Will the metaverse change the way the travel industry operates?

Covid-19 has pushed us to try out alternative ways to satisfy our urge for travel. It has also prompted organizations to accelerate technology adoption, fueled by the demand to find a substitute for travel. While there aren’t too many major solutions that have emerged in this space so far, a lot of work is going on behind the scenes. Technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) will make it possible to provide a more immersive virtual travel experience in the future. Enter the game-changer – the ‘Metaverse’.

Owing to a quantum leap in technology advancements, the line between what is physical and digital is gradually getting blurred. Off late, there has been a lot of buzz about the metaverse and the fact that Facebook changed its parent organization’s name to ‘Meta’. It has sparked debate about the future of the metaverse and its impact on various businesses and the way we live our lives. The views on this topic are ‘diverse’, so to speak.

So, what is the metaverse? In simple terms, we would say it’s the immersive version of the internet, or a centralized virtual world, or a parallel digital universe. Something that we can all probably relate to, is Second Life – an online virtual world where one creates digital avatars of themselves, and lead digital lives, just like they would in the outside world. But the metaverse is much more than that. As a concept, it is in its infancy – there’s still long way to go before any real use cases emerge. A lot of what we are hearing right now is mere speculations and marketing hype. One thing to bear in mind though is that it may be what defines our future – just like how the internet took root in the seventies.

Currently, avatars exist within the platforms that provide the immersive experience, and they are not interchangeable. The concept of the metaverse is that avatars will be platform[1]agnostic, and we can seamlessly move around our digital assets from one platform to the other. This means that it’s interoperable and allows users to move around freely just like they would in the physical world.

So, the question is, if this parallel digital universe keeps expanding, what would its impact be on the Travel industry? Will people stop traveling altogether, and rather look to experience global destinations in virtual reality mode only? Will life as we know it transforms into a sci-fi movie? Not quite yet.

There’s no replacement for the human senses – it’s a combination of all the senses that help us experience various places. But if only one or two of those senses are being employed, then how can you really say that you’re experiencing a place? How do you substitute the feeling of droplets from a waterfall splashing on your skin, the gush of wind in your face, the smell of the earth after the rains, or the warmth of the sun caressing your face on a cold morning? Similarly, there is no replacement for human interaction – speaking to bots cannot give you the same feeling of meeting someone for the first time, building a connection, having a laugh together, or just enjoying each other’s company.

As you can see, the metaverse cannot replace travel completely. However, it will complement travel in a big way, and over time, it will be an essential part of the travel ecosystem. It could even change the way in which travelers engage in pre, post & in-trip purchases.

Here are the top 8 areas where I think the metaverse may change the Travel industry:

1. Destination Window Shopping: Think about how it would feel if you had the ability to check out a destination before you travelled there. Imagine wandering down the streets of Rome, making plans and bookmarking the places you’d like to visit before the actual trip? It would be wonderful, wouldn’t it? The opportunities are endless – one could compare destinations before deciding where to visit, evaluate whether an attraction is worth visiting or have a look at the view before picking a hotel. This new immersive experience will be a great leap from the current modes of vacation planning that include reading blogs/magazines and watching YouTube videos. To make the experience even more immersive, an embedded AR technology can guide you through your virtual visit just like a tour guide would.
2. Historical Travel: I want to travel to the Colosseum from 1,000 years ago, but alas, I was born a millennium too late. Can the metaverse make this dream a reality though? How cool would that be?! The metaverse can be used to recreate landmarks and buildings in all their past glory – a simulation of course, but effective, nonetheless. This will allow travelers to learn about history and experience how our ancestors lived.
3. Hotel and Cruise Walkthrough: Before I choose a hotel room, I would like to virtually walk through the entire property and decide whether it matches my tastes, rather than just reading about it through reviews and looking at airbrushed pictures uploaded by the property. I really want to see how the room looks, and which direction it would be facing before I finalize my stay. That kind of detail is normally not available today even with 360-degree views, and many-a-times, we are in for a rude shock when we reach the room. I’m quite certain that the metaverse is going to be an integral part of the hotel booking experience soon, and hoteliers will have to have their presence in the metaverse. On the same note, cruise experiences are unique, and many different cruises have different layouts and standards of stay. Just like hotels, if customers could get a sense of the amenities onboard beforehand, it would help them avoid buyer’s remorse and enable them to plan their vacation better.
4. Travel Bucket List: There are many places that are in my bucket list, and I realize that there are a lot of those that I probably would never be able to visit. I would rather be able to visit those places virtually, than not visit them at all. That’s another area that the metaverse experience can help generate value and generate additional revenue streams, if monetized properly. Even theme parks can have a presence in the metaverse, which can be accessed by kids and adults who can’t make the trip to experience it in person. Think about an underprivileged child enjoying the ‘Revenge of the Mummy’ ride in Universal Studios virtually – would that not be awesome?
5. Airlines: Both Boeing and Airbus want to make metaverse work in the aviation industry and are betting big on it. Boeing is entering the metaverse to develop aircrafts, which may be ambitious and could be a strategic move, but at least they have started thinking about the future. Airlines may also start thinking about adopting the metaverse experience to boost the air travel experience – being able to check out the seats, legroom, cabin baggage fitment, infant bassinet placement etc. on the plane, for instance. This can enhance customer experience and help them shop for flights.
6. Metaverse Tourism: Virtual experiences can be a boon for disabled and elderly people whose mobility is constrained. It can transport them to far-flung places from the comfort of their home and allow them to tick off the destinations on their list which they could never go to. It will also help reduce anxiety, loneliness, and improve their mental health. This in turn will enable rehabilitation and increase the overall quality of life. Historical travel will allow the elderly to take a trip down memory lane, quite literally!
7. Train Stations and Airports: Once when I was at the tube station in Kings Cross in London, which had multiple levels of stations underground, I was a little overwhelmed. I found it hard to navigate around the station, and I was about to miss the train which would connect me to the airport. I remember thinking to myself, if only there was a virtual experience that would have helped me familiarize with the station beforehand. Busy places can be overwhelming at times, especially when you are with family and small kids. It is a similar case with busy airports, with multiple terminals. The metaverse experience can help travelers be comfortable with the location before they travel there.
8. e-Commerce: What if you could shop at a metaverse store at one of your favorite travel destinations, and ship it home? That would be a perfect merger of tourism and eCommerce in a digital[1]physical handshake? Shops at these physical locations can increase their footfall by extending their presence into the metaverse. This will bring forth a new digital economy – one where users can create, buy, and sell goods with NFTs/cryptocurrencies. If a virtual shop gains popularity in the metaverse, at any destination, the opportunity arises to make a physical replica of it at the tourist spot. Sounds very futuristic, doesn’t it? Taking it even further, think about a scenario where a shop in the streets of San Francisco is owned by someone and the same shop in the metaverse may be owned by someone else. That would be quite odd, wouldn’t it?

All of this and beyond, is possible in a parallel virtual world, which will be a digital replica of the physical world. I’d like to reiterate – the opportunities are endless. The metaverse can help boost the Travel & Tourism industries, including hospitality, airlines, cruises, etc. People have opposing views of the metaverse at this time, since it’s still in its initial stage. But it is moving fast as bigger corporations including the likes of Meta (Facebook), Microsoft, Nvidia, Google and a handful of other companies have started investing in this space including, but not limited to, gaming, hardware, networking, virtual platforms, payment services, social media, etc. This augments various tools and standards, leading to a more mature, and real metaverse. The younger generations can adopt metaverse at an unimaginable pace, being digital-natives and tech-savvy travelers, so it is just a matter of time before one realizes the metaverse is here, and that it’s here to stay.

Source: Times of India