While the expansion of the metaverse is inevitable in the present time, a recent survey suggests its dominance in the field of travel and tourism.
As countries across the globe have lifted the ban on the restrictions placed due to COVID-19, tourism has increased on a splurge. A recent survey by Booking.com, one of the largest online travel agencies, suggests that the metaverse is all set to help travelers decide on the destinations they want to experience in person.
The survey by the agency involved 24,179 participants hailing from 32 countries. It revealed travelers’ strong interest in virtually exploring destinations as they finalize their itinerary.
Amongst the participants, the ones most interested in trying out travel experiences in the metaverse were Gen Z, about 45%, followed by millennials, about 43%.
Almost half, or close to 43% of the participants, confirmed their desire to use virtual reality to finalize their choices. From this, nearly 4,574 participants want to travel to new places only after virtually experiencing it first.
About 35% of the participants expressed their will to spend multiple days in the metaverse to get the genuine vibe or the hang of the surroundings around those popular destinations.
As per the tourism agency, supporting technologies such as haptic feedback will be beneficial in improving the virtual traveling experience. It would help the users to more realistically experience sandy beaches and tropical sun without stepping outside.
However, 60% of the participants opined that the experiences provided by the metaverse and virtual technologies would be far from the actual experiences.
While the metaverse is projected to grow in folds in the coming years, some sectors are anticipated to contribute to this bloom. For example, another survey on metaverse bloom in the entertainment sector has projected that the initiatives would grow to $28.92 billion from 2021 to 2026.
Various multinational giants, including Renault and Mitsubishi, have revealed their plans for metaverse adoption. Renault also declared that it is already operating an industrial metaverse of its operations, powered by several procedures that enable it to track data from all of its production lines. This industrial reality involves connecting production lines, keeping an eye on the entire supply chain, and controlling practically all supply flows.
The carmaker says that implementing this technology will have a significant positive impact, including projected savings of $320 million by 2025.