4 Ways VR And AR Can Enhance
The Travel Experience
Extended Reality In Tourism:

© 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
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Introduction
Introduction
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are transforming many
industries, including travel and tourism. Here we explore the different ways
these technologies are used for things like virtual travel, immersive tours, and
augmented destination guides.
Extended Reality In Tourism: 4 Ways VR and AR Can
Enhance The Travel Experience

© 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Travel is a sector that I’m particularly passionate about, and one that’s suffered
immensely in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. As the industry looks to the
future, one of its biggest concerns will be how to improve the whole travel
experience and reduce some of the “pain points” that come with travel. I
believe VR and AR could help with this.
Here are four ways VR and AR can make travel better.

© 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
1. Virtual travel
VR allows us to explore new places without physically traveling there, leading some to
speculate whether virtual travel could ever replace the real thing. Personally, I don’t think
it will. Virtual travel could never compete with the sights, sounds, smells and sensations of
being in an exciting new place. But there’s certainly value in being able to explore parts of
the world virtually – not least because we can check out destinations before we decide
whether to travel there in real life.
Virtual travel can also help visitors experience destinations that are remote, difficult to get
to, or need to be preserved without humans trampling around all over the place. The
Patagonia VR experience on Oculus Rift is one example of a particularly rich virtual travel
experience. Exploring the mountain landmark of Monte Fitzroy, and specifically Laguna
Sucia, the remote glacial lake that lies at the foot of the mountain, this VR experience
gives users access to a stunning glacial lake that’s hard to reach in real life.

© 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
2. Virtual hotel tours
Thanks to virtual tours, holidaymakers can check out hotels in more detail before they
book – kind of like a “try before you buy” (or “fly” as the case may be). Several upscale
resorts are now embracing virtual tours as a way to show off their stunning locations and
world-class amenities, including a number of resorts in The Maldives. Importantly, many of
these tours can be experienced using just a smartphone, tablet, or computer, meaning you
don't need a headset to explore your next holiday destination.
In one example, Atlantis, the Palm in Dubai – situated on The Palm Jumeirah, the famous
manmade palm-shaped archipelago – has created a stunning 360 panoramic VR video.
The video provides a whistle-stop tour of the hotel's key features, taking in the impressive
lobby, the Royal Bridge (the biggest suite in the hotel), one of the underwater suites (yes,
underwater), the famous Nobu restaurant, the aquarium, pool, and waterpark, and
finishing with a nighttime stroll around the gardens.

© 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
3. Test drive excursions and attractions
As well as checking out different hotels, VR can also help travelers test drive different trips
and excursions on offer in their chosen destinations. In other words, you can try out
various experiences to decide how you really want to spend your time and money when
you arrive on vacation. Virtual excursions can therefore help holidaymakers get more out
of their precious vacation time.
But VR trips may also help to encourage bookings in the first place – meaning, a customer
may be more inclined to book a vacation once they’ve got a better idea of the fantastic
excursions on offer in a resort. British travel agent Thomas Cook experimented with
immersive VR experiences that allowed customers to try out different excursions, including
a helicopter tour of Manhattan. The company reported a 190 percent uplift in bookings
for New York vacations after customers tried the five-minute New York VR experience in
store. That has to make travel companies, keen to increase bookings after the pandemic,
sit up and take notice.

© 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
4. Immersive navigation
So, you’ve virtually visited your chosen destination in advance, taken a VR tour of your
hotel, and even tried out a few virtual excursions. Now you’ve arrived at your destination
and are ready to hit up your first landmark. If only you could find it…
This is where AR can help – specifically, AR-infused navigation. As the go-to navigational
app for most of us, it’s no surprise that Google Maps now incorporates an AR feature for
those who are navigating on foot. (At the time of writing, it’s not available for users who
are driving.) Called Live View and announced in 2019, the AR route-finding feature is
available on all ARCore and ARKit-enabled mobile devices, and in any locations where
Google already has Street View. The idea is simple: using the Google Maps app and said
AR-enabled device, big arrows, and easy-to-follow directions are overlayed onscreen onto
the street view, to guide users on which direction to walk and where to turn.

© 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
4. Immersive navigation
The idea may be simple, but it’s small advances like this that help to make
international travel a heck of a lot easier. So, if you ever end up lost in a busy
foreign city, or if you simply struggle to make sense of 2D maps, AR-enhanced
route-finding is for you.
Read more about extended reality technologies in my new book, Extended
Reality in Practice: 100+ Amazing Ways Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality
Are Changing Business and Society. It’s packed with real-world examples from
travel, hospitality and many other industries.

Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker, futurist, and a
strategic business & technology advisor to governments and companies. He helps
organisations improve their business performance, use data more intelligently, and
understand the implications of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data,
blockchains, and the Internet of Things.
LinkedIn has ranked Bernard as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers. He is a frequent
contributor to the World Economic Forum and writes a regular column for Forbes. Every day
Bernard actively engages his 1.5 million social media followers and shares content that
reaches millions of readers.
Visit The
Website
© 2020 Bernard Marr , Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
© 2017 Bernard Marr , Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
© 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker, futurist, and a
strategic business & technology advisor to governments and companies. He helps
organisations improve their business performance, use data more intelligently, and
understand the implications of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data,
blockchains, and the Internet of Things.
LinkedIn has ranked Bernard as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers. He is a frequent
contributor to the World Economic Forum and writes a regular column for Forbes. Every day
Bernard actively engages his 1.5 million social media followers and shares content that
reaches millions of readers.
Visit The
Website

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© 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved