Virtual Tourism Vs. Traditional Tourism

The global tourism industry is worth more than USD 2000 bn with a crucial node of benefits attached to several other industrial sectors. While the nCOVID-19 situation has forced the traditional tourism industry to take a virtual route, it has also sent a series of tremors to other industries like space, aviation, hospitality, event management, etc. Amidst the upcoming worldly financial crisis, we have to prepare in advance to effectively counter every obstacle and convert every possible challenge into an opportunity. Simultaneously, as the years of human efforts have helped us to unlock the potential of several technology verticals, the digital tools are going to grab unanimous attention of the tourism industry in the coming months. To have an in-depth look at both the challenges and opportunities of using digital technology for tourism, we will breakdown essential points related to How Digital Technology Will Reincarnate the Tourism Industry:

Opportunities:

1. Bringing the world closer than ever: The nCOVID-19 has sent a strong message of social distancing but the virtual reality (VR) technology provides an opportunity to replace the physical activity during similar situation of global crisis. This indeed creates a long-lasting value chain of content creators, software developers, and designers. While several famous tourist attractions like Le Musee du Louvre, Rijksmuseum, Grand Canyon and Yosemite National Park are already available for VR experience, after nCOVID-19 the industry will accelerate its virtual footprint across several tourism verticals. VR will not only increase the importance for museums and national monuments but will also bring together the experts from technology domain to make the user experience more reliable. And this will in-turn boost the employment opportunities for the people from several walks of life.

2. Mammoth size market opportunities for software service providers: It is evident that until the nCOVID-19 is not completely normalized, the hardware products related to travel equipment will be at a halt. But the tables will turn towards the software sector as the VR experience will create high demand for software developers. From front end-user experience to back end technology for online businesses, software developers will help the online tourism companies to crack the code of high-quality software services.

3. Seizing business Opportunities Through Independent Content Creators: Media and entertainment industry has long been an integral part of popularizing the travel lifestyle. But in this highly competitive ecosystem, including SMEs and Startups, Independent content creators hardly get noticeable traction. Famous Travel YouTubers like Drew Binsky, Mark Weins and Anna Marisax, have created some of the best content with raw footage of their journey over the years. These kinds of Independent content creators might help online tourism businesses to navigate the uncharted territories for an effective VR experience. And these partnerships will ultimately create a plethora of commercial business opportunities in the coming years.

Challenges:

1. Possibility of high regulations: As the digital platforms take the centre stage of each and every industry, there is a high possibility of increased piracy in the coming years. For example, in the media and entertainment sector, many international Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, etc. have strict regulations for accessing premium content. But more than 50% of the premium content still becomes easily available on pirated networks. Similarly, in the tourism industry, many pirated networks will keep a close eye on the visual content. And this will in-turn take away all the charm of several famous tourist sites, which might even lead to a less physical influx of tourists after the nCOVID-19 situation. Therefore, both public and private entities have to wait until a new set of regulations is rolled out by the government with respect to the evolving online tourism market.

2. Cyber security concerns: The cyber security remains the top priority for not only tourism companies but also for freelance writers, designers, photographers, etc. One of the key concerns while executing the online tourism business models is to ensure that your website is not manipulated by scammers. Having a poor cyber infrastructure might lead to a significant loss of both content and business. With is being said, there are several freelance cyber security developers currently working serving clients across the world. Startups and SMEs are the ones who can take the route of bringing freelance cyber security experts onboard their respective venture; though this might also increase the operational cost of the business. While the tourism giants which are currently in a digital transition phase need a group of several experts with high-end capabilities to tackle the online scammers and pirated networks.

3. Supply Vs. Demand: Amidst the storm of the tech revolution, the supply chain management of digital products for the tourism industry is still yet to unlock its mass production capabilities. In the current situation of global health emergency where a majority of the production plants are shutdown, the mass production of hardware gears necessary for VR experience is tough at the moment. Though 2D format visuals are easily accessible, the hardware systems are very crucial for an appealing VR experience.

Conclusion

The overall essence of the tourism market is currently flattening across the financial curve with respect to physical operations. But the show must go on as the current global crisis is a temporary situation and the industry has opportunity to increase its learning curve and explore several verticals of business using digital technology. As the global tourism operations will be transitioning to digital platforms for the moment, it will also prepare the industry to deploy on site tech products in the market for extreme travelers, which will be high demand after the eradication of nCOVID-19.

While the culmination of digital tools will amplify online tourism market opportunities, the industry should also thoroughly research and analyze several challenges involved in the process; before fully utilizing the digital tools. Though the roll out of new regulations and cyber security challenges remain uncertain, the tourism industry has a chance to revamp its presence by dissecting and utilizing the global technology sphere.