Future of Travel

The Metaverse is advancing the next wave of web technology and opening up limitless possibilities. Consider it as a continuum that spans the range of digitally augmented experiences, universes, and business structures. 

It is reaching all aspects of business and all types of industries. From reality to virtual reality and back, we have gone from 2D to 3D. The technology further touched the cloud and AI and then reached extended reality, blockchain, digital twins, edge technologies, and beyond. And now it is time we explore metaverse travel too!

The way individuals interact with the travel business may see a complete transformation with metaverse travel. Imagine the extent of possibilities that can be created by having the Metaverse in travel. You could virtually tour a hotel from the comfort of your home on the opposite side of the globe. Metaverse travel will generate fresh experiences and new ways for people to select lodging and activities by building three-dimensional models of actual places. 

When the Metaverse and travel go hand in hand, it will be a new phase for the travel industry. Instead of physically visiting the places, the travel metaverse is being widely accepted as a replacement. Because of this, organizations like hotel chains, tour operators, travel agencies, and others are advertising their services on the Metaverse. As a result, the Metaverse has started to affect how people travel and how they view travel.

In this article, we will try to understand how people have become in favor of this new technology and what are its benefits of adoption to your business. 

Metaverse in the Travel and Tourism – A Market Overview

The emergence of COVID and the implementation of travel limitations have altered how people view travel. The pandemic has pushed people to look for alternatives since many nations restrict arriving flights, require lengthy quarantines, or demand pricey tests. The risk of catching the virus and other infections has caused people to reevaluate their typical approach to travel, even when the restrictions are not as strict.

This shift in viewpoint has inevitably given rise to new travel patterns and rising demand for virtual reality and metaverse traveling services. Travel in the Metaverse is a safer and more affordable alternative for those who would otherwise travel to experience the globe. 

While online meetings and classes are becoming more and more common for companies and travelers with professional or academic objectives, the Metaverse is giving them new dimensions of exploration. Future metaverse travel is likely to fill the need to go to a physical location for traveling.

Though still new, the market of the Metaverse in travel is seen growing at a CAGR of 26.01%. Between 2021 and 2026, it is expected to have an incremental growth of $188.24 billion. North America holds a significant share of the Metaverse traveling market with a contribution of 37%.

How Could the Travel Industry Benefit from the Metaverse?

Business owners, entrepreneurs, and other important decision-makers must be aware of the genuine benefits of the Metaverse for travel. They understand how the Metaverse is impacting the travel industry and hospitality sectors. Following are some examples of how this trend in the metaverse travel tech could assist companies in gaining more audience: 

Promoting the purchase of virtual tourism

One of the primary benefits of the Metaverse in the travel and tourism market is that it can entice travelers to take out virtual excursions to the places on their bucket lists. For instance, tourists can gain a thorough understanding of a particular location before they visit it by using an interactive virtual experience that can faithfully reproduce a real-world setting. 

Similarly, prospective tourists can use virtual reality experiences to learn about a location’s facilities and how far it is from notable attractions. Tourists can become motivated and complete making a reservation or purchase with the aid of the Metaverse.

Streamlining the booking procedure

The metaverse and travel industry not only encourages virtual travel purchases but also dramatically enhances the booking process by providing helpful information that has never been provided before, at least not as precisely. 

For instance, hotels can use virtual reality tours to enable visitors to physically walk through a representation of the hotel grounds, giving them a better understanding of the hotel’s room sizes, layout, and facilities. 

On the other hand, travel operators can similarly use VR to give their clients a tour that gives them a genuine sense of a place they desire to visit. As a result, there is a higher chance that a customer will complete their booking rather than cancel it.

Growing number of bookings

As mentioned in the pointers above, it is fair to say that metaverse inspires travel in the metaverse and encourages people to take time out to become virtual tourists. But what really has an impact is the entire experience of the booking process. The experience of booking trains, flights, hotels, restaurant tables, etc., through AR/VR technology, becomes so informative and fun that it impacts the purchase decision over time, hence increasing the booking volume. 

Counting the advantages of travel in the Metaverse, one thing is clear – We can understand that stepping into the metaverse travel and tourism industry is feasible.

Use Cases of Metaverse in Travel

We have multiple metaverse travel examples of how one can leverage the technology to create opportunities in the Metaverse for travel. Travel enthusiasts can experience their journeys virtually, which can be as good as a replica of a real travel experience. Discussed below are a few examples:

Electronic trade shows

Expos, trade shows, and other comparable events were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, which forced them online. One can elevate these online events, and the immersion experience improved with the help of metaverse tourism solutions. In addition to transferring the events into the virtual world, social interactions that are possible in a real setting can be replicated using VR, avatars, or other techniques.

VR travel

While there are connections between metaverse tourism and AR/VR technologies for development, VR tourism can improve the situation. VR may either lessen or do away with the need for real travel. Alternatively, it can add more worthwhile experiences to it. 

Virtual reality tours may already offer realistic experiences, allowing people to take in tourism from the comfort of their homes. This has developed to the point that numerous virtual tourist destinations are used to virtually organize business meetings, concerts, and other sorts of entertainment.

[Bonus Read: Virtual Reality – The New Marketing Strategy For Business]

Planned window shopping

AR games and applications can help hotels give their clients a virtual experience up front. One may compare sites before selecting a vacation, decide whether an attraction is valuable, or consider the view before selecting a hotel. For metaverse travel and tourism solutions, using augmented reality would be extremely beneficial to allow clients to preview a destination before actually traveling there.

This new immersive experience will significantly surpass the current ways of vacation planning, which include reading blogs and magazines and watching YouTube videos. The authenticity of the experience can be increased by using embedded AR technology to assist you through your virtual visit, much like a tour guide would.

Online attractions

The creation of virtual attractions, including theme parks, museums, zoos, and other tourist destinations, is the primary cause of the growth of metaverse tourism. Users will have a more immersive experience because these attractions can partake in anything resembling a real-life event. 

It may also provide significant benefits to firms. For example, visiting a virtual theme park is way more safer as it does not have very high safety rules and the gravity rules will not restrict the ride experience. A virtual museum can house virtual representations of any artifact, even those from the past, and need not contain real historical pieces.

Airports and train stations

You might occasionally feel intimidated by crowded places, especially if you’re traveling with family and little children. Similar problems occur with terminal-rich, busy airports. Tourists frequently need help finding their way around these places, especially if they are doing it for the first time. In such a situation, travelers who have had a metaverse experience would feel more at home.

Historical travel

Future generations won’t be able to see the Egyptian Pyramids in all of their regal antiquity. Can this wish be fulfilled in the Metaverse, though? It is feasible to imitate the restoration of historical buildings to their full former beauty in the Metaverse. This will allow visitors to experience historical life and learn about the past.

[Bonus Read: How can your business enter the Metaverse?]

How will the Metaverse Affect Travel?

The future of metaverse for travel is slow but steady in a positive direction. It will take time for the Metaverse to really take off, despite businesses starting to recognize its potential. In addition, even if the idea were to catch on, it’s unclear how people would react, particularly as travelers look for authentic experiences in the wake of the outbreak. However, with its convincing abilities, we can see that metaverse has the power to fundamentally alter travel and tourism and be a sought-after experience in itself.

Virtual reality will offer users distinctive, individualized experiences that will improve their travel experience while facilitating various activities for people physically distant from events or sites. By developing immersive brand experiences, businesses can increase their exposure, deliver memorable experiences, and stay competitive in the digital market.

It’s important to remember that the Metaverse will only partially replace travel and tourism. If used well, this technology has the ability to enhance reality by delivering immersive experiences that let people build stronger bonds and make global culture and history more approachable.

The future of the Metaverse in travel seems bright and interesting. It is the right time now to engage and further your tourism business idea into the Metaverse.

Travel through the Metaverse with Appinventiv

The skilled software developers at Appinventiv come together to offer digital solutions for businesses in a variety of industries on a global scale. Appinventiv provides incredible services in metaverse development while maintaining the platform’s usability through the usage of cutting-edge technologies.

Our team, which has years of experience in developing immersive apps, presents a well-researched concept and development plan to build a solid metaverse application for your company. With several successful AR, VR, and blockchain-based projects in our portfolio, we can provide specialized and tailored solutions to meet your company’s demands.

As a metaverse development company, we can deliver high-quality, well-performing solutions that will yield the results you aim for and more. 

So, get in touch with us today!

FAQs

Q. How are the Metaverse and virtual reality different for travel?

A. Some people initially need help comprehending how the Metaverse differs from current AR/VR market trends. In essence, the development of an interactive virtual environment is what defines the Metaverse in the hospitality and travel industry; as a result, virtual reality can be used but is not necessary. It is a part of the Metaverse and needs to be completely independent.

Interactive virtual worlds can be created and explored using video games, interactive video, augmented reality, and other related technology. Consider virtual reality as one potential technology for facilitating metaverse tourist options to understand this contrast better. 

Q. Will the Metaverse replace travel?

A. Immersive experiences of various kinds are already enhancing travel and hospitality, even though virtual travel may only partially replace real-world travel. There is no doubt that since the pandemic, the travel industry has suffered. For reasons galore, people prefer to travel through the Metaverse. Even though we can say for sure that physical exploration has its own essence and excitement, metaverse traveling is gaining popularity quickly.

Q. How can travel brands start their journey into the metaverse travel industry?

A. For enhanced or contextual interaction and hyper-personalized experiences, travel businesses first need a digital IT backbone that can support the architectural subtleties of the Metaverse and is built on 5G, edge computing devices, cloud computing, connected smart devices, and more. The next step is for travel brands to develop and profit from the appropriate technology and NFTs. Blockchain will offer transaction support, smart contracts for all Metaverse uses, and trading opportunities for NFTs. 

However, to make the process simpler, travel businesses can also reach out to metaverse development companies like Appinventiv to explore metaverse for travel. It will reduce the burden on your team and make sure you get expert-quality results. 

THE AUTHOR

Sudeep Srivastava

Co-Founder and Director