The travel industry has undoubtedly suffered a major setback since the start of the pandemic. But thanks to the potential of Metaverse, there are plenty of growth opportunities for the travel industry now. The travel industry is witnessing a massive digital transformation, and travel companies are implementing Metaverse digital solutions into their operations and processes to deliver travelers a unified, unique experience.
According to a report, the global online travel industry is estimated to reach $1,835.6 billion by 2031 at a CAGR of 14.8% for the forecast period 2022-2031. Online travel providers aim to ease the whole travel planning and booking process for travelers. With Metaverse tourism, market players are extensively offering travel services in a unique way.
The whole concept of Metaverse application development tourism promotes the “Try before buy” concept, where users can interact with 3D virtual versions of real-life spaces and locations. Adding to this, users can explore the travel destination with digital avatars and can engage with each other or brands with digital storefronts. Many travel businesses are embracing AR and VR to gain a competitive edge by emphasizing their positioning as high-quality service providers.
While Metaverse tourism is still a new concept for many, let’s understand in detail how Metaverse is transforming the travel industry.
Inspiration sources
Inspiring travelers to explore new locations is a significant benefit of Metaverse tourism. Interactive VR experiences connected with a Metaverse marketplace reproduce real-world scenarios like holiday destinations, hotels, and venues, enabling travelers to get a taste of what they will experience on the actual trip. This interactive experience can work as a pre-sale demo to promote real tourism packages. Moreover, travel companies can generate additional revenue by selling these unique VR experiences separately, as users love to purchase digital content that is both highly interactive and immersive.
3D Metaverse hotels
Metaverse travel is making the hotel booking experience more engaging for users. Nowadays, most people look for the best online properties and pre-book their stay. However, the website or a travel app does not attain the specific level of engagement that Metaverse offers. The virtual world of Metaverse is very realistic and gives a unique experience. Hotel businesses are leveraging Metaverse by recreating the virtual designs of their properties.
The benefit is that consumers will make informed decisions by comparing the different packages, companies, and services offered. Singapore’s Millennium hotels are one of the first organizations to invite guests to virtual hotel tours. M Social Hotel, which opened in May 2022, exists on a platform called Decentraland, one of its first digital hotels. The hotel welcomes virtual avatars to tour their hotel, and guests are greeted harmoniously in the lobby and shown the space by a Millennium hotel employee.
Interaction in booking:
Booking in Metaverse enables users to experience their stay, the facilities they will get, and more. You can interact with a real or virtual agent, negotiate deals, combine packages/services, and pay more conveniently in Metaverse. Moreover, companies can also provide digital coupons during virtual tours that can be redeemed on the actual visit by travelers. One example would be Thomas Cook’s VR excursions to Manhattan, which offered visitors a ‘five-minute taster’ of the skyline, and the company saw a 190% increase in related bookings.
Metaverse flying experience
Airlines are starting to explore new features of Metaverse travel, like virtual cabin crews and flights. Prominent airline companies like Lufthansa, Emirates, and more are investing heavily in Metaverse development. These companies offer digital experiences like e-stores, lounges, virtual flights, and more. These experiences will earn loyalty points which can be redeemed physically with exclusive discounts or cabin upgrades.
Qatar Airways was one of the first companies to dive into Metaverse development. It introduces Qverse, a VR platform unique to the airline that can be accessed from the airline’s website. Users can access the full virtual tour of the cabin hosted by Qatar’s own ‘Metahuman’ cabin crew. This cabin crew guides users through an incredibly realistic experience from the comfort of their homes.
Wrapping Up!
With the advent of the Metaverse, the future of travel is inevitable. However, we’ve only scratched Metaverse’s surface, which is still developing. The new trend will transform the traditional mode of traveling into digital traveling at a greater depth. As a business owner, you must understand the concept of future traveling and capitalize on these benefits of Metaverse traveling before your competitors. Adding on, you can explore the best Metaverse application development companies to know the real-time benefits of Metaverse tourism. They will guide you to grow your travel business with a custom metaverse application.
