During the winter period, many of you probably dream of going to some warmer place or, on the contrary, would like to make the most of this snowy time, for example, on a ski slope. There are many possibilities. However, regardless of their preferences, everyone is definitely tired of the gray rainy days outside the window and would like to escape from this gloomy reality for at least a moment. I must say right away that virtual reality at this stage, technology is no substitute for real travel. However, in this article, I will share some examples where it has become a great tool for planning your next vacation and adding to the tourist attractions that await you.

Virtual Reality: see what awaits you.

Thanks to modern technologies, we can expand our experience of exploring our world. Ordinary videos or photos that appear on the websites of travel agencies will never leave us with such an impression as the real views of these places. VR technology doesn’t fully capture this either, but it brings us closer to achieving our journey’s goal than two-dimensional presentations. The potential of this technology was enough to make it an important part of the tourism industry. Currently, more and more travel agencies around the world offer this experience at the time of submitting their offers. Some of them have even completely switched to the Internet and present them exclusively in this form. The hospitality industry has also seen this potential, and many hotels now allow virtual travel across their facility’s space. The ability to present it in virtual form definitely increases interest in these objects. Virtual journey this adds immersion, evokes emotions associated with the place, so it affects the subsequent decision of their potential guest.

An example of such items is hotels such as:

• Atlantis Dubai,
• Pullman Brisbane King George Square,
• Grand Oasis Hotel,
• Valamar Dubrovnik President Hotel.

Of course, there are many more such examples, but they are the most representative, and they were among the first who decided to take such a step. This is definitely a great idea for advertising your property and a unique example of using modern technologies in tourism.

However, the examples above mostly refer to people who have already chosen their destination and know what and where they would like to see. But what about indecisive people?

Apps have been created for such people, such as Wander VR, which allows users to explore virtual spaces thanks to real-world images from Google Street View and Google Earth. They allow the user to choose the place that will touch their heart the most out of all the other places available in the world. There are also apps like When we stayed home, the creators of which used the period of the Covid-19 pandemic to create fantastic recordings from the then-devastated Venice, Jerusalem, Paris and Tokyo. Usually, we don’t have the ability to see these empty spaces, which definitely adds to the appeal of this app.

However, there are people among us who are also interested in traveling and foreign culture, but for many reasons cannot afford such a vacation. It is for this purpose that applications such as National Geographic Explore VR were created.. They allow you to interactively explore the space corresponding to the specified places on earth. Attractions such as climbing glaciers, visiting ancient structures, and exploring the history and culture of our ancestors are now available from the comfort of your home. They may not be equivalent to a true journey, but they do give you access to space and experiences that you wouldn’t be able to experience without this app. I think this is a great alternative to documentaries, which this time allows you to be in the center of historical events.

For fans of Asian culture, I also recommend the Tokyo Origami app, which, thanks to its unique form, allows you to better understand the complexity of this community and learn aspects of its participation. The app, consisting of eight episodes, gives us the opportunity to immerse ourselves in culture, traditions and history.

3D reconstruction-virtual time travel.

Recently, I had the opportunity to personally get acquainted with the use of VR / AR technology in tourism. It was in Italy, during a visit to the baths of Caracalla – the largest preserved complex of Roman baths. For the price of seven euros, you can rent a VR headset or purchase access to the AR app for your phone to see the reconstruction of this object. This significantly increased the user experience. This allowed us to take a completely different look at today’s remains, to see in them the true cultural heritage left by our ancestors. The fascination that this opportunity to see this place from the perspective of the people living at that time caused me, and the sight of the remains themselves, changed my approach to studying forever. As it turned out later, there are many more examples of using these technologies in Rome itself than I expected:

• Terme di Diocleziano
• Domus Romane di Palazzo Valentini
• Ara Pacis
• Viaggio nei Fori
• Colosseum

Of course, the use of these technologies is not required when visiting these places. This is just an additional option that I strongly recommend, however, unfortunately, there are still quite a few people who know about the significant availability of such solutions, so they don’t even try to search for them. This does not change the fact that more and more such solutions are appearing on the world market, and in the near future they may become a standard, like modern audio guides.

The VR / AR technologies we use in tourism not only help us get to know the culture of our ancestors better, but also preserve their legacy forever in digital form. Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever, buildings collapse, walls crack, and even the largest man-made structures collapse over time. Of course, as humanity, we strive to ensure that future generations can enjoy the sight of ancient monuments, but you can’t restore everything indefinitely. Only transfer of monuments to the virtual world and their digital reconstruction this will allow us to keep them safe and sound. Especially if we are talking about those structures that were destroyed by our generations.…

Such a case is the Cathedral of Notre-Dame which was engulfed in flames in 2019 as a result of a fire. Damage did not cover the entire building, but the tower, along with the roof of the structure, turned into ash. Only thanks to one deceased person can we restore Notre Dame. This is Andrew Tallon, an art historian and specialist in scanning historical objects. Four years before the disaster, he developed a 3D model of the cathedral based on laser scanning data with an accuracy of 5 millimeters. Only thanks to his work will we be able to thoroughly rebuild the cathedral. For tourists and believers, it will reopen in 2024. However, even today, owners of VR glasses can admire it in virtual space. A documentary film was shot on the canvas of these events. Rebuilding Notre Dame, available for viewing on the Oculus platform.

The growing demand also offers great opportunities.

Thanks to the growing popularity of VR and AR technologies, the quality of available devices that support these solutions is increasing. From year to year, we also see an increasing availability of VR equipment among the global community. We are also witnessing a Metavera revolution that is driving the expansion of potential meta-worlds. Many of them are simply inspired by real buildings from the real world, and some of them are completely copied into the Metaverse. Perhaps one day we will be able to completely virtually restore our cultural heritage and preserve it in the virtual world for centuries to come. However, until then, we have a long way to go in terms of future plans for the Metaverse. On the contrary, it is hoped that if something bad happens in the world, then future generations will be able to continue to enjoy the sight of our cultural heritage as we remember it.