history of virtual tourism

The Rise of Virtual Reality Tourism/Digitization of Culture in the Time of COVID-19

Flights canceled, famous attractions closed to the public, once crowded streets now vacant— emptied of tourists snapping photos. In the age of the COVID-19 pandemic, traditional tourism has ground to a screeching halt in most places. Tourism has had to evolve to match the unprecedented and prolonged global travel restrictions, a situation that has made a profound impact on nations and industries around the globe. It has been indicated that the global tourism sector should expect to suffer a drop of about US$8.1 trillion in revenue due to the pandemic and will likely not recover until 2024. With many of their most popular landmarks, cities, and heritage sites closing or implementing restrictions, countries have had to radically rethink their tourism industries and cultural institutions have had to adapt to a time of reduced visitors and in-person engagement. The intersection of innovation with the need to digitize experiences and content in order to reduce human interaction have converged uniquely in 2020, marking a critical moment in the rise of virtual reality tourism and the digitization of culture.

Virtual reality tourism technologies have been evolving for the past few years, used primarily as an educational tool, allowing users to engage with the history, geography, and cultural aspects of location and serving as a substitute for physical visitation. It incorporates cutting edge technologies, such as high resolution 360- degree imaging and simulated movement capabilities to enable users to view, tour, and engage with landmarks and tourist destinations without leaving their homes. Museums, cultural sites, and locations of worldwide-renown can be explored on personal computers and tablets. One such site, the Seokguram Grotto hermitage and monastery complex in South Korea, utilized VR technology to construct a 3D stereopsis of the site and provide a digitized experience for visitors. The COVID-19 pandemic has created an additional opportunity for virtual tourism to provide travel-related content accessible around the world and explore the additional benefits of VR technology.

Many governments have been crafting virtual tours in hopes of attracting viewers who wish to visit cities around the world without the current risks of travel: exposure to the virus, or the logistical complications of widespread, pandemic-related bans and restrictions. Cities such as Paris, which attracted 38 million tourists in 2019 alone, have adopted virtual technology to continue to showcase iconic landmarks, by using the interactive features of Google Arts and Culture: users can select sites of interest and navigate the landscapes by clicking their way from one vantage point to another. The Paris Tourist Board website, for example, also allows users to view landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and the Palais Garnier. Because of the 2020 Olympics’ postponement, the Japan National Tourism Organization created a 360-degree virtual tour that can be viewed via smartphone or with VR goggles, Japan: Where Tradition Meets the Future , which virtually transports users to well-known landmarks including the Tokyo Tower and the Sagano Bamboo Forest, blending culture and technology in an innovative and engaging way. Smaller towns that are less tourist-dependent are also hoping to retain exposure and relevance by creating virtual representations of their architecture. This way people can continue to experience the landscapes and perhaps become inspired to travel to the destination post-pandemic. Germany’s Herrenberg is one such town; they created a “virtual twin” utilizing computerized technologies usually used for high-level aerospace tasks to replicate the town’s architecture on a digital platform, enabling visitors to immerse themselves in the sites of the town center via VR glasses.

Digitization of Culture

Outdoor landmarks and city streets are not the only places that can now be enjoyed virtually as people hunker down in their homes. Cultural institutions, particularly museums, which face  a severe reduction in the number of visitors strolling through galleries and perusing collections due to pandemic-related restrictions, have also started to adapt and modernize to continue to attract attention and virtual visitors. An empirical study of 100 of the largest state museums in Italy revealed that, throughout the most restrictive period of national lockdown, there was a sharp increase in online cultural initiatives conducted by museums via social media in order to continue stimulating viewer engagement through digital material. In this way, social media platforms—such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter—have been an invaluable tool in promoting cultural engagement during the COVID-19 crisis.

Besides simply engaging people in museum content, social media and digital platforms have also connected people during this time of limited social interaction. The Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage, for example, organized unique, virtual community events including the ArtYouReady virtual flash mob, an initiative that encouraged online users to post pictures of their favorite Italian cultural sites. Such virtual opportunities and initiatives have continued throughout the pandemic, likely remaining a staple for cultural organizations’ public engagement strategies.

The evolution of digital engagement at museums in Europe was highlighted in a post written by Chiarra Zuanni, assistant professor in digital humanities at the Centre for Information Modelling at the University of Graz, for Europeana, a European organization that works to support and empower the digitization of cultural heritage. Zuanni compiled a map to visually depict the evolving digital activities of museums throughout Europe. The map identified various categories of digital offerings, such as contemporary collecting projects, social media initiatives (local hashtags, targeted projects, etc.), streaming content, virtual tours, online exhibitions, games, and educational content. The map enables users to select locations or activities of interest and access direct links to the respective museum’s interactive sites. The map shows a widespread rise in online activity from museums across the continent, providing a look into just a small fraction of museums that are adopting modernized and digitized tactics to maintain and foster relationships with a global audience in a time when in-person interactions and the usual flow of tourists have been severely curbed.

COVID-19 has caused museums’, galleries’, and historic residences’ usage of digital technology to transition from being a mere supplementary tool used to offer additional and secondary services and content to being the primary source of continued engagement with the arts. The pandemic has created the unique opportunity for museums to radically redefine their marketing and content strategies, forcing traditionally archaic institutions to adapt to the modern world at a rapid speed.

New Opportunities to Explore

Is this the future? Are the days strolling through cobblestone streets, snapping photos at iconic landmarks and wandering through bustling art galleries simply experiences of the past? Not necessarily. When the pandemic subsides and the world reawakens from lockdowns, restrictions, and travel bans, travel will likely resume. While it may take years for the industry to fully recover, tourism will eventually reemerge as a prominent economic sector. Cultural institutions will reopen, welcoming visitors from around the world to engage with history and art once more.

Yet, although the COVID-19 pandemic devastated numerous economic sectors and rendered several aspects of daily life and travel unrecognizable, it has also unlocked the enhanced opportunity for countries and organizations to harness the full potential of virtual reality tourism. Museum attendance across several countries, particularly attendance at art museums,  has been in decline in recent years. Virtual offerings however, seem to be driving significant user interest due to the increase in virtual engagement with cultural and artistic content on cultural websites. The increased adoption of technology could help prevent museums from buckling under the weight of low visitor rates if they can identify ways to accrue revenue through digital means.

In the same vein, the COVID-19 epidemic and subsequent lockdown have prompted countries to rethink their tourism strategies, opening the door for an already burgeoning virtual tourism industry to take root. Easily accessible for users around the world, providing access to landmarks and locations that are currently restricted, and free or low in cost for users, virtual tours allow for global experiences to be enjoyed by large, international audiences. While not a replacement for the thrill of physical travel, the virtual tourism sector offers intriguing opportunities for accessible global experiences.

The intersection of modern, cutting-edge innovation with a global pandemic has created a pivotal moment in how we access, view, and support tourism and cultural markets, both of which are critical to developing and sustaining national economies. The use of digital technologies in light of the COVID-19 epidemic highlights the benefits of rising technological innovations, offering viable and fascinating avenues for nations to adapt to a largely unprecedented world in the years ahead.

Abby LaBreck

Abby LaBreck is an Executive Content Editor & Staff Writer for the HIR. She is interested in European affairs and transatlantic relations. She has previously written about French culture/politics.

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10 Virtual History Museums and Experiences to Explore From Home

By: Missy Sullivan

Updated: June 1, 2023 | Original: March 26, 2020

The need for social distancing may have forced museums and historic sites around the world to close their doors for now, but many have made their spaces, exhibits and collections available to anyone with a digital device and a decent web connection. Some offer 360-degree tours, like the one that takes you into every nook and cranny of George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate. Others present virtual exhibits or browsable online archives, such as the dozens on Google Arts & Culture’s site, where partner museums share treasures like the Rosetta Stone and ancient Egyptian artifacts ( The British Museum , London)...iconic 20th century photos (the LIFE Magazine archive)...or troves of sports history (the Olympic Museum , Lausanne, Switzerland). Here are 10 standout virtual history sites worth exploring:

Xi'an Warriors

It was one of the most stunning archaeological finds of the 20th century. In 1974, farmers digging a well stumbled across a life-sized clay figure that, government archaeologists later discovered, belonged to a vast army of terra cotta soldiers created to protect China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, in the afterlife. The massive mausoleum, created around 210 B.C., houses some 8,000 warriors, along with hundreds of chariots and horses—all arranged in battle formation. In 2017, a Chinese company, inspired by Google Street View, created an awe-inspiring virtual experience that lets visitors swoop down into the tomb and “walk” among the soldiers, viewing their unique facial expressions and traces of their original colorful paint at close range. You don’t need to read Chinese to appreciate the enormity of it all.

Click  HERE for the experience.

READ MORE: 5 Things You May Not Know About the Terra Cotta Army

Smithsonian Museum of American History

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History bills itself as the greatest single collection of U.S. history in the world, home to more than 1.8 million objects that each, in some fundamental way, defines the American experience. The museum offers about 100 online exhibits from its encyclopedic collections, each with a mix of photos, video, graphics and text on topics ranging from the life of Abe Lincoln (yep, they’ve got the stovepipe hat) to the development of the first artificial heart to the evolution of voting machines and even an array of vintage lunch boxes. 

READ MORE: 9 of the Most Collectible School Lunch Boxes, 1935 to Now

The Museum of Flight

War planes. Spy planes. Spacecraft. Gliders. Kit planes. Eccentric contraptions. This sprawling museum, adjacent to the Boeing complex south of Seattle, Washington, is considered one of the world’s largest and best air and space museums, with more than 150 aircraft, 25,000-plus aviation-related artifacts and a huge array of exhibits that collectively chronicle man's quest to take to the skies. Flight geeks could easily get lost in its vast searchable and browsable database of those collections while 360-degree tours let you step inside a dozen iconic aircraft—including the Boeing 747, the Concorde and the museum’s full-scale model of the space shuttle orbiter used for training astronauts.

Click HERE for the experience.

READ MORE: Who Was the First President to Fly on Air Force One?

National Women's History Museum

Come for the deep well of biographies and digital classroom resources , stay for the wide array of virtual exhibits , many of which are enabled by Google Arts & Culture. For two decades, the National Women’s History Museum has been the largest online cultural institution telling the stories of women who helped transform the U.S. Heavy with slide shows and graphics, the virtual exhibits document women making waves in politics, sports, civil rights, science and technology and more. Check out its collection of oral histories from the American Rosie Movement, relaying women's contributions to the nation’s defense production.

READ MORE: Women’s History Milestones: A Timeline

Anne Frank House

Anne Frank ’s diary, chronicling her life in hiding during World War II, remains one of the most powerful testimonies to the horrors of the Holocaust. If a trip to Amsterdam to visit the Anne Frank House isn’t in the cards, AnneFrank.org offers the next best thing. In addition to tons of informative content about the teen, her diary and the war, there are bells and whistles galore: an interactive timeline, videos about her life, a 360-degree tour of the house, a virtual reality tour of the secret annex where she and her family hid for 761 days, and a companion exhibit on Google Arts & Culture.

READ MORE: How Anne Frank’s Private Diary Became an International Sensation

Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum

FDR , America’s only four-term president , presided over the nation during two of its most trying ordeals: the Great Depression and World War II . This online experience walks users room by room through the exhibits in his extensive presidential library and museum in Hyde Park, New York, drawing together a wealth of original documents, artifacts, videos, 360-degree tours and more. Together, they illustrate everything from FDR’s little-known assassination attempt to his New Deal policies and wartime decisions to Eleanor ’s significant role. It’s easy to lose track of time clicking through all the fascinating letters, whether it’s from a constituent exhorting him to “discontinue being a smiling, wasteful and fickle prima donna politician” to one from Albert Einstein strenuously detailing his objections to the atomic bomb.

READ MORE: How FDR Became the First—and Only—President to Serve Four Terms

Calling all space geeks: Report to the NASA site for ultimate fun in the final frontier. Get the full scoop on all the key NASA programs past and present, from the Hubble Telescope to the Mars Rover to the upcoming Parker Solar Probe. Check out the History hub to dive deep into photos, videos and articles about all their historic missions. Enjoy a motherlode of space images with the cache of ultra-high-def videos taken from various missions—like the virtual tour of the moon in 4K, enabled by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Spacecraft. For astronaut wannabes, virtual tours abound of NASA’s various research and training facilities—putting users right inside a supersonic wind tunnel, a zero-gravity lab, flight simulators, a space environments complex and much more.

READ MORE: The Space Race

American Battlefield Trust Virtual Battlefield Tours

Most on-site battlefield tours require a leap of imagination: the ability to walk around a perfectly peaceful open field and overlay a mental movie of smoke and combat and fallen warriors, all the while considering the military strategy and broader political stakes. ABT’s website may not offer the sunshine on your back, but it marries the setting, action and context far more seamlessly, with its 360-degree virtual tours of more than 20 American Revolution and Civil War battlefields. In the Gettysburg tour alone, there are 15 different stops—no walking required—each of which features clickable icons with granular detail about all the whos, whats and whys. And when you’re done touring, be sure to explore the site’s other robust resources, from battle summaries to generals’ biographies.

READ MORE: 7 Important Civil War Battles

National Museum of African American History and Culture

While there are plenty of current and past exhibits to explore online here, the real draw is the collections. In the site’s Collections Stories area, museum staff members share objects that resonate for them historically or culturally, whether it’s Muhammad Ali’s training gear...the dress Carlotta Walls, one of the so-called Little Rock Nine , wore when she walked the gauntlet of angry mobs on her first day integrating Little Rock Central High School ...or shards of stained glass from the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama that killed four little girls. And if you’ve got lots of time to explore, browse the museum’s vast open-source collections, brimming with letters, documents, photos and artifacts. They convey the wide-ranging African American experience—from a slave ship manifest to a poster of Sidney Poitier’s film To Sir, With Love . 

READ MORE: One of the Last Slave Ship Survivors Describes His Ordeal in a 1930s Interview

U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

The Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. presents powerful online exhibits brimming with resources such as videos, timelines, glossaries and image galleries rich with potent original artifacts. Themes include Collaboration & Complicity, Nazi Propaganda, Americans and the Holocaust, Racial Health Policies and more. Elsewhere on the museum’s site: a deep archive of survivor interviews , moving artifacts like a gallery of 600 ID cards of Holocaust victims and a place to browse the museum’s huge, sobering collections.

READ MORE: American Response to the Holocaust

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The Complete Guide to Virtual Tourism

With the COVID-19 pandemic limiting where people have been able to go over the past couple of years, hotels, destinations, and travelers alike have felt the effects.

However, creative marketing and new virtual offerings can make a big difference in the years to come. Virtual tourism and travel are taking off, and hotels and destinations that know how to capitalize on the trend will set themselves up for success as the world returns to normal and more and more travelers once again pack their bags.

Take a look at our expert advice below to learn all about virtual tourism and the benefits it can offer. Plus, explore examples from some of the top virtual tourism campaigns across the world.

What is virtual tourism?

Virtual tourism presents viewers with an immersive experience of an activity, location, or destination through the use of technology. There are tons of different types of virtual tourism offerings, but there's usually a combination of virtual reality, still images, video, audio, narration, interactivity, and other multimedia formats to provide an experience of a destination that a user cannot get through images or websites alone.

Viewers can access virtual tourism content using a virtual reality headset for the most immersive experience, but they can also usually view the content on a normal computer or even a mobile device.

What are the benefits of virtual tourism?

Because viewers can experience activities, locations, and destinations from the comfort of their own homes, there are many clear benefits to virtual tourism. The most obvious of these benefits is that viewers can see and experience a destination without traveling to it, which means they aren’t limited by available flights, travel logistics, safety concerns, and whether destinations are open. They don’t even have to think about time zones or weather conditions.

The other huge benefit for viewers is cost. Virtual tourism makes destinations accessible to millions of people who may otherwise not be able to afford to travel to them. Viewers are embracing the rise in virtual tourism destinations and the increasing quality and availability of virtual reality technology to see and experience things they never thought possible.

For hotels and destinations, the clear benefit is the ability to stay top-of-mind with potential customers and to highlight a location, amenities , and offerings. Viewers who have experienced a hotel or location through virtual tourism are more likely to book a future stay, and will eagerly anticipate experiencing the activity in the “real world.”

There are also great marketing opportunities offered by virtual tourism technology. Potential guests can see a 360-degree view of a property and its amenities, rather than the flat images on a brochure or website. Experiencing a property this way increases the chances that viewers will want to visit in the future, and means that they can easily share the virtual offerings with their friends and family.

And that’s not all. Virtual tourism has a handful of other benefits:

• The immersive experience allows the viewer to imagine themselves at a travel destination.
• The viewer can control what they see of a destination, experiencing 360 degrees of a location.
• All aspects of a destination can be showcased in high resolution.
• Hotels, Convention and Visitors Bureaus (CVBs) , and travel agencies can stand out from the crowd.
• The impact of tourism on vulnerable destinations is reduced.

How is virtual tourism used?

There are lots of great ways for hotels and destinations to take advantage of this technology and the demand for virtual tourism, and it goes well beyond COVID-19.

CVBs have been using virtual tourism for years to highlight the unique aspects of a location, including everything from history and culture to exciting activities, local attractions, and fun trivia.

Hotels, CVBs, and local governments use 360-degree VR video to capture everything about a destination in an immersive way. This lets viewers experience a remote mountaintop, an idyllic beach, a network of hiking trails, or a buzzing city with the press of a button.

VR photography, on the other hand, captures still images and pieces them together using specialized software, creating an immersive image where a user can look in any direction. This technology is great for showing hotel interiors, artwork, museum exhibits, and anything that can be fully experienced without motion or sound.

Finally, fully immersive VR experiences let users get in on the action, interacting with the environment and discovering more through their actions. This is often a curated experience focusing on one aspect of the location, like the food scene, music, history, or art. Virtual reality yoga classes, nature walks, stargazing, and bird watching have all become popular ways for a location to show off everything it has to offer.

What are some examples of virtual tourism?

Below are a handful of our favorite virtual tourism campaigns from across the world. While each campaign offers something different, the common theme is that each one was created to give users easy, safe, and interactive access to a location.

The Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands created a virtual tourism campaign once COVID-19 began to give people an alternative option to traveling to the location.

"Early on in this global crisis, we sat and wondered how we could recreate a Faroe Islands’ experience for those who had to cancel or postpone their trip to the Faroe Islands – and for everyone else stuck in insolation around the world," reads the virtual tourism segment on Faroe Islands' website . "We had an idea. What if we could allow people anywhere in the world to explore the islands as virtual tourists through the eyes of a local? Or even better; what if the virtual tourists could control the movements of the local in real time?"

Bristol From Home

Similar to the Faroe Islands, Visit Bristol (England) created an immersive experience due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bristol From Home features a collection of travelers' favorite ideas, inspirations, and resources "so that you can continue to enjoy Bristol, during social distancing measures, from the comfort of your own home." 

The website features a myriad of virtual options, including tours of a luxury Victorian ship, hot-air balloon rides, gin tastings, and much more, all in one place. 

Tour the awe-inspiring architecture of Dubai with Dubai 360 — an immersive virtual tourism experience that allows users to travel the city through a bird's-eye view and learn all about the locations scattered throughout. 

"Our services help increase online presence, which is crucial to marketing anything in the present," reads Dubai360's website. "We aim to raise you above your competition by presenting a professional and high quality look, and improving your customers' first impressions. This service is equally useful for Hotels, Restaurants, Malls, Real Estate, or anything that can be presented visually."

Great Barrier Reef

Yes, even the Great Barrier Reef has virtual tourism offerings. The interactive journey is headlined by legendary broadcaster and historian, David Attenborough, who takes viewers throughout the world's largest coral reef system. This is much more than simply a replacement for Great Barrier Reef tours — it's an experience in and of itself, and it showcases just how versatile virtual tourism can be. 

What does virtual tourism mean for the hospitality industry?

Virtual tourism is one of the many keys to the travel industry’s resilience and ability to bounce back from an unprecedented time. Showcasing everything that a property or destination has to offer is a great way to build excitement for “normal” travel and keep the destination top of mind once travelers are able to vacation again. 

Virtual tourism has been lauded as a way for hotels and destinations to highlight the intangibles of their location, capturing the special feel of the place and drawing interest from travelers who might not otherwise consider it.

"A true gift of virtual travel is that we can safely and efficiently access experiences we've always wanted to access," Dennis Watkins, owner of The Magic Parlour in Chicago, said in an article for marthastewart.com. "People separated by oceans can look each other in the eyes and share stories, cultures, and ideas. When I do a show for a single family who logs in from London, Leeds, Norway, or Chicago, I start to see the power of the virtual space ... and I think we're just now starting to understand and leverage that power."

How can hotels capitalize on the virtual tourism trend?

To strategize how best to use virtual tourism, hotels should go back to the basics of their  hotel marketing plan . What audience are you trying to reach? What amenities, offerings, or features make your hotel and its location unique and interesting? What aspects of your property or destination do you want to highlight? The answers to these questions will form the foundation of your virtual tourism offerings.

If you have a few experiences that guests return for time and time again, these are a great place to start with your virtual tourism experience. Give viewers a tour of your on-site vineyard, sandy beach, art deco decor, or spectacular views. 

Because you can create many different virtual reality experiences, you can craft custom offerings for all of the different types of guests who stay at your property. A street art tour may be a perfect fit for young adult travelers, while an immersive symphony orchestra performance may be perfect for older guests. Try creating three or four experiences targeting guests who you would like to see at your hotel in the future, and follow through on the virtual experiences with custom packages, content marketing , and targeted informational emails.

As you craft your unique virtual tourism offerings, keep in mind that this medium isn’t limited to the traditional perspective with which your guests normally see your destination. With virtual tourism, guests could fly over your property in a hot air balloon, swim in your lake without getting wet, ski down to sit by a roaring fire in your lobby, or zip-line through the trees. By adding experiences that guests may not be able to get in person, you’ll move beyond the idea of replacing "real" travel.

Additionally, hotels can use the virtual tourism boom to appeal to planners and their event attendees as well. Not all offerings have to be limited to guests. Do you have a breathtaking ballroom with a state-of-the-art A/V system? What about extensive meeting space in your beachside bungalows? Utilize innovative 3D technology to create a virtual experience highlighting what sets you apart and creating demand.

In other words, the sky really is the limit when it comes to virtual tourism offerings. If you can think of an experience in the real world, you can likely recreate it in some fashion through virtual reality.

Now you know all about virtual tourism!

Bookmark our blog to stay up to date on all the trends and happenings from throughout the hospitality industry, as well as high-level overviews, industry-leading tips and advice, and much more. 

Learn more about virtual tourism, travel, and events

Laura Fredericks

Laura brings a decade of insight to improving marketing, as she has worked in technology since 2010. She has experience starting and scaling a business, driving customer marketing, and speaking at live events, including WeDC Fest 2018. She founded Describli and Paradigm Labs, and currently works with companies to improve their customer relationship management and content strategy.

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National Museum of Natural History Virtual Tours

Access the tours.

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History virtual tours allow visitors to take self-guided, room-by-room tours of select exhibits and areas within the museum from their desktop or mobile device. Visitors can also access select collections and research areas at our satellite support and research stations as well as past exhibits no longer on display.

Virtual Tour Tips

• To navigate between adjoining rooms in the tours, click on the blue arrow links on the floor or use the navigation map in the upper right of the presentation screen.
• Look for the camera icon which gives you a close-up view of a particular object or exhibit panel.
• Try zooming in as some of the images are stitched together from individual pictures in order to create very high resolution gigapixel images.

Please note: This tour and these presentations have been tested and should work on all common devices, browsers, and operating systems (using a desktop computer with Windows, Mac, Linux or a mobile device such as an iPhone, iPad, or Android). Functionality and appearance may vary as it will adjust automatically to accommodate the most visitors. While the virtual tour has no advertising, ad blocking software or browser settings that block JavaScript and/or XML may interfere with the functionality of the virtual tour. Please let us know what you think of the tour and how the experience can be improved. Send your feedback to the NMNH Web Team .

Site Credit: Imagery and coding by Loren Ybarrondo

Equipment Used: Professional Nikon digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera bodies and lenses. The photography is typically done using rectilinear lenses with minimized distortion and shooting equirectangular panoramas at 22K pixels on the long side.

Software Used: No authoring software is used. The tours are hand-coded in HTML5 and JavaScript using the krpano graphics library.

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What is Virtual Tourism and is it the Future?

Virtual tourism is a growing trend around the world, and this was not just a knee-jerk response to the COVID pandemic, it has actually been developing behind the scenes for some time. Traditionally used predominantly as a marketing tool, virtual tourism, also known as virtual reality tourism, has become increasingly popular amongst tourism industry stakeholders in recent times. Fuelled by technological developments and Internet usage worldwide and closely linked with the concept of smart tourism , we now see virtual tourism activities in many parts of the travel and tourism industry.

But what is virtual tourism and how is it used throughout the tourism industry?

In this article I will explain what is meant by the term virtual tourism, I will discuss how the virtual tourism industry has grown and developed in recent years and I will discuss the different types of virtual tourism currently in use. I will also outline the advantages and disadvantages of virtual tourism and provide some examples of virtual tourism in practice.

Don’t want to read it all? Use the contents tab below to scroll to the bit that interests you most.

What is virtual tourism?

Definitions of virtual tourism, phase 1- marketing and promotion, phase 2- enhancing the tourism experience, phase 3- the development of virtual tourism experiences, phase 4- physical holidays are replaced with virtual experiences, phase 5- impossible adventures through virtual means, 1- try before you buy, 2- visit real places without leaving your sofa, 3- visit places of the past, 4- visit areas that are inaccessible, 5- visit areas that do not exist, #1 admire some art at the louvre, #2 visit ann frank’s house, #3 enjoy the mountain scenery at yosemite national park, #4 take a flight over a volcano, #5 learn about the royal family at buckingham palace, #6 walk the great wall of china, #7 get up close and personal with the colosseum, #8 visit the statue of liberty, #9 visit the catacombes of paris, #10 visit the holy land, #12 go diving at the great barrier reef, #13 climb mount everest, #14 travel into space, #15 go to the amazon rainforest, #16 go on a safari, #17 watch the northern lights, #18 visit giant’s causeway, #19 explore argentinian patagonia, #20 fly over the skies of paris, #21 do the inca trail, #22 admire the marine life at georgia aquarium, #23 party in ibiza, #24 take an archeological tour of the grand canyon, #25 take to the clouds in a hot air balloon, 1- virtual tourism is good for the environment, 2- virtual tourism provides freedom and flexibility, 3- virtual tourism costs less, 4- virtual tourism can stimulate physical tourism, 1- virtual tourism is not accessible to all, 2- virtual tourism does not provide the economic advantages that traditional tourism does, 3- virtual tourism has limited social interaction, virtual tourism: to conclude, virtual tourism: further reading.

Virtual tourism is essentially a hybrid concept- it combines both the notions of virtual reality and tourism. In essence, virtual tourism facilitates a tourism experience, without actually having to travel anywhere.

Virtual tourism takes many different forms and comes in vary degrees of technological capability.

In its simplest form, virtual tourism may comprise of a video of a tourism destination. The ‘tourist’ watches the video, utilising their hearing and sight senses.

More sophisticated forms of virtual tourism include being immersed in an environment through use of a headset or simulator. It may involve use of various props, users may be required to wear gloves and there may be additional sensations such as movement (like in a rollercoaster simulator), feeling (for example if the user is sprayed with water ) and smell.

Virtual tourism covers a broad spectrum of digitally mediated reality, which includes virtual reality, as well as mixed reality and augmented reality.

In fact, the growth of virtual activities expands far beyond the reach of the tourism industry. People are now buying houses without actually seeing them in person, having felt that a virtual tour was sufficient. People are visiting museums via virtual tours and teachers are using virtual realities to enhance the educational experience of their students.

Virtual reality has very much become ingrained in everyday life.

In the tourism industry, virtual reality (VR) has been most commonly used as a marketing tool. Destination Management Organisations (DMOs), tour operators and tourist attractions have been using VR as a means of promoting for some time now; hoping that the VR experience will entice tourists and bring in new business.

We have also seen a growing popularity in the use of VR as an additionality to physical tourism experiences. At a theme park, for example, there may be a mix of actual rides and virtual rides. Museums will also often enhance their exhibitions with virtual presentations and activities.

However, we have also seen a growth in VR as an alternative to physical experiences.

The recent Coronavirus outbreak has resulted in the world largely coming to a halt, immobilising the tourism industry almost completely. With many people confined to their homes and travel and tourism businesses closed, people have turned to the next best alternative- virtual tourism.

A range of media can be used to facilitate a virtual experience, such as mobile devices or software programmes.

To begin, it is important to differentiate between the terms virtual experience (VE) and virtual reality (VR).

According to Steur (1992), a virtual experience is essentially a human experience, which makes use of technology, as opposed to being a technological hard-ware experience.

In contrast, virtual reality refers to a simulation or representation of a particular environment using media (Cho, 2002).

Cho et al. (2002) define a virtual experience as:

‘The experience in the virtual environment using a computer-mediated environment and is based upon the concept of telepresence’

Shih (1998) expanded on this, describing a virtual experience as:

‘The extent to which consumers feel their existence in the virtual space’ .

Others (e.g. Steuer, 1992; Kim and Biocca, 1997) use the term telepresence and virtual experience interchangeably.

Steuer (1992) describes telepresence as:

‘The experience of presence in an environment by means of a communication medium’

Whilst Shih (1998) describes it as:

‘An illusion of ‘being there’ in a mediated environment’

The nature of precisely what makes up a virtual experience is continuously evolving with technological advancements around the globe.

Whilst there are academic studies surrounding the notion of VR and VE in general, there are few that have honed in on the concept of virtual experiences within tourism. As such, there is no universally accepted definition of the term virtual tourism.

Rather, virtual tourism is a term that encapsulates the broad spectrum of virtual experiences available in the tourism sector ; from watching a promotional video through to an interactive museum experience to experiencing an entire holiday through virtual means in a style similar to the computer programme Second Life or the film Avatar .

For the purposes of definition, therefore, I will define the term virtual tourism as follows:

‘Virtual tourism is the use of technology to artificially enhance or create a tourism experience.’

The growth of virtual tourism

The tourism industry has seen a slow but steady growth in the use of virtual reality throughout recent years. A report by Research and Markets published in 2019 suggested that the tourism industry would see strong growth in virtual tourism in the coming years.

Nobody, however, could have predicted that the tourism industry would come almost to a complete halt the world over as a result of the Coronavirus. This has radically fuelled both the development of and demand for virtual tourism forms. Whether in periods of lockdown or due to fear of travelling post-epidemic, there is surely a demand for a tourism product that only a few months before was unknown to much of the population . This is demonstrated in the graph below which demonstrates the increase in search terms relevant to virtual tourism in 2020, when the COVID pandemic begun.

I wasn’t able to find a great deal online about the growth and development of the virtual tourism industry, so I took it upon myself to develop an infographic highlighting the main phases of development. I will explain this below.

To begin with, tourism industry stakeholders, namely destination management organisations (DMOs), tour operators and others operating in the marketing sphere, used virtual tourism as a marketing tool.

Virtual evidence of how wonderful the holiday or tourist experiences would be would lull in visitors much easier than the traditional methods of holiday brochures, guidebooks or even websites.

Seeing and hearing an experience is a great way to convince and to tempt someone to a person to pull out their credit card as they eagerly anticipate the ‘real deal’.

Marketing and promotion was the start of the development of the virtual tourism industry.

Recent years have seen a growing number of tourism businesses adopt virtual technologies as a means of enhancing the tourism experience.

From the introduction of 5D rides at theme parks to sensory activities being implemented at museums, a range of tourist attractions have seen enhanced visitor satisfaction after introducing virtual tourism.

In recent years we have seen a range of virtual tourism experiences being developed. Whilst these do vary in theme and technological capabilities, they usually rely on the premise that they will provide the user with an artificial tourism experience.

Typically, these virtual tourism experiences will condense an experience to include only the highlights or the ‘best bits’. For example, a 5 hour safari may be shortened to a few minutes, cutting out all of the time that the tourist would usually spend searching for wildlife and including only the actual wildlife sightings.

Whilst these types of virtual tourism experiences have been on the cards for a while, they did not really begin to receive recognition until the 2020 Coronavirus outbreak; which introduced a period of time when many people were turning to virtual tourism as a result of lockdowns, quarantines and periods of isolation.

The virtual tourism industry really began to boom during the 2020 Coronavirus outbreak. Travel-lovers the world over desperate for an experience that might replicate the holiday that they were forced to cancel or the trip that they longed to take began to pursue alternative ways to take their holiday.

Despite the initial outlook being that virtual holidays would be unlikely to ever replace physical holidays, the tourism industry was radically transformed almost overnight.

During this time a large number of tech companies began to work alongside tourism industry stakeholders to develop innovative tourism approaches that could be utilised in the current climate.

Once the epidemic is over and the traditional tourism industry can function once more, it is anticipated that the demand for virtual tourism in this way will dramatically decline. However, there will likely be a new receptiveness and willingness to undertake virtual tourism in ways that cannot be physically achieved.

It is likely that the future of the virtual tourism industry will see people seeking impossible adventures through virtual means.

An ‘impossible adventure’ could be a person visiting a destination virtually because they do not have the funds to do so physically, or a person who cannot swim undertaking deep-sea diving, for example.

An impossible adventure could also include experiences that are currently available to the human race, such as flying above your favourite city or walking on the moon.

Throughout all of this, there is a significant reliance on technology, and indeed- there is a direct correlation between the growth of the virtual tourism industry and global technological capabilities.

I cover lots more on tourism and technology in my post- Smart Tourism Explained: What, Why and Where . Why not take a look?

Types of virtual tourism

Virtual tourism comes in many different shapes and sizes. Some forms of virtual tourism require little more than a computer or a smart device, whereas others have a complex setup of technologies. There are five main types of virtual tourism, outlined below.

As I mentioned previously, in its early form virtual tourism focussed around the concept of marketing. Virtual reality and virtual experience software allows potentially customers to ‘try before they buy’.

This form of marketing as been proven to be very successful, thus many tourism-based organisations have actively pursued and developed forms of VR marketing.

Using virtual tourism as a marketing tool is particularly useful when the cost of the product or service being sold is high. For example, British Airways developed a virtual tour of their business class only aircraft operating between London City Airport and New York. This allows potential customers to trail out the service and to explore the aircraft prior to committing to pay for the ticket.

You can read more about the A318 LCY-JFK virtual tour here.

Google earth has really been a game-changer in the realms of virtual tourism.

Google Earth allows you to explore areas throughout the world at the touch of a button. Whether you want to take a look at the street down the road of see the Pyramids of Giza, almost every part of the world is now documented by the Google camera.

Many organisations will adopt similar principles, whereby you can use software to virtually tour a specified area. This could be a house, a forest or a tourist attraction, for example.

One of the great technological feats of virtual tourism is the ability to recreate destinations or attractions from the past.

Using current images alongside computer generation projections, developers are able to design software which allows tourists to experience types of tourism that are no longer available. Some programmes allow users to toggle the time and transport themselves to any time or place that they wish.

It’s not only tourism operators who are developing such software either. The University of Reading has developed a course that is free for anyone to sign up to. The course is run by Dr Matthew Nicholls, using his detailed and award-winning 3D digital model of the city.

You can find more information and sign up here .

There are many parts of the world that are off-limits. This could be because we cannot afford to travel there, because they are in remote locations or because the area is closed off entirely to visitors.

However, with the advent of virtual tourism, there is no part of the world that is inaccessible any longer!

If there is a place that you have been dying to visit, but have been unable to- trying Googling it- because there may well be a virtual tour that you can take instead.

The final type of virtual tourism, and one that is yet to really take off- it is the ability to visit areas that do not actually exist.

Second Life  is the most well-known platform offering this type of virtual tourism. It is effectively an online world in which you are able to create a virtual representation of yourself, called an avatar, and connect with various places and people.

Virtual tourism examples: Inspiration for your next virtual trip

Now that you understand the concept of virtual tourism, you may well be tempted to take a virtual trip yourself!

Whether you are teaching a class full of children about the insects in the Amazon jungle, interested in learning about the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia or want to spot animals from a safari jeep in Tanzania at sunrise, there is a virtual tour out there for you. Here are some of my favourites.

This virtual museum tour allows you to explore the Egyptian Antiquities, the remains of the Louvre’s Moat, and the Galerie d’Apollon. Here you can see famous artworks such as the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the Virgin of the Rocks, The Coronation of Napoleon, and many more.

During my visit to Amsterdam in 2012, visiting Ann Frank’s house was a highlight. These day though, there is no need to travel all the way to The Netherlands for this experience as they offer a comprehensive virtual tour .

On the Virtual Yosemite website you can experience the iconic natural features of the national park like Bridalveil Fall, El Capitan, and Half Dome. You can also walk through the densely forested areas and visit at Yosemite Falls, which is the highest waterfall in North America. 

This unique virtual tour allows you to experience what it is like to fly over an active volcano in Hawaii. You can appreciate the volcanic scenery from above and see the after effects of the 1959 eruption. There is also a pretty cool lava tube that you can explore virtually too.

Buckingham Palace is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the United Kingdom, and for good reason. But if you can’t physically visit the palace that doesn’t mean that you have to miss out. This virtual tour allows you to experience the Grand Staircase, White Drawing Room, the Throne Room and the Blue Drawing Room.

Walking the Great Wall of China is on many people’s bucket list. Well now it can be done easier than ever before with this virtual tour which was developed during the Coronavirus crisis.

You can see the magnificent Roman ruins using a 360 degree tour provided by Google. Take your time to explore from the comfort of your sofa.

Whether you want to relive a previous visit to the Statue of Liberty, or you want to visit for the first time, this virtual tour is a great way to go. You can learn all about the Statue of Liberty through 360-degree tours, videos, and photographs.

If dark tourism is your thing, then a virtual tour of the Catacombes in Paris might take your interest. This tour takes you through the 11000m2 area whilst teaching you about the geology and the quarries, the architecture and the ossuary.

Having previously travelled to the most important religious spots in Christianity, I can assure you that this virtual tour really does do the area justice. Here you can explore Mount Nebo, the Wailing Wall , the Sea of Galilee , the Church of Flagellation, the Tomb of the Virgin and the Resurrection Tomb of Jesus amongst others.

The Great Barrier Reef has suffered at the hands of the tourism industry in recent years, with the environmental impacts of tourism causing the reef to reduce in size and adversely affect the marine life and ecosystems surrounding it. One solution to this is to swap a physical dive for a virtual one. This virtual tour of Wilson Island is both fascinating and enjoyable.

Ever since I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro , I have wanted to conquer Everest! With two very small children at home, it’s not on the cards just yet though. Fortunately, this interactive 3D map can provide me with my mountain climbing fix for now!

New virtual reality tours from NASA bring your space tourism dreams to life! Based on what limited data is available to scientists through their observations, these tours take you a range of planets including Kepler-16b and TRAPPIST-1e.

The Amazon Rainforest is home to a unique and diverse range of biodiversity. You can learn all about the flora and fauna of the area on this comprehensive virtual tourism platform . This is especially well-suited to classroom-based activities and children due to its design.

WildEarth’s safariLIVE is an award winning, expert hosted LIVE safari, broadcast directly from the African wilderness into your home. You might have to get up at 5am, but this is about as authentic as it gets without being out in the bush yourself!

I’ve visited Iceland twice on on both occasions I was disappointed not to see the Northern Lights. Fortunately, you are guaranteed a good show with this virtual reality software . Dim the lights and pour yourself a drink and enjoy the show.

Visit the remarkable landscape of Giant’s Causeway without the wet and windy weather conditions burins these series of virtual tours developed by the National Trust.

The Perito Moreno glacier covers 97 square miles of Los Glaciares national park and it is fed by the melting waters of the south Patagonian ice fields in the Andes . These interactive images allow you to explore this marvel of nature at your own pace from the comfort of your computer screen. There is also a great video tour, as shown below.

This brand new attraction enables tourists to experience a unique virtual reality attraction. Tourists visit Paris from the sky with a jetpack, taking in real-life 360° views of monuments and scenery as they go.

You Visit have developed this impressive virtual tour of Macchu Picchu which provides tourists with a 360-degree views of the ruins of Inca settlements and lush green landscapes. It also provides the opportunity to virtually visit the popular vantage points and learn more about the history of the Inca settlement.

Through the use of webcams and live streaming software, you can watch the marine life at Georgia Aquarium in real time . The aquarium has over 50 species ranging from sea lions to underwater puffins and is great for those interested in fish and for children.

Ushuaïa Ibiza is an open-air club on the party Island of Ibiza. During the Coronavirus lockdown period they have launched a number of #StayAtHomeSessions. These feature a stream of some of 2019’s best DJ sets, encouraging people to collectively party from home. For more information and to see other planned events visit their Facebook page .

Learn all about the formation of this remarkable natural attraction through this virtual reality tour developed by the National Park Service.

You can now fly over your favourite destination in a hot air balloon with this virtual hot air balloon ride. It even had a real basket!

Advantages of virtual tourism

Virtual tourism has its advantages both for the tourism industry and for the tourist. Here are the main advantages of virtual tourism that I have identified.

One of the great things about virtual tourism is that is has very little impact of the environment. The industry is known for its negative environmental impacts of tourism , however these are minimised tenfold if the tourist does not actually travel!

Virtual tourism means less CO2 emissions from transport, less litter, less damage to flora and fauna and less disruption to natural ecology and wildlife.

It also means there are less negative social impacts of tourism too.

When undertaking a virtual experience you often have more flexibility.

Going on safari in Africa? If it’s a virtual safari you don’t need to change out of your pyjamas. Sitting out at night to watch the Northern Lights in Norway? No need to worry about wrapping up warm, just put the heating on in your house.

Many virtual trips can be taken at your leisure according to your preferred time schedule too.

Whilst you do need access to a computer, smart device etc, the total cost of undertaking a virtual trip is far less than if you were to take a physical trip. In fact, many virtual tourism activities are actually free of charge!

Because virtual tourism is often used as a marketing tool, it has the potential to stimulate actual tourism. This means that a person may purchase a flight or book a hotel because they have experienced it virtually first.

Disadvantages of virtual tourism

Whilst virtual tourism is becoming quite a trend, it is not perfect. Here are some of the main disadvantages of virtual tourism.

Not everybody has access to the digital devices that are required to undertake virtual tourism.

Additionally, many parts of the world do not have adequate wifi connections to support this type of tourism. This isn’t limited to developing countries either- I often struggle with my Internet connection in the UK!

Whilst an advantage of virtual tourism is that it does not require much money to be spent, this is also a disadvantage.

Traditional types of tourism are hailed for brining money into the host destination. In fact, the economic benefits of tourism is the main reason that tourism is developed in many areas.

One of the most obvious disadvantages of virtual tourism is that is involves limited social interaction.

For some people, this might be what they are looking for, but others seek company and kinship during their leisure time.

Virtual tourism has been growing and developing as an industry in parallel to technological advancements and the use of smart tourism in recent years. However, the Coronavirus outbreak and subsequent social isolation has really fuelled the growth of this industry.

As we can see, there are now a wide range of virtual opportunities for those who are interested, from visiting a museum to climbing a mountain. With this comes some advantages and some disadvantages of virtual tourism.

All in all though, this is an industry that has experienced unexpected and unprecedented growth and it is worthy of additional academic research in order to allow us to thoroughly understanding this innovative tourism sector.

Here are some texts that are worth consulting if you are interested in doing some more research into virtual tourism.

• Niche Tourism – Addresses a range of tourism niches and the niche tourism industry as a macro and micro.
• Information and Communication Technologies for Sustainable Tourism – Looks at the use of ICT in the tourism industry with some focus on virtual tourism practices.
• Drive Tourism: Trends and Emerging Markets – A text addressing the concept of drive tourism with some focus on virtual drive tourism.
• From hype to value. Virtual Reality Tools in the Tourism Industry and their Influence on Booking Behaviour – A research paper examining the effect of VR exposure on the booking decision process, specifically on the purchasing probability, the speed of decision-making and turnover.

Virtual Travel

A Smithsonian magazine special report

See the Ancient World Through Virtual Reality

An archaeological VR company wants to show you what ruins looked like before they were, well, ruins

Emily Matchar

Innovation Correspondent

Have you ever stood in front of historic ruins—the Parthenon, say, or one of Britain’s many ancient castles—and closed your eyes, imagining what the scene before you would have looked like centuries ago?

Thanks to virtual reality, seeing ruins as they looked in their heyday is becoming possible. It may even be a game changer for the ways we visit ancient cities like Jerusalem or Paris.

When I catch up with Australian archaeologist Simon Young, he’s in Rome.

“It’s low season at the moment in Italy, but there are still hundreds and thousands of people wandering in the streets and looking at ruins,” he says.

Young would like to show those people what Rome looked like nearly 2,000 years ago by fitting them with virtual reality headsets. His company, Lithodomos VR , creates immersive virtual recreations of iconic ruins. The recreations can be used on site with a smartphone headset, or from home or school using a commercial VR system like Oculus Rift.

“It’s 360-degree 3D virtual reality,” Young says. “It really helps you to place yourself back in time.”

Today, Rome’s Temple of Venus and Rome lies split in half, most of its columns gone, ravaged by centuries of fire, earthquakes and pillaging. But put on a virtual reality headset with Lithodomos’ app, and suddenly it’s a June afternoon in the 1 st  century AD. The temple before you is whole again, its vanished columns standing tall, its façade all shining white marble, the intricate relief sculptures of its pediment cast in shadow by the summer sun.

The app maps your physical location onto the temple, allowing you to look around from various angles. It might be raining outside, or nighttime. But in the VR world, the sky is a hazy blue, the perimeter of the temple lined with trees.

In addition to the Temple of Venus and Rome, Lithodomos has a recreation of the Arènes de Lutèce, a Roman amphitheater and stage from the beginning of the 2nd century AD, now just fragments tucked away behind apartment buildings in Paris’s Latin Quarter. It’s also recreated the Odeon of Agrippa, a concert hall in the center of the Athenian agora, and parts of ancient Jerusalem. The scenes are available on two Lithodomos apps released in December and January. Young plans to work on scenes from Delphi, Spain and the UK in the near future.

Young sees his software being used by tour groups who would provide their guests with headsets, or by individuals using cheap, portable viewers like  Google Cardboard . He also hopes to partner with museums and universities to create other historical VR experiences, such as allowing museum-goers to view artifacts up close and in 360 degrees.

Lithodomos is not the only company working on historical VR.  Singapore-based Hiverlab  has ambitions to digitize heritage sites across the world. So far they’ve created a VR tour of a medieval Armenian church in Cypress, which lets users wander the structure as it is today, as well see what it might have looked like centuries ago. The free  Timelooper app  lets viewers experience various historical moments—George Washington’s second inaugural address, the construction of the Empire State Building, the Great Fire of London.

In the past several months, Young says, several tour operators in Rome have begun offering VR-enhanced tours. The day before, he’d been to the Domus Aurea, the “Golden House” built by Nero in the 1 st  century AD. The site’s superintendent had installed an Oculus Rift experience, and visitors were busy checking it out.

“One woman swore, she was so amazed by the experience,” Young says.

But as an archeologist, Young worries that some companies offering ancient world VR experiences aren’t serious enough about accuracy.

“Some game developer in Silicon Valley who has no idea thinks, ‘oh, a column would look great there,’” he says. “The real danger is that, because VR is such a powerful medium, if someone visits the Colosseum, they walk away with the idea that this is what it was like.” 

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Emily Matchar | | READ MORE

Emily Matchar is a writer from North Carolina. She's contributed to many publications, including the New York Times , the Washington Post , the Atlantic  and many others. She's the author of the novel In the Shadow of the Greenbrier . 

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The Rise of Virtual Reality in Tourism: Benefits and Examples

Introduction to Virtual Reality in Tourism

Virtual reality in tourism provides viewers with an immersive tourism experience. There are many different types of virtual tourism services available. They use a combination of virtual reality, still images, video, audio, narration, and other multimedia formats.

It gives users an experience of a destination that they wouldn't get from looking at pictures or visiting a website.

Virtual tourism content can be accessed using a virtual reality headset for the most immersive experience. It can also be viewed on a regular computer or even a mobile device.

Virtual Reality in Tourism

Viewers can take part in activities, travel to different locations, and visit different destinations. They can do all this from the comfort of their own homes. Virtual tourism has many distinct advantages. The most obvious advantage is that viewers can see and experience a destination without having to travel there.

This means they are not restricted by available flights, travel logistics, safety concerns, or whether destinations are open. They aren't even concerned with time zones or weather conditions.

Another advantage for viewers is the cost

Millions of people who otherwise would not be able to afford to travel to these destinations can now do so. Viewers are embracing the rise of virtual tourism destinations to see and experience things they never imagined were possible.

The ability to read the minds of potential customers and highlight a location, amenities, and offerings is a clear benefit for hotels and destinations. Viewers who have been to a hotel or visited a location through virtual tourism are more likely to book a future stay. They also look forward to experiencing the activity in the “real world.”

Virtual tourism technology also provides excellent marketing opportunities. Instead of flat images on a brochure or website, potential guests can see a 360-degree view of a property and its amenities. Viewers who experience a property in this way are more likely to want to return in the future. They can also share the virtual offerings with their friends and family.

How is it used: Virtual Reality in Tourism?

There are many ways for hotels and destinations to enjoy this technology and the growing popularity of virtual tourism.

Virtual tourism has been in use for years to highlight the unique aspects of a location. These aspects can be history and culture to exciting activities, local attractions, and fun trivia.

360-degree VR video is used by hotels and local governments to capture everything about a destination in an immersive way. With the press of a button, viewers can travel to a remote mountaintop, a beautiful beach, a network of hiking trails, or a bustling city.

VR photography combines still images with specialized software

It creates an immersive image that allows the user to look in any direction. This technology is ideal for displaying hotel interiors, artwork, museum exhibits, and anything else that can be fully appreciated without the use of sound or motion.

Users can get in on the action with immersive VR experiences. They can interact with the environment and learn more through their actions. A curated experience focusing on one aspect of the location, such as the food scene, music, history, or art, is common. Virtual reality yoga classes, nature walks, stargazing, and bird watching are all popular ways to promote a location.

Before landing, passengers can take a 3D tour

Virtual reality can aid in the planning of tourist attractions, when there are delays in the travel schedule, travelers can use vr tech, take a virtual reality tour of the plane, travel planners can use virtual reality to create engaging presentations, virtual reality is a fantastic way to advertise on social media, virtual reality can assist travelers in locating locations on a map, the faroe islands, bristol from home, dubai 360 is a virtual tour of dubai, the great barrier reef, benefits of virtual reality in tourism.

There's nothing quite like knowing where you're going before you arrive at your destination. One of the benefits of virtual reality in tourism is that visitors can take a 3D tour of their destination before arriving. Virtual reality is distinct from traditional photography.

It allows users to immerse themselves in the experience. Tourists can thus sense a city's culture before ever setting foot in the city. It makes them feel less like outsiders when they arrive.

Vacations always seem to be too short because visitors never get to see everything they want while on vacation. A lack of good planning is one of the reasons why key sights go unnoticed by tourists. Virtual reality allows visitors to learn the names and locations of all the town's major attractions ahead of time.

Tourists can also look inside famous landmarks to see if they want to take a virtual tour of them in real-time. Because virtual reality allows visitors to only entertain the locations that intrigue them the most in real-time, they get the most out of their sightseeing experience.

There's nothing worse than getting stranded at the airport for an unknown amount of time. During these times, boredom has a way of creeping in and clouding the vision of the excitement. When unexpected delays occur, the best way to re-establish excitement for the trip ahead is to take a virtual reality tour of the vacation destination.

Some passengers feel more at ease after seeing the plane and knowing where all the emergency exits are located. Virtual reality allows passengers to take a 3D tour of the plane before boarding.

The future of virtual reality in tourism does not completely end the need for actual tours. When it comes to presentations, travel planners should think about the advantages of virtual reality in tourism. Consider the coordinator who can do more than hand out a brochure listing possible locations.

How many more customers could a planner get if he could take them on a virtual tour of the streets of Venice before charging them for a trip they might or might not enjoy?

Virtual reality in tourism removes the element of surprise from travel. Thus ensuring that customers have a good time in their chosen destination.

A vacation planning company that uses social media does more than just post pictures of popular destinations. Virtual reality can help businesses stand out from the competition. It allows coordinators to post 3D tours of cities to entice customers to contact them.

There's nothing more frustrating than getting lost on vacation and wasting time. In tourism, virtual reality can assist travelers in locating simple items. These can be a nearby coffee shop, reducing the time it takes to find something that would otherwise take 30 minutes to find to only 10 minutes.

Some Examples of Virtual Reality in Tourism

The Faroe Islands are a group of islands off the coast of Iceland. Once COVID-19 began, the Faroe Islands launched a virtual tourism campaign. This provides people with an alternative to traveling to the location. This was a blessing for everyone who had been isolated all over the world. It allows visitors from all over the world to virtually tour the islands through the eyes of a local. It also allows virtual tourists to track the locals' movements in real-time.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Visit Bristol created an immersive experience like the Faroe Islands. Bristol From Home is a collection of travelers' favorite ideas, inspirations, and resources. These ideas allow you to continue to enjoy Bristol from the comfort of your own home during social distancing measures.

The website offers a variety of virtual experiences. It provides tours of a luxury Victorian ship, hot-air balloon rides, gin tastings, and more, all in one convenient location.

Tour Dubai's awe-inspiring architecture with Dubai 360. It is an immersive virtual tourism experience that allows users to travel the city from a bird's-eye view. It helps you learn everything there is to know about the various locations.

Virtual tourism is available on the Great Barrier Reef. Legendary broadcaster and historian David Attenborough hosts the interactive journey. The journey takes viewers on a tour of the world's largest coral reef system. This is more than just a substitute for Great Barrier Reef tours. It's an experience in and of itself, demonstrating the versatility of virtual tourism.

Virtual tours can serve as a starting point for alternative tourism during the Corona pandemic and even after it is over. Furthermore, there are those who lack the necessary resources, financial capacity, free time, or access.

People with disabilities and limited mobility will be able to experience the sensation of recreation through a virtual tour.

Virtual tours, besides being cost-effective, can be used to promote tourist attractions to central and local governments. It does, in fact, need technological advancements such as 360-degree software, virtual reality (VR), and panoramic images.

With this advancement in technology, virtual tours can now be visualized in 3D, making them more realistic and futuristic. A virtual tour can act as an entrance to entice people to visit these tourist attractions in person.

You may also like to read: VR And AR In Food Business: Their Impact and Benefits

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How virtual tourism can rebuild travel for a post-pandemic world

The Faroe Islands is just one destination using new technologies to create a virtual tourism experience Image:  Knud Erik Vinding/Pixabay

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• The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the travel and tourism industries;
• Businesses in this sector must build infrastructure and practices that allow people to travel safely in a post-pandemic world and support local communities that benefit from tourism;
• Augmented, virtual and mixed reality technologies can offer alternative ways to travel the world and an exciting new model for the industry.

The tourism industry has hit a nadir owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will continue to feel the effects for at least the first three quarters of 2021 – according to a recent UN report , tourist arrivals globally in January 2021 were down 87% when compared to January 2020.

Travel will prevail over post-pandemic anxiety, making it incumbent on the aviation and tourism industry to build safer infrastructure and practices that take care of travellers’ well being.

Have you read?

International tourism is set to plunge by 80% this year – but some regions could recover more quickly, how global tourism can become more sustainable, inclusive and resilient, virtual reality adds to tourism through touch, smell and real people’s experiences.

After a year thwarted by the pandemic and with the future not looking too upbeat for the industry at this juncture, tourism business owners should look at alternative modes of interaction for holidaymakers that can also aid the people and economies who depend on tourism.

The COVID-19 pandemic has noticeably hastened the testing and rollout of forward-looking technologies. Technology has not only enabled citizens globally to interact with loved ones, but also helped industries such as healthcare, information technology, education and many more to work remotely.

In the last few decades, technology has helped travel and tourism industries increase their reach through travel booking websites, videos, blogs and travel photography. Digital tools and content are a vital source of information for vacationists organizing their next holiday or creating a destination wish list. Whilst remote or virtual tourism has been a futuristic theme within industry forums for some time, the world today, shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, might now be ready to accept it.

A human-centric design that draws insights from cognitive behaviour, social psychology, neuroscience and behavioural economics applied with cutting edge technologies such as augmented, virtual or mixed reality (AR, VR, MR) could be a game-changer. AR, VR and MR can enable a seamless, uninterrupted interactive experience for viewers from their own private space. The design principles will create a frictionless digital user experience and construct a positive perception of a tourist destination.

There have been previous attempts to achieve this feat: if you are an aqua sightseer, you might be aware of a documentary exploring the Great Barrier Reef . Through an interactive website, one can view the clear, tranquil currents of the Pacific Ocean and the biodiversity of the reef, and experience the sounds of a healthy coral reef. Another much-discussed VR experience is Mission 828 which allows you to take a virtual parachute jump from the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The Official Tourist Board of the Faroe Islands has also crafted a virtual experience to entice post-pandemic visitors from across the world.

Imagine a human-centric designed, interactive space online that makes a destination accessible and so real for a sightseer with sound captured by electro-acoustics researchers. You could view holiday sites in a video or through self-navigation using voice or joystick controls, interact with people using video-calling platforms, travel through the streets of said location, eavesdrop on local music and much more. This could be stitched together in a single platform individually or in silos on the internet and further enhanced by setting up physical experience tourism centres locally. Such a setup would allow tourist guides, artisans, craftspeople, hoteliers and transport business to create their own digital and virtual offerings and interact with possible customers.

Here’s how it might look: a vacationer starts their experience from the time their flight commences. The plane descends to the destination runway and pictures of the vicinity from the aircraft window pane are captured. The airport signage welcomes passengers and directs them to a pre-booked taxi. The vacationer gets to choose their first destination and travels through the streets in a chauffeur-driven car whose interactions en route become part of their cherished memories. On arrival, a tourist guide walks you through the destination all controlled with just a tap on your gadget. During the sightseeing, you hear random people speaking, posing for photographs and more. You take a photo to post on social media, go shopping and negotiate with a local vendor to purchase an artwork and get it delivered to your door. You learn how a local dish is prepared and get familiar with local customs.

A virtual platform could even provide an opportunity for people to explore areas that are affected by or fighting terrorism. For example, imagine seeing the diverse wildlife and snow leopard of the Gurez Valley, in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It doesn’t stop there: if thought through, one could experience travelling to the South Pole, space and beyond. It could also serve as a learning portal for students to understand geographies, culture, art and history.

With technology improving lives globally, virtual tourism could reignite the tourism industry and its people and help build a more sustainable economic model. As a human-centric platform, it can establish local tourist guides, artisans and others as global citizens in the tourism industry.

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History Of Virtual Reality

Virtual reality has beginnings that preceded the time that the concept was coined and formalised. In this detailed history of virtual reality we look at how technology has evolved and how key pioneers have paved the path for virtual reality as we know it today.

Defining Virtual Reality

Before we can consider the virtual reality development timeline, we have to briefly consider that is that counts as “VR” or should be seen as a precursor to it. After all, the point of virtual reality is to trick someone’s brain into believing something is real, even when it isn’t.

For example, there’s the famous example of an early cinematic screening. It showed a train heading straight at the camera. The people in attendance, having never seen film before, had a reaction to the footage as if it were really a train, than just a picture of one. While that story may be considered more of an urban legend in modern times, it underscores the problem of defining virtual reality neatly. It is entirely possible for film and television imagery to influence our sense of reality, at least to a point. Yet, we don’t think of them and virtual reality as being one and the same.

There are plenty of definitions of VR today, which all more or less overlap in key areas. When we use the word “VR” now, it specifically refers to computer generated imagery and hardware specifically designed to bring those sights and sounds to us in a way that is totally immersive.

Many definitions also stipulate that VR must be interactive. This would differentiate it from things like 3D -movies, 360-degree video and other similar “look but don’t touch” media. The problem with this is that plenty of computer generated VR isn’t interactive at all, yet everyone considers it to be VR. While 360-degree video might not be computer generated, it’s functionally no different to a pre-planned non-interactive CG VR experience.

In a historical context then, we have to broaden what is seen as VR or VR-adjacent. Some of the milestones discussed in this article are therefore also ancestors to other forms of media, such as film.  The technologies are also branched into many different directions. In some cases,a milestone is more about the establishment of an idea, rather than the invention f a specific technology.

Early attempts at virtual reality

Panoramic paintings.

If we focus more strictly on the scope of virtual reality as a means of creating the illusion that we are present somewhere we are not, then the earliest attempt at virtual reality is surely the 360-degree murals (or panoramic paintings) from the nineteenth century. These paintings were intended to fill the viewer’s entire field of vision, making them feel present at some historical event or scene.

1838 – Stereoscopic photos & viewers

In 1838 Charles Wheatstone’s research demonstrated that the brain processes the different two-dimensional images from each eye into a single object of three dimensions. Viewing two side by side stereoscopic images or photos through a stereoscope gave the user a sense of depth and immersion. The later development of the popular View-Master stereoscope (patented 1939), was used for “virtual tourism”. The design principles of the Stereoscope is used today for the popular Google Cardboard and low budget VR head mounted displays for mobile phones.

• 1838 : The stereoscope (Charles Wheatstone)
• 1849 : The lenticular stereoscope (David Brewster)
• 1939 : The View-Master (William Gruber)

Over time mankind has been slowly but surely creating ever richer ways to stimulate our senses. Things really began to take off in the 20th century, with advent of electronics and computer technology.

1929 – Link Trainer The First Flight Simulator

In 1929 Edward Link created the “Link trainer” (patented 1931) probably the first example of a commercial flight simulator, which was entirely electromechanical. It was controlled by motors that linked to the rudder and steering column to modify the pitch and roll. A small motor-driven device mimicked turbulence and disturbances. Such was the need for safer ways to train pilots that the US military bought six of these devices for $3500. In 2015 money this was just shy of $50 000. During World War II over 10,000 “blue box” Link Trainers were used by over 500,000 pilots for initial training and improving their skills.

1930s – Science fiction story predicted VR

In the 1930s a story by science fiction writer Stanley G. Weinbaum (Pygmalion’s Spectacles) contains the idea of a pair of goggles that let the wearer experience a fictional world through holographics, smell, taste and touch. In hindsight the experience Weinbaum describes for those wearing the goggles are uncannily like the modern and emerging experience of virtual reality, making him a true visionary of the field.

1950s – Morton Heilig’s Sensorama

The video below is an interview with Morton about the Sensorama.

1960 – The first VR Head Mounted Display

Morton Heilig’s next invention was the Telesphere Mask (patented 1960) and was the first example of a head-mounted display (HMD), albeit for the non-interactive film medium without any motion tracking. The headset provided stereoscopic 3D and wide vision with stereo sound.

1961 Headsight – First motion tracking HMD

In 1961, two Philco Corporation engineers (Comeau & Bryan) developed the first precursor to the HMD as we know it today – the Headsight. It incorporated a video screen for each eye and a magnetic motion tracking system, which was linked to a closed circuit camera. The Headsight was not actually developed for virtual reality applications (the term didn’t exist then), but to allow for immersive remote viewing of dangerous situations by the military. Head movements would move a remote camera, allowing the user to naturally look around the environment. Headsight was the first step in the evolution of the VR head mounted display but it lacked the integration of computer and image generation.

1965 – The Ultimate display by Ivan Sutherland

Ivan Sutherland described the “Ultimate Display” concept that could simulate reality to the point where one could not tell the difference from actual reality. His concept included:

• A virtual world viewed through a HMD and appeared realistic through augmented 3D sound and tactile feedback.
• Computer hardware to create the virtual word and maintain it in real time.
• The ability users to interact with objects in the virtual world in a realistic way

“The ultimate display would, of course, be a room within which the computer can control the existence of matter. A chair displayed in such a room would be good enough to sit in. Handcuffs displayed in such a room would be confining, and a bullet displayed in such a room would be fatal. With appropriate programming such a display could literally be the Wonderland into which Alice walked.” – Ivan Sutherland

This paper would become a core blueprint for the concepts that encompass virtual reality today.

1966 – Furness’ Flight Sim

An engineer for the military named Thomas Furness is credited with kick starting the development of modern flight simulator technology. Sometimes billed as “the grandfather of VR” his work in Human Interface Technology” continues to inform VR technology to this day.

1968 – Sword of Damocles

In 1968 Ivan Sutherland and his student Bob Sproull created the first VR / AR head mounted display (Sword of Damocles) that was connected to a computer and not a camera. It was a large and scary looking contraption that was too heavy for any user to comfortably wear and was suspended from the ceiling (hence its name). The user would also need to be strapped into the device. The computer generated graphics were very primitive wireframe rooms and objects.

1969 – Artificial Reality

In 1969 Myron Kruegere a virtual reality computer artist developed a series of experiences which he termed “artificial reality” in which he developed computer-generated environments that responded to the people in it. The projects named GLOWFLOW, METAPLAY, and PSYCHIC SPACE were progressions in his research which ultimately let to the development of VIDEOPLACE technology. This technology enabled people to communicate with each other in a responsive computer generated environment despite being miles apart.

1972 – GE Builds a Digital Flight Sim

General Electric produces a “computerized” flight simulator that sports three screens arranged in a 180-degree configuration. The screens surround the simulated training cockpit to give trainee pilots a feeling of true immersion.

1975 – Krueger’s VIDEOPLACE

The VIDEOPLACE is widely regarded as the first interactive VR system. Using a mix of CG, light projection,cameras and screens it could measure user position. In modern terms it’s more like an AR projection and didn’t feature any sort of headset.

1977 – The MIT Movie Map

MIT creates the Aspec Movie Map. This system let people wander through a virtual experience of Aspen, Colorado. It was almost like an ancient precursor of Google Street View. They used video filmed from a moving car to create the impression of moving through the city. Once again, no HMD was part of this setup.

1979 – The McDonnel-Douglas HMD

The VITAL helmet is probably the first proper example of a VR HMD outside of the lab. Using a head tracker, pilots could look at primitive computer-generated imagery.

1982 – Sayre Gloves 

Finger-tracking gloves for VR called “Sayre” gloves are invented by Daniel Sandin and Thomas DeFanti. The gloves were wired to a computer system and used optical sensors to detect finger movement. This was the precursor to the “data gloves” that would be an important part of early VR.

1985 – VPL Research is Founded  

VR pioneers Jaron Lanier and Thomas Zimmerman found VPL Research. This is the first ever VR company to sell HMDs and gloves. The term “data glove”, comes from their DataGlove product.

1986  – Furness Invents the Super Cockpit

Tom Furness, was the director of an Airforce project known as the “super cockpit”. It was a simulator designed for training that featured CG graphics and real time interactivity for pilots. Interestingly, the Super Cockpit featured integration between movement tracking and aircraft control.

1987 – Virtual reality the name was born

Even after all of this development in virtual reality, there still wasn’t an all-encompassing term to describe the field. This all changed in 1987 when Jaron Lanier, founder of the visual programming lab (VPL), coined (or according to some popularised) the term “virtual reality”. The research area now had a name. Through his company VPL research Jaron developed a range of virtual reality gear including the Dataglove (along with Tom Zimmerman) and the EyePhone head mounted display. They were the first company to sell Virtual Reality goggles (EyePhone 1 $9400; EyePhone HRX $49,000) and gloves ($9000). A major development in the area of virtual reality haptics .

1989 – NASA Gets Into VR

NASA, with the help of a Crystal River Engineering, creates Project VIEW. A VR sim used to train astronauts. VIEW looks recognizable as a modern example of VR and features gloves for fine simulation of touch interaction. Interestingly, the technology in these gloves leads directly to the creation of the Nintendo Power Glove.

1991 – Virtuality Group Arcade Machines

We began to see virtual reality devices to which the public had access, although household ownership of cutting edge virtual reality was still far out of reach. The Virtuality Group launched a range of arcade games and machines. Players would wear a set of VR goggles and play on gaming machines with realtime (less than 50ms latency) immersive stereoscopic 3D visuals. Some units were also networked together for a multi-player gaming experience.

1991 – Medina’s VR Mars Rover

These days we are pretty used to seeing live footage from Mars rovers. Back in 1991 this was still a future dream and there were many problems left to solve. A NASA engineer named Antonio Medina develops a VR system that lets you pilot a Mars rover, even taking the time delay into account. A system dubbed “Computer Simulated Teleoperation”.

1992 – The Lawnmower Man

The Lawnmower Man movie introduced the concept of virtual reality to a wider audience. It was in part based on the founder of Virtual Reality Jaron Lanier and his early laboratory days. Jaron was played by Pierce Brosnan, a scientist who used virtual reality therapy on a mentally disabled patient. Real virtual reality equipment from VPL research labs was used in the film and the director Brett Leonard, admited to drawing inspiration from companies like VPL.

1993 – SEGA announce new VR glasses

Sega announced the Sega VR headset for the Sega Genesis console in 1993 at the Consumer Electronics Show in 1993. The wrap-around protoype glasses had head tracking, stereo sound and LCD screens in the visor. Sega fully intended to release the product at a price point of about $200 at the time, or about $322 in 2015 money. However, technical development difficulties meant that the device would forever remain in the prototype phase despite having developed 4 games for this product. This was a huge flop for Sega.

1994 – The Sega VR-1

On a roll with their VR devices, Sega also releases it’s VR-1, an arcade motion simulator that moves in accordance to what’s happening on-screen. This makes it like the AS-1, but the VR uses a head-mounted display, whereas the AS-1 made use of a regular projection screen.

1995 – Nintendo Virtual Boy

The Nintendo Virtual Boy (originally known as VR-32) was a 3D gaming console that was hyped to be the first ever portable console that could display true 3D graphics. It was first released in Japan and North America at a price of $180 but it was a commercial failure despite price drops. The reported reasons for this failure were a lack of colour in graphics (games were in red and black), there was a lack of software support and it was difficult to use the console in a comfortable position. The following year they discontinued its production and sale.

1997 – Landmark VR PTSD Treatment

Georgia Tech and Emory University collaborate to use VR for the treatment of PTSD in war veterans. This is still a crucial aspect of PTSD treatment and research today. Controlled exposure to traumatic triggers are crucial to treating the symptoms of PTSD. VR technology gave therapists unrivaled control over what the patients sees and experiences.

1999 – The Matrix

In 1999 the Wachowski siblings’ film The Matrix hits theatres. The film features characters that are living in a fully simulated world, with many completely unaware that they do not live in the real world. Although some previous films had dabbled in depicting virtual reality, such as Tron in 1982 and Lawnmower Man in 1992, The Matrix has a major cultural impact and brought the topic of simulated reality into the mainstream.

2007 – Google Brings Us Street View

Google enhanced its Maps service with street-level 360-degree images, captured by special cars fitted with custom camera equipment. Immersive Media did the work using a dodecahedral camera of their own design. Today you can “stand” in just about any part of the world and look around thanks to this technology.

2010 – Street View Goes 3D and the Oculus is Prototyped

Just a few years later, Street View gets a 3D mode, but much bigger news in the history of VR is the work being done by a young man known as Palmer Lucky. He’s created a kit VR headset that anyone can make, but a fateful meeting with computer legend John Carmack puts him on the path to taking his “Oculus Rift” bigger than he could have imagined.

2012 – The Oculus Kickstarter

Palmer Lucky launches a Kickstarter to fund the product and development of his prototype headset, the Rift. The campaign raises almost 2.5 million dollars and is a clear dividing line between the commercial failures of consumer VR in the past and the modern VR revolution.

2014 – Facebook Buys Oculus and Sony Announced their VR Project

Social media giant sees potential in the Oculus technology, buying the company and making Lucky incredibly wealthy. This is a bumper year, also seeing the launch of Google Cardboard, PSVR and the Samsung Gear VR. Virtual Reality is suddenly a very hot topic.

This is also the year that Sony announced that they are working on a VR add-on for the popular PS4 console. The PS4 is much less powerful than VR-capable computers of the day, so everyone is pretty curious to see how they’ll pull it off.

2016–2017 – All Hell Breaks Loose

This is the year everyone unleashes VR products that are ready for primetime. The Rift and the HTC Vive lead the way, but the floodgates have truly opened. You can see the results of this boom by visiting our HMD database .

2018 – The Half-dome HMD is Announced

Oculus shows off a new HMD prototype known as the “half dome”. This advanced headset uses varifocal lenses and an extremely wide field of view, at 140 degrees.

2018 – Standalone VR Rises, Mobile VR Dies

We now have both the Oculus Go and Oculus Quest. Two examples of standalone VR, that need no computer or phone to work. Mobile VR is declining rapidly and standalone systems such as the Go are very affordable.

2019 –  VR is Shifting Rapidly

Mixed Reality systems and sophisticated technologies are now part of standalone VR headsets. The Oculus Quest receives a promise of tethering capability and smartphone-based VR projects begin shutting down.

The cost of VR headsets has dropped dramatically and computer hardware capable of running these headsets is virtually mainstream. Many advanced headsets are on the horizon. Varifocal technology, extremely wide fields of view, hand scanning and eye tracking are but a few of the key developments.

Major companies such as Apple are rumoured to be working on mixed reality projects and at this point it time it seems as if VR and mixed reality are likely to be inseparable in future.

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• Exploring the Past with a New Lens: Virtual Reality in History Education
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• Bringing History to Life with Virtual Field Trips on HistoryView.org
• Enhance Your Virtual Field Trip Experience with Histora: ChatGPT AI Teacher Assistant, Historian, and Tour Guide on HistoryView

HistoryView

Free Educational Virtual Tour Platform of Museums, Art Galleries, National Parks and Historic Sites

Virtual Library

Welcome to the enhanced experience of historyview.org’s virtual tours.

Embark on a thrilling journey through time with HistoryView.org’s immersive 3D virtual field trips! Marvel at the beauty of world-class museums, art galleries, and historic treasures, all from the comfort of your home or classroom. Our cutting-edge Matterport 3D technology whisks you away, placing you in the midst of history’s greatest wonders. Feel the excitement of strolling through captivating exhibits and admiring breathtaking art as if you were there.

Meet Histora, your AI-powered companion, enhancing your adventure with engaging, personalized stories and facts at every turn. Dive into the past with us at HistoryView.org, where history isn’t just learned, it’s experienced. Join our mission to make history an accessible, lively adventure, vital for understanding our world. History is not just a subject, it’s a journey — and with us, it’s a journey you won’t forget.

Please use this clickable table of contents to explore museums, art galleries, historic heritage sites, zoos, and aquariums across different regions and topics:

Our virtual tours work well for classrooms and individual exploration. They create an immersive experience that brings history alive. With Matterport 3D virtual tours, you can:

• Visit famous landmarks and historic sites from around the world.
• Zoom in to see details and read descriptions.
• Learn about each location’s history and significance.
• Go at your own pace, which suits different learning styles.

Our virtual tours are completely free, making them accessible to all, no matter where you are or what your financial situation is. Whether you’re a student, educator, or just curious, our virtual tours are a great way to uncover the stories behind iconic landmarks. Start exploring now and join us on a journey through history!

Please note that all conversations are recorded (DO NOT GIVE PERSONAL INFO)

Top 10 virtual tours: see museums and the world without leaving home

Stuck at home? You can still enjoy amazing sights and experiences

Many of the world’s most iconic locations now offer virtual tours, meaning you can visit museums, world heritage sites and other attractions from the comfort of your couch. You don’t need a VR headset , either, although some attractions do support virtual reality for a more immersive experience.

So if you’re looking for things to do at home, and in need of a change of scenery, simply grab your laptop, tablet or phone, and join us on a world tour filled with history, nature and – of course – technology.

1. Machu Picchu, Andes Mountains, Peru

A simply stunning UNESCO World Heritage site, Machu Picchu is a visual wonder that just has to be seen. You no longer need to fly all the way to Peru to see it in all its glory, however, as the virtual tour is comprehensive, immersive, and filled with fascinating insights.

With 360-degree views of the ruins of Inca settlements and lush green landscapes, you can visit every popular vantage point and learn more about the history of the famous site thanks to a helpful voice narrator. OK, you can’t feel the warm breeze around you, but if you turn on the heat and have a handy desk fan set to low, it’s almost as good as the real thing. Almost.

Behold the marvel : Machu Picchu

2. The Louvre Museum, Paris

An attraction visited by millions of tourists in person every year, the Louvre Museum has also created a selection of virtual tours based on its permanent collections. Explore Egyptian antiquities, the Remains of the Louvre’s Moat, and the decorative arts of the Galerie d’Apollon. 

The tour is easy to navigate, with an expandable minimap that lets you highlight exhibits to view with just a couple of clicks. You can also find out more about each room in The Louvre, with detailed descriptions that will probably make the room you’re actually sitting in feel frightfully dull in comparison. 

Take a trip: Louvre Museum

3. The National Museum of Computing, Milton Keynes, UK

The National Museum of Computing contains the world’s largest collection of working historic computers. That means one of them probably runs Microsoft Vista and is still working...

The museum features a fantastic, intuitive, virtual 3D tour. You can zoom in on each exhibit’s details, and find out more about every aspect of computing history, such as the world’s oldest working digital computer. Impressive stuff.

Discover a digital treasure trove: The National Museum of Computing

4. Georgia Aquarium, Georgia, USA

Nothing beats the beauty of nature, so it’s good to know you can still get your daily dose of “aww” from the safety of your sofa. The Georgia Aquarium has over 50 species ranging from sea lions to underwater puffins, with many available to view via webcam. There’s also a daily and weekly livestream that’s aimed at piquing children’s interest in animals, and a great at-home educational tool if you want to entertain the little ones. 

Ever wondered what a Beluga Whale gets up to in its spare time? Just click on the link below and find out. Water-way to have a good time. 

Sea more: Georgia Aquarium

5. A 3-Minute Tour, Tokyo

What if we told you that you could ride in a Tuk Tuk, walk across the famous Shibuya crossing, win a Pikachu from a claw machine, and make friends with a robot… all in under three minutes. That might be physically impossible, but with VR it’s a breeze.

If you’ve ever wanted to take a whistle-stop tour of Japan, the Japan National Tourism Organization has created a 360-degree virtual reality video that lets you do all of the above, and lots more. 

Simply put on a VR headset to experience a surreal thrill ride, where you’ll go from feeding a deer to facing off against a sumo wrestler in a matter of seconds. The video is also viewable in 2D, and well worth a look. 

Check it out below.

6. The British Museum, London

Home to a remarkable collection that spans over two million years of human history and culture, The British Museum has nearly 50 online exhibits to view. From Bonaparte and the Battle of Waterloo to exploring the history of LGBTQ, there’s plenty of informative content to delve into.

For a more interactive experience, check out the Museum of the World tour . You can browse through a large selection of exhibits that are dated by century, continent and category – such as trade and conflict or art and design. Each exhibit offers a detailed description as well as accompanying audio, which helps provide a fascinating backstory to each piece. 

Browse the exhibits: The British Museum

7. The Vatican, Rome

Filled with spectacular architecture and historic monuments, The Vatican is within your virtual reach, with a host of museums providing online tours. Step into the Sistine Chapel and Raphael’s Rooms, which are adorned with simply sensational artwork. 

The tour is compatible with WebVR, so you can pop on a VR headset to get an even closer look at some of mankind’s most memorable creations. It’s truly breathtaking, even when viewed through a screen.  

When in Rome, visit: The Vatican

 8. Musée d’Orsay, Paris

Located in the center of Paris, this historic museum was installed in the former Orsay railway station. It was originally built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900, and displays collections of art from the period 1848 to 1914.

Take a leisurely virtual stroll through the opulent hallways and witness works from dozens of famous French artists, including Monet, Gauguin and Van Gogh. With no other visitors to contend with, you can soak up all the culture on display to your heart’s content – and there’s a lot to soak up. 

Take the tour: Musée d’Orsay

9. Athens Acropolis, Athens

A must-visit destination for history buffs, the Athens Acropolis includes the world-famous Parthenon, and is a cultural hotspot for tourists. Choose between popular sites such as the Theatre of Dionysus and enjoy in-depth videos that provide a fascinating and educational insight into ancient Greece. 

There are plenty of photographs to view and engrossing facts to learn, so don’t be surprised if you become an armchair expert in no time. Now, where’d you put that amphora of wine? 

Get to the Greek: Athens Acropolis

10. The Royal Academy of Arts, London

If you’re amazed by architecture, the Royal Academy of Arts has a virtual tour that will make you go “ooo” and “ahh” for hours. The Sensing Spaces exhibition uses high-quality 360-degree photography to give visitors a taste of its structures and remarkable exhibitions – it really does feel as if you’re actually there. 

Each exhibition is complemented by further information for users to read through, but you’re encouraged to come to your own conclusions, and think about what each space means to you.

Visit the exhibition: Sensing Spaces

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Adam was formerly TRG's Hardware Editor. A law graduate with an exceptional track record in content creation and online engagement, Adam has penned scintillating copy for various technology sites and also established his very own award-nominated video games website. He’s previously worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor and once played Halo 5: Guardians for over 51 hours for charity. He is now an editor at The Shortcut.

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Introduction: Historicising and Theorising Digital Transformation and Sustainable Development in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry

• First Online: 13 September 2024

Cite this chapter

• Emmanuel Ndhlovu   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2339-3068 4 ,
• Kaitano Dube   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7482-3945 4 &
• Ngoni Courage Shereni   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0074-9559 5  

This chapter introduces the ensuing chapters in the book Tourism and Hospitality for Sustainable Development—Volume One: Technological Innovations and Development Realities . As the chapter shows, it might not be entirely incorrect to assert that the contemporary tourism and hospitality industry is transitioning to innovative technological interventions to improve services and products in pursuit of sustainable development. This is demonstrated by the rapid and radical transitions enterprises are making towards digital tools, as detailed in the chapters in this book. The book sits at the intersection of three sets of academic literature: literature on tourism and hospitality, literature on sustainable development, and literature on digitalisation. As a general trend, these three strands of literature do not sufficiently engage with each other, and this book seeks to address this scholarly gap through several empirically based case studies of various tourism and hospitality businesses worldwide. Much of the literature on digitalisation and sustainable development in the tourism and hospitality industry is focused on how enterprises integrated digital tools to survive COVID-19 safety protocols. This has tended to crowd out studies about digitalisation in the pre- and post-COVID-19 period. This book, thus, emphasises the value of integrating digital technologies in the tourism and hospitality industries before and after COVID-19 in offering a more refined analysis of twenty-first-century digital inventions, innovations, and development realities in the tourism and hospitality industry.

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Ndhlovu, E., Dube, K., Shereni, N.C. (2024). Introduction: Historicising and Theorising Digital Transformation and Sustainable Development in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry. In: Ndhlovu, E., Dube, K., Shereni, N.C. (eds) Tourism and Hospitality for Sustainable Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-63069-9_1

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Welcome to Epic Travel Plans!

Epic Travel Plans

Destinations that will leave you Breathless. Plans to make it happen

15 Best INTERACTIVE Virtual Tours of HISTORIC SITES

Eager to explore the world? So am I! I started going on a bunch of virtual tours of famous places and loved them so much that I thought I’d share my favorites with you. Here are the 15 BEST virtual tours of historic sites around the world. ALL are interactive 360 videos or photos. These top tourist destinations will wow you! 

This post is part of a best-of series of virtual tours. Find more incredible  virtual tours , including national parks and waterfalls around the world, wildlife encounters, awesome cities, and crazy adventure travel. 

Historic sites make for the best museums and the best storytellers, hey? By simply standing in a room or overlooking the ruins of days past, you’re immediately transported to another time. Another person’s experiences. And these interactive virtual tours take you right there … past the throngs of tourists and face to face with history. I hope you find these virtual tours of historic sites as inspiring as I do!

Now, if you don’t see the historic site virtual tour you’re looking for, continue to the Summary and Resources section at the bottom. There you’ll find links to more virtual tours of historic sites and other amazing tourist destinations. 

As you read through this list, start creating your travel bucket list … you’ll feel very productive getting all that drooling down in ONE place.

Or, go ahead and plan your next trip . (Or a few … I have!)

This is my list of the best virtual tours of historic sites out there. Enjoy!

1. Xian Warriors Historic Site Virtual Tour (China)

Oh. My. Goodness. Let’s start this list of the BEST virtual tours of historic sites with one incredible famous place.

Even in Chinese, this Xian Warriors virtual tour is AMAZING. Jump down from the tourist walkways to “walk” among the 8,000 some warriors and hundreds of chariots and horses, all in battle position. Zoom in to see traces of colorful paint on their unique expressions. Pan around to the rock and ponder what lies beyond.

This massive mausoleum was created around 210 B.C. All of this was to protect China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, in the afterlife. WOW. 

2. Great Wall of China Virtual Tour (China)

Here’s another top tourist destination in China. Given how famous the Great Wall of China is, it isn’t surprising that you can find a few virtual tours. AirPano’s Great Wall of China virtual tour is my favorite. 

Start at Dragon’s Head and click on the informational markers to learn more about this famous place. Move up the incredible climb at Sky Stairs. Enjoy incredible aerial views of destroyed towers and pan around to the great mountain ranges surrounding you. And “look” down to the incredible, ancient wall ruins beneath your feet. 

Want  more  of China? Explore The Forbidden City and Hong Kong in virtual tours of cities , and the Avatar mountains in virtual tours of national parks !

3. Angkor Wat Historic Site Virtual Tour (Cambodia)

Cambodia’s Angkor Wat complex is incredible . It’s one of my happy places, and was a must for this list of best virtual tours of historic sites.

The Angkor Wat virtual tour from Google Maps Street View is pretty great. Explore a number of the Angkor Wat temples and learn a bit about them through the information icons. There’s a bit of a glitch when I try to zoom in with my mouse, but the +/- buttons work.

If you’d prefer a video tour of Angkor Wat, check out this 360 video virtual tour from VR Gorilla. They walk you through a few of the temples, take you on a boat tour past floating villages, and then give you a taste of Siem Reap’s night life.

Interested in Cambodia? Check out my related articles:

• Experiencing Cambodia’s Genocide Sites
• Donating Blood in Cambodia  
• 5 Trusted Charities in SE Asia Every Tourist Should Visit

4. The White House Virtual Tour (United States)

Okay. Let’s jump aaaall the way across the Pacific Ocean to the most famous home in the world: the White House. Google Maps takes us inside this top tourist destination with the White House virtual tour . Sadly, it only includes the public rooms on the main floor. I was really curious about the stairs heading down, but no luck. This virtual tour is pretty basic, but the location is pretty cool to make the list of best virtual tours of historic sites.

Don’t think this is cool enough? How about 360-degree videos of Washington DC’s top tourist destinations ? Open these up in your YouTube app and have fun!

You may also like Hotels for Romantic Getaways in USA

Interested in getting a CHEAP VR headset? Check out Google Cardboard!

5. Anne Frank’s House Virtual Tour (Netherlands)

Now we’ll jump again … over the Atlantic Ocean for virtual tours of historic sites in EUROPE.

And my goodness, this historic site virtual tour is such a treasure. The Anne Frank House virtual tour takes you into the house to see what their lives looked like before and during the Second World War. Climb up to the bookshelf that disguises the Secret Annex. This is where the young girl lived for more than two years, before being discovered. She was sent to the concentration camp, where she died.

Wander through the Anne Frank House virtual tour online. Or, download the free virtual reality app for a more intimate virtual tour of this historic site.

6. Palace of Versailles Virtual Tour (France)

WOW. The Palace of Versailles is certainly among the most grand palaces in the world. And now Google Arts and Culture takes you on a Palace of Versailles virtual tour ! Stroll along the stunning Hall of Mirrors tucked in between the War Room and Peace Room (use the Street View in the link above to enter the side rooms). Don’t forget to look UP!

Then check out the Royal Opera and wander through the gardens. Videos help round out this incredible historic site virtual tour. 

7. Prague Castle Virtual Tour (Czech Republic)

The Prague Castle virtual tour takes you up the hill overlooking the most beautiful city in the world. There are lots of 360-degree images to fall in love with, making this one of the best virtual tours of historic sites!

Explore the gardens and courtyards. Pan up to the buildings towering all around you and zoom in for more detail. Make yourself dizzy spinning in circles under St Vitus Cathedral’s stained glass windows or the Old Royal Palace ceiling. Enjoy the views from the East Gate and Southern Gardens. It’s too bad they didn’t include the view from the steps near Hradcany Square.

Even wandering through the Prague Castle virtual tour leaves me turned around. This is one of the things I really didn’t like when visiting Prague . If you’re planning a real-life visit to this famous place, study the map!

8. Vatican Museum Virtual Tour (Italy)

Have you dreamed of seeing the Vatican’s stunning rooms for yourself? The Vatican Museum virtual tour takes you through Sistine Chapel and Raphael’s Rooms, along with other incredible halls and museums. When I took a tour of this famous place in person, I fell in love with Raphael’s Rooms. Can you find him watching you wherever you stand? He’s in all of his rooms. (Like a much more sophisticated Where’s Waldo!)

Just standing on the doorstep looking into the Sistine Chapel is spectacular. Pan up, spin around and zoom in for a closer look of everything that intrigues you. It’ll be a LOT! The only negative to having it all to yourself? No audio, at least what I could find.

Note: The Vatican Museum virtual tour is compatible with WebVR. So put on a virtual reality headset for an even more epic historic site virtual tour! 

9. Roman Colosseum Virtual Tour (Italy)

One of the most stunning architectural feats of its time, and one of the most gut-wrenching historical sites to visit in person. In nearly 400 years of providing “entertainment,” it’s estimated that nearly 400,000 people died here. Plus almost 1 million animals.

Courtesy of Google Maps, the Roman Colosseum virtual tour takes you inside this top tourist destination. Although you can’t sit on the crumbling steps and absorb the heavy atmosphere, you can “walk” around the public areas and imagine what it would’ve been like. Thundering with cheers and chants of the crowd, lion roars and screams cut short. 

A list of best virtual tours of historic sites wouldn’t be complete without the Roman Colosseum.

Want more of Italy? Check out inspiring virtual tours of cities ! Naples, Pompeii … Old Town Taormina in Messina. WOW.

10. Acropolis Virtual Tour (Greece)

Now how about a trek out to Greece? The Acropolis virtual tour takes you up the ancient steps to this historic site overlooking Athens. Not all images give you 360-degree views and some of my favorite real-life views are missing, but it’s still the Acropolis. And there are detailed descriptions with each image … in English, yay! You also get to see it lit up at night.

My favorite real-life and virtual view from this historic site is looking back over your shoulder as you climb up. Can you find Mars Hill? Step carefully on the uneven paths, especially as you near the East Facade of the Parthenon. And take a deep breath as you gaze out over Athens from the Parthenon Through Time spot (near the West Facade).

But I must confess that I found the Acropolis virtual tour a bit frustrating to navigate. Instead of finding a “next” button, I kept going back to the map. But, the detailed descriptions and zooming function still make it fun, and one of the best virtual tours of historic sites you should check out.

11. Holy Land Historic Sites Virtual Tour (Israel/Palestine)

The Holy Land virtual tour takes you through a long list of 45 amazing historic sites. With so many famous places, I found it a little overwhelming. But if you know where you want to go, choose from the drop-down menu (top center) or images (top left).

The Holy Land virtual tour of historic sites is SO insightful. Bright, colorful churches. Lovely architecture. Vivid colors of the River Jordan. I was surprised by how tall the wailing wall is. You can almost imagine walking those sandy stone paths and running your hand along the stone walls. And feeling the Dead Sea mud squishing through your toes! 

12. Petra Virtual Tour (Jordan)

Ahhh … yes!! You HAVE to check out the Petra virtual tour from Google Maps. Definitely one of the BEST virtual tours of historic sites out there. 

Start your Petra virtual tour at the gateway, and wander all the way into the famous monastery at the end. Google’s Street View gives you an audio tour, ambient sounds of the area, and informational icons to learn more. Pan around and move along the path’s arrows (but you can’t zoom in). Climb up the sandy rock steps, gaze down at the desert canyon below and wander in and out of ancient temples.

My only complaint is that I can’t figure out how to stand back from the monastery for that classic photo op. Or find a camel. Can you?

13. Pharaoh Ramesses VI Tomb Virtual Tour (Egypt)

Okay, this site is very cool. Check out the Pharaoh Ramesses VI Tomb virtual tour . It takes you along a beautiful, ornately decorated tunnel into a room dedicated to Pharaoh Ramesses VI. Step over the railing to look closer at the broken tomb and hieroglyphics on the wall. SO. COOL.

Now, you can also take a virtual tour of the Pyramids . You’d think it’d have to be one of the best virtual tours of historic sites, right? But I found Google Maps’ Street View virtual tour disappointing. I couldn’t figure out how to get inside! (If you know the trick, please share in the comments!)

14. Taj Mahal Virtual Tour (India)

Here’s another incredible historic site to explore online. The Taj Mahal virtual tour takes you around the grounds and inside this top tourist destination. You can pan around and zoom in for a closer look. Listen to videos for information on various pieces. And the views of the gardens and Yamuna River are wonderful. 

But I’m sad to report that the Taj Mahal virtual tour has disappointing limitations. You can’t pan up to look at the ceilings nor down when you’re on top of the buildings. The most annoying thing for me, though, was not finding a “next” button and having to go back to the map every time. That said, I still love that I could “see” this famous place for myself. So, it still makes the list of best virtual tours of historic sites!

15. Machu Picchu Historic Site Virtual Tour (Peru)

One of the top tourist destinations in the world, Machu Picchu is definitely on my bucket list. Yours, too? The Machu Picchu virtual tour will make you want to go now ! 

This Machu Picchu virtual tour is easy to navigate and the narration is short and pleasant. The disadvantage of this setup, though, is you can’t just go wherever you want (like you kinda can with Google Maps Street View). I really wanted to go inside the ruined buildings. And sit on the edge and run my fingers through that sand! This historic site virtual tour really only makes me want to go more .

INCREDIBLE. What a way to end this post of the best virtual tours of historic sites!

Want more of South America? Visit incredible waterfalls like Angel Falls and Iguazu Falls, national parks and the Galapagos wildlife !

Summary and Resources

Which of these virtual tours of historic sites make your best-of list? Which top tourist destination are you eager to travel to next?

Other posts you may be interested in:

• 25 virtual tours of beautiful NATIONAL PARKS around the world
• 15 virtual tours of WILDLIFE ENCOUNTERS  
• 17 inspiring virtual tours of CITIES

If the famous place YOU were looking for isn’t among my best virtual tours of historic sites, here are two other fun websites to explore:

• AirPano has tons of virtual tours of historic sites and other amazing locations around the world, both by 360-degree photos and HD videos (built for VR headsets). Germany’s famous Neuschwanstein Castle. The Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge in China. Russia’s Saint Petersburg. AWESOME. 
• Google Arts & Culture has a huge variety of virtual tours of historic sites and others for you to explore. More palaces, castles and museums. Aquariums. Melbourne Cricket Ground. Many historic sites can be toured with Google Maps Street View, but not all with audio or information icons.

Interested in getting a VR headset? If you’re into gaming or want a good one, reviewers praise the Oculus brand . Otherwise, you CAN get a cheap VR headset. Just check out Google Cardboard !

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And now that you’re feeling the travel bug …

• Finally start your travel bucket list (FREE template!)
• Or, start planning your next trip!

Feature photo credit (Xian Warriors): Aaron Greenwood from Unsplash.

6 Responses

Enoued these very much. If anyone is interested, I have a website with over 50 tours. The photography and execution is certainly not as professional as thes 15, bit as a world history teacher I have added accurate historical audio tracks, offering a comprehensive tour of famed sights (as well as those off the beaten path) supplemented by photos I have taken as well as curated videos. The link is: https://tracyanddale.com/VirtualTraveler/index.html

Am I missing something (I’m visually impaired)? I can’t find links to the tours…

I had a virtual tour of the Holy Land. It led me to more than 36 sites with their own spiritual significance. Of course, the original site where a certain event took place are now protected and kept under the church buildings built around them.

Even though the original site was invisible, I could see so many well preserved churches and the people with deep thought on what God has done in those specific places.

The land was somewhat barren with much desert. But I believe it is still a land flowing with milk and honey as God said, over all. Seeing the site, churches and people led me to renew how great God is and how great salvation is through Jesus Christ, as a Christian myself.

Amen. There is something special about this area of the world, that is for sure.

Hi, great site with amazing links which I would love to use with my history student. Only think is that the Holy Land is in Palestine, not stotel territory of İsrael.

I’m so glad you’re enjoying the links! I agree … these virtual tours are pretty incredible.

Thank you for your comment. I’ve updated the post to reflect this.

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