The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had a serious effect on many industries, tourism being one of the major ones. Restrictions are slowly beginning to ease but there’s still a way to go until you can safely jet off to a foreign location for a holiday. Those hankering for somewhere other than the four walls of their home then the new Travel World VR app might just help.
Travel World VR is a New Jersey-based company which specialised in sales and marketing for travel agents, resorts, cruise lines and other tourist attractions. It did this by creating 360-degree videos for a clients customer to immerse themselves at a particular location before buying.
Now Travel World VR is bringing its expertise to the home market, allowing mobile users to enjoy 50 immersive experiences with more being added each week. As the app is free for iOS and Android devices viewers can either scroll around the video with their finger, move the phone around as if looking through a windowpane or drop their phone into a headset for a more immersive viewing experience.
While this time of virtual reality (VR) content had its heyday 2-3 years ago thanks to Gear VR and Google Cardboard, most of the major VR players have left this sector behind. Those that do want a cardboard headset they are still available, you can even get a free one through the Travel World VR app.
Cardboard headsets might not be the go-to choice for instant VR anymore but 360-degree video content still offers a useful marketing tool for companies looking to promote destinations. That ‘try-before-you-buy’ experience can be a powerful selling tool, giving a small taste of that desired location.
Weirdly, now might be the best time for this type of app. While everyone’s movement is restricted there’s going to be a growing desire to head somewhere at the soonest opportunity and software like Travel World VR will help feed that further.
As the travel industry gets back on its feet and once again employs VR as another tool in its arsenal, VRFocus will keep you updated with all the latest announcements.