Page 5 - YOU Magazine | Issue 2

The new era of travel
Once used as a fun marketing gimmick,
virtual reality technology is now being deployed to offer out-of-reach travel experiences to Australians unable to travel internationally.
Arather famous Irish poet once suggested that we should live without excuse and travel without regret.
But, clearly Oscar Wilde had little concept of the difficulties of containing a world-wide pandemic, or travel in a post-COVID world where borders remain closed indefinitely and supporting industries are crippled as a result.
As recent events have shown
us, there has never been a greater need for technologies that help
us enhance limited physical environments. And, as it happens, virtual reality (VR) has been developed for just such an occasion.
Already being used to help those with dementia recall old memories, and assist people with particular vision impairments, such as Stargardt disease, to see images more clearly, the industry that began with Google Maps and 360o visits has now set its sights on the tourism sector.
Its use is widespread
The use of virtual reality technology within the travel industry is still in its relative infancy, however a growing number of companies are experimenting with VR headsets and finding good uses for them.
Immersive videos of Australian holiday destinations created by Tourism Australia have been viewed more than 10.5 million times over the past two years, whilst research conducted by the same organisation shows that almost one in five travellers have used VR to choose a holiday destination.
Further afield, a series of short virtual reality tours around Cuba created for JetBlue airlines has been viewed by more than 700,000 people.
Used to capture tourism events such as the Star Wars parade at Disneyland Hong Kong or reindeer
You WINTER 2020 5