Union Festival Digital

Virtual Tourism: Exploring the World from Your Living Room

It might sound a little weird, but virtual tourism is real; if you’re not participating, you’re missing out. 

Virtual tourism allows anyone to visit famous places around the world from the comfort of their couch. You must search for that specific location, open a VR tour on the location website, and enjoy.

This type of travel gained most popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic when people needed a way to leave the house without actually leaving it. 

Let’s take a better look at what virtual tourism is and how it works. 

What is Virtual Travel? Exploring VR and Immersive Experiences

Virtual travel is an umbrella term for visiting real-life places using the internet. It can mean viewing images of your bucket list travel destination, but it’s much more interactive most of the time. 

The more modern versions of virtual travel typically refer to ‘visiting’ different locations, with the added ability to move around freely or semi-freely along with having a 360 view of your surroundings. 

Google Street View is the simplest example of this, but it can reach much further than that. 

The Rise of Virtual Tours: A Growing Trend in Tourism

When Google Street View came out, everyone was exploring worldwide, and more prominent institutions and even countries started to notice. So, look at some of the most famous locations you can visit online.

The Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Through 360-degree videos, you can dive into the Australian coastline and get a closer look at the sections of the Great Barrier Reef. 

While seeing it all is impossible, you can visit some parts that make up the reef. For some, it is the only way to bear the cold water. 

Machu Picchu, Peru

Suppose you’ve ever wanted to visit the ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu but don’t have a way of getting to the Eastern Cordillera of the southern part of Peru. In that case, you should know that you can visit this Amazon historic site virtually through the machupicchu360vr.com website. 

The Sistine Chapel, Vatican City

Maybe you want to visit the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City but can’t afford the expensive flight and visitation tickets. The whole tour of the Vatican is available either through Google or the official Vatican VR website. 

Keep in mind that these are just some of the locations you can visit. Chances are if you want to go somewhere, look for the location on Google and just add VR tour to the search phrase, and it will appear. 

How VR Travel Works: Technology Behind the Experience

We’ve said multiple times in the article that VR travels works through the internet, but it’s not that simple. For tech enthusiasts who own a VR headset, the experience is much more realistic. 

Regardless of the gear used to access the tour, it works similarly. 360-degree images are downloaded from the website, and you can use your mouse or your finger (depending on your device) to look and sometimes even move around. 

For VR headset users, the experience is much more immersive, as instead of swiping around, they have to look around physically. 

VR Travel for Families and Educators: Fun and Learning Combined

This type of travel isn’t just for individuals but can be a group activity.

 

VR Travel for Families

Armchair travel is also an exciting choice for families traveling on a budget. You can sit with your family and experience visiting real-life places by streaming it on television. 

It might be tedious for children to walk through the whole Luver, but they are much more likely to stay interested while jumping around the various sections. 

VR Travel for Learning 

For teachers who want to add excitement to the classroom, VR travel can be an excellent way to switch up the mood. This can be especially useful for elementary school students. For example, instead of showing plain images of the Great Wall of China, take your class on a virtual field trip and let them see it more effectively. 

Conclusion

Virtual tourism opens a world of possibilities, blending technology with the thrill of exploration. 

Whether diving into the Great Barrier Reef, walking through Machu Picchu, or marveling at the Sistine Chapel, VR travel offers accessible, immersive experiences for everyone. 

It’s an innovative way to satisfy wanderlust, learn, and connect with the world without leaving your living room.

 

 


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