Now, travellers can experience the luxury of travelling on a first-class airline seat in the metaverse before physically buying the air tickets.
Tourists could also enjoy augmented reality (AR) navigation on their smartphones while exploring a new city.
According to heads of several travel technology companies participating at the Arabian Travel Market on Tuesday, technology has accelerated the changes in international travel and tourism post-pandemic.
From passport-free seamless travel to smart guides that turn tourists into explorers in a new city, the industry has radically adopted virtual and augmented reality to increase customer engagement.
Managing director of Amadeus, Ernesto Sanchez, said: “We can link artificial intelligence (AI) to the metaverse. Leading travel and tourism industry players are now using AI and virtual reality (VR) to attract customers. Furthermore, being a technology provider, we see a clear trend of consumers showing interest in buying virtual products and services.” Amadeus is a Spanish IT provider for the global travel and tourism industry.
Speaking to Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM), Sanchez said, according to the Accenture Technology Vision 2022, ‘Meet Me in the Metaverse: The Continuum of Technology and Experience Reshaping Business,’ study, at least 50 per cent of the surveyed 11,000 consumers said that they are buying, or would be interested in buying, a travel experience such as a sightseeing tour or hotel stay in the metaverse.
He said: “At least 70 per cent of the surveyed executives said the Metaverse would have a positive impact on the travel industry.”
