Introduction
Virtual Reality Tourism has its roots in the vastly intricate and complex computer system that is more widely known as Virtual Reality. Virtual Reality is a computerized graphic image that represents an area of space that exists in reality. Such representations were originally used for military training purposes before it was adapted by airline industries for training of commercial pilots. Eventually, the program founds it way to video games, medical procedures, and more recently, the tourism industry. A virtual reality can be created not only on a computer screen but in rooms as well. These rooms are known as “immersive theatres” or “immersive walls” and use 8-24 feet long screens to fill the peripheral vision of the person. This is not to be confused with desktop reality that is used in computer games in 3D.
Main Text
In order to understand what Virtual Reality Tourism is all about, we first need to understand what it means. Virtual Reality Tourism is a concept of a place and time that is based within a virtual world, or rather, a computer based simulated environment whose purpose is to promote interaction between users who interact via avatars. A Virtual Reality Tourism concept is something that is based upon 3 dimensional graphic representations and auditory and touch stimulants. In the world of virtual tourism, we can be transported to any country and have the ability to interact and manipulate the elements within the world we are touring in a way that would not be possible in reality. A Virtual Reality Tour will allow a person to tailor his surroundings and activities to his specific likes and dislikes. It is going to be highly similar to the real thing but with the difference of actual gravity, topography, locomotion and sometimes, delays in real time actions.
All of the aforementioned actions become possible through the use of an artificial computer based reality. In order to gain a Virtual Reality feeling on the tour, one must be equipped with stereoscopic goggles which will provide the 3-D images, a tracking device in order to monitor actions. Tracking devices usually come in the form of data gloves or the goggles themselves.
There is a direct link between the existence of the internet and Virtual Reality Tourism. A number of years back, virtual reality was only a dream. A concept of being able to visit various cultural and heritage sites without actually being there. It was a “Virtual Tour” of the place. Then the internet proved that it would be possible to display images of such sites on the web for everyone to see. This began the Virtual Reality Tourism exploration. These days, it is not uncommon to have 3D models of buildings, objects and sites that will allow us to “visit” the site and manipulate it on our computer screens. Lately, heritage buildings and sites have been added to the list thus giving rise to the term “Virtual Reality Tourism”.
I remember the first time I came across the concept of Virtual Reality Tourism. It was in the 1990 Film “Total Recall” starring Arnold Schawzenegger. In this movie, Virtual Reality Tourism had already left the concept of basic heritage sites and modern architecture and delved into Virtual Reality Tourism of other planets. Then there was the earlier exploration of virtual reality by Hollywood in the film Lawnmower Man starring Pierce Brosnan. I was fascinated by the ability of man to recreate actual locations of places existing across the world without having to leave the comfort of home. Virtual Reality Tourism, from what I saw, would be the answer to all the travel dilemma’s known to man.
Using Virtual Reality to travel means that man will no longer have to put up with various time consuming security measures and pre-departure nightmares that are known to everyday vacationers and travelers. It would eliminate the needs for visas and provide equal access to travel to all men. Such type of travel would mean that security risks and physical limitations would no longer exist because everything would be done from the safety of home or a controlled computer environment.
Although virtual reality tourism can be considered cost prihibitive at this time, due to the technology involved and the limited access that people have to it, I have read enough information pertaining to the area to understand that the cost of the technology, just like anything related to computers, can eventually go down and be enjoyed by many.
However, there are many concerns regarding the rise of Virtual Reality Tourism companies. This is because of the way Virtual Reality Tourism tends to cut into profits and employment opportunities normally offered by actual tourism. Since Virtual Reality does not exist in real time and space, there is no need for the traveler to purchase things like plane tickets, hotel accommodations, transportation, and other things normally associated with travel and touring because he never actually left his existing area and can choose to begin, resume, and end his “travel” experience anytime he feels like it. Basically, the income generated by virtual tourism is not something that can be shared by many as in the case of actual tourism and travel. As an income generating venture, Virtual Tourism only works for the people who own the proprietary technology and those who promote the industry.
When you consider everything, Virtual Tourism can be considered to be the most perfect way of travel known to man. But, it also raises some totally new questions regarding the safety of use and travel in “virtual worlds / countries”. Health concerns abound regarding the potential mental affects on the due to the way the technology involved in such an activity. Since such tours involve the use of highly specialized computer equipment such as Virtual Reality goggles and touch sensitive gloves, there is a tendency for the user to not be able to tell the difference between reality and a virtual environment. Although Virtual Tourism allows the user to safely engage in activities he normally would not undertake on a tour due to health concerns, he can try such activities
and not have any after effects. Or at least, that is what most people believe. After all, what the mind sees and what the body experiences is totally disconnected from whether a person is actually doing the activity or just engaged in it virtually.
So, do I think Virtual Reality Tourism will catch on? Does it have the potential to take over the way man takes vacations and does vacations in the future? My answer is yes. Virtual Tourism has the potential to change the way we view tourism today. It has the potential to also lessen all the security scares and concerns that seem to prevent people from traveling these days. But, it is going to take a very long time before such technologies become affordable to everyone. Until the technology is perfected, only Hollywood can portray potentially accurate scenes of virtual tourism.
Right now, I do not see any reason for Virtual Reality Tourism not to succeed as the computer software and hardware developers constantly innovate and develop more modern ways and means of perfecting the virtual activity. It is a tremendous money maker for the developers and promoters. As for the nature conservationists, this technology will be the perfect tool for them to promote their causes and preserve natural sites and historical areas that have come to decay but still make for good crowd drawers during tours.
Virtual Reality Tours still has its drawbacks however. Very few people will be able to afford the trips that the technology will allow and the technology seems to be proprietary for now. Also, the technology is still mostly used for video games and military or aviation training purposes. This is because these scenarios are easier to create and offer more to the developers in terms of investment rather than the recreation entailed in creating a virtual heritage site.
But the one thing that Virtual Reality Tourism will never do is take over as the main way man takes his vacations and does his business. Virtual Reality is great but there is still something different and unexplainable about actually going to a place and experiencing it in actuality. There is a tremendous satisfaction that can be had from actually touching an object and immersing in the culture, traditions, and ways of a particular country or place that cannot be replicated by Virtual Reality Tourism. Virtual Tours are nice and enjoyable to a certain degree. But the human interaction that is necessary to make the experience a memorable one will simply be missing from the equation. So maybe Virtual Reality Tourism will be a fad for a period of time. It may even be the travel method of choice for some people, but actual tourism is here to stay.
In order to give you a feel of what it is like to take a Virtual Reality Tour, at least on the desktop, please follow the links below to some of the more notable heritage sites on the net:
- British Tours: Virtual Tours
- Virtual Reality Tours of the Historical Scientific and Cultural Sites of Philadelphia
- The Metropolitan Museum or Art Virtual Reality Tour
- Hawaiian Islands VR 360 Tour
- Virtual Reality Tour of Edmonton
Conclusion
As you can see, there is a growing following for virtual reality tourism and I do not doubt that this area of tourism will remain little tapped for now. It has a tremendous future ahead of it just waiting to explode.
Work Cited
Letellier, Robin. N.A. Virtual Reality: A new tool for sustainable tourism and cultural heritage sites management. Web.
Stuer, J. (1992). Defining virtual reality: dimensions of determining telepresence. The Journal of Communication. Web.
PC Magazine. Definition: Virtual Reality. 2008. Web.