The use of virtual reality headsets is constantly developing. While its most well-known use remains in the realm of entertainment and video games , virtual reality is gaining ground in many other areas.
In the medical field , for example, virtual reality is used as a therapeutic in many cases. This tool is found, for instance, in the treatment of phobias , to alleviate psychological distress , and/or in post-operative care, such as during epidural anesthesia, etc.
Today, one playing field is becoming major for virtual reality: travel . Between the health crisis, the desire to reduce one's carbon footprint, or even to compensate for an impossibility of travel, virtual immersions , via a headset, are becoming more and more widespread.
From traditional travel agencies to nursing homes , we'll take a brief look at the different ways to travel with virtual reality. The list, as is often the case with virtual reality, is of course not exhaustive!
How is the tourism industry relying on virtual reality?
Virtual reality is a considerable asset commercial point of view for tourism agencies . Indeed, various uses of this new technology can help the economic recovery of a sector that has already experienced two difficult years.
Initially, virtual reality can serve as a advertisement . Indeed, with their eyes immersed in a VR headset , customers can get a first impression of their potential future destination. Imagine hesitating between a trip to India or exploring Brazil . Put on a VR headset and teleport yourself, via a short 360° video, to the heart of New Delhi or Rio !
In total immersion , you can better choose the city you want to visit.
Furthermore, hotels , like travel agencies, can benefit from this marketing of virtual reality . Indeed, to showcase its premises, rooms, or activities, a hotel can use 360-degree videos in virtual reality headsets. Similarly, airlines can offer headsets as entertainment during flights to your destination.
virtual reality headsets can also be used during sightseeing tours . Visitors can see how a place has changed, view a monument that once stood but is now destroyed, see a monument that is temporarily inaccessible, and so on. All of this allows for the most complete visitor experience possible.
Since emotion and feelings play a significant role in the decision to undertake a journey, any immersion offered by virtual reality can be a way to tip the scales in favor of a trip.
Traveling to a nursing home, thanks to virtual reality.
Activities in nursing homes play an important role in the lives of residents. While more "traditional" activities, such as painting workshops or cooking classes, are certainly popular, other workshops more closely linked to new technologies are emerging.
Indeed, a new type of activity is emerging in nursing homes, thanks to virtual reality . It is now possible to offer residents of a nursing home the opportunity to travel, teleport , create new memories and new topics of conversation , through a virtual reality headset .
Accompanied by an instructor and wearing headsets, the seniors discover or rediscover the beautiful valleys of the French mountains and the western coastlines . Some of them have even had the luxury of traveling as far as India! Much to the delight of the instructors and residents.
But what are the benefits?
The effects and benefits are numerous for seniors participating in this activity in nursing homes. First, the virtual reality experience allows them to escape for a few moments and also to regain a sense of greater mobility . Second, this activity allows them to travel to unfamiliar destinations or rediscover landscapes they can no longer physically access. Furthermore, thanks to the guidance of the staff, this activity can be an excellent exercise for improving coordination , for example. Finally, in a way, it can help seniors reconnect with new technologies . But above all, it allows them to reconnect with their memories , recalling past travels or their childhood .
Whether it's travel agencies , hotels , airlines , or retirement homes , virtual reality travel is marketing perspective , it's a new ally for the travel industry , providing them with an additional promotional tool.
Of course, we've focused here on terrestrial travel, but space travel via virtual reality is also an exciting field of research. Not all of us will have the opportunity to travel to space physically. But with virtual reality , reaching for the stars is no longer just a dream; it has become a reality.
