I'm off - virtually. Soon it will be possible to take a 360-degree look around various potential and perhaps still completely unknown holiday destinations before booking. Hotelplan Suisse will be the first tour operator to offer its customers the opportunity to get in the mood for holidays even better with virtual reality from 9 January 2017.
Where can you test it?
In a total of ten Hotelplan and Travelhouse branches and in Globus Travel Lounges in larger cities in Switzerland, customers can view their dream destination before booking. The virtual reality test will run for three months until 9 April (see dates below). Visitors to the holiday fair in Bern and Zurich enjoy the virtual travel experience.
What is shown?
The currently 150 3D impressions are provided by a company specialised in tourism content. In addition to the various destinations in North and Latin America, Europe, Asia, Oceania and Africa, visitors can also take a look at different room or ship cabin categories or go on a virtual city trip or husky safari. This gives them a comprehensive foretaste of the upcoming trip.
How does it work?
The virtual reality glasses are the "Samsung Gear" model, into which the smartphone is inserted. The customers are not left alone on their special journey. On a "Samsung Tablet", the Hotelplan travel advisor follows the customer's virtual journey and can thus give further advice and advise the customers comprehensively.
And what happens next?
"If this new technology is also well received by our customers, we will equip more branches with the virtual reality glasses in a second phase," says Kurt Eberhard, CEO Hotelplan Suisse, according to the media release. According to Hotelplan, initial tests in Germany have shown that customers who are undecided are more likely to book a trip after using the VR glasses. No wonder: there are literally worlds between such a virtual visit and a description or flat 2D images.
It is unlikely that customers will no longer want to travel in the future. Virtual reality and travel are very emotional products and experiences. However, when travelling, there are still many factors such as haptic, olfactory, gustatory or social, which VR will not easily replace.
And another tip for all travel enthusiasts
After the computer-generated globe of Google Earth already enables an impressive exploration of the earth, customers will soon be able to immerse themselves even more specifically in the tour operators' offerings in this way. By the way: If you haven't tried Google Earth yet, you should definitely do so. It feels very divine when you hold the earth in your hand and can rotate it, only to fly from one point to the next later and explore the entire globe in this way: Just a moment ago you had a view of entire continents and already you discover your house where you grew up. All this happens in a matter of seconds, smoothly and without loading. A really special experience, even for those who like to go on real journeys - promised.
The data from Hotelplan
Test branches from 9 January to 18 February 2017:
Hotelplan: Basel-City, Gerbergasse 24, 4001 Basel
Hotelplan: Lucerne-City, Alpenstrasse 12, 6000 Lucerne
Hotel map: Yverdon-les-Bains, MMM Métropole, 1400 Yverdon-les-Bains
Hotelplan: Zurich City, Löwenstrasse 35, 8001 Zurich
Globus Reisen Lounge: Lausanne, Rue de Bourg 26, 1003 Lausanne
Holiday Fair stand from 12 to 15 January 2017:
Hotelplan: Bern Holiday Fair, Bernexpo, Hall 3.0, Stand H23
Holiday Fair stand from 26 to 29 January 2017:
Travelhouse: Zurich Holiday Fair, FESPO, Hall 6, Stand 6.041
Test branches from 20 February to 9 April 2017:
Hotelplan: Bern-City, MMM Marktgasse, 3011 Bern
Hotelplan: Lausanne-City, Centre Métropole, 1003 Lausanne
Hotelplan: Winterthur-Marktgasse, Marktgasse 47a, 8401 Winterthur
Travelhouse: Rapperswil, Obere Bahnhofstrasse 56, 8640 Rapperswil
Globus Reisen Lounge: Basel, Pfluggässlein 10, 4001 Basel
Source: Media release Hotelplan / Google Earth
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