由维维安瓦格纳 《电子商务时报 » 》ECT新闻网 2020年9月25日 4：42上午PT
虽然许多人在大流行期间被困在家中，但虚拟旅游市场已经出现，以帮助填补那些对遥远地方感到的空白。
《电子商务时报》采访了一些虚拟旅游专家，以发现他们如何使用增强和虚拟现实、视频和其他技术，让人们有机会在不离开家的情况下探索世界。
达纳通讯总裁林恩•卡尼珀（LynnKaniper）对《电子商务时报》表示："由于流感大流行使许多人被困在室内，他们保持谨慎和害怕，因此人们普遍感到需要回归正常。
"梦想度假的能力为未来提供了希望和灵感。虚拟旅游营销为企业提供了优势，通过将客户直接与他们的产品和服务连接，让其客户获得身临其境的体验，"她说。
在日益封闭的世界中，虚拟旅行机会变得前所未有的重要。
MMGY Global首席执行官克莱顿 里德（ClaytonReid）对《电子商务时报》表示："我们从每月的旅游情绪研究中知道，人们并没有停止梦想在COVID期间度假。
"事实上，锚定在家里已经让人们花费大量的时间与旅行的灵感和购物元素。强大的虚拟体验帮助人们与终极旅行的联系，并有助于保持长期休闲旅行的高水平，"他指出。
体验惊险
虚拟旅游营销可以提供贴近现实的体验，激励人们了解目的地，梦想旅程，并最终预订旅行。
Kaniper 解释道："视频是顶级营销工具之一，它通过观看和声音进行体验。"如今，360 个目的地或房产之旅让观众体验并设定对旅行的期望。社交媒体已成为酒店、目的地和旅游提供商与受众实时沟通的一种方式。
虚拟旅行体验开始模仿实际旅行的即时性和刺激性，这种真实体验对于这些新营销技术的成功非常重要。
"虚拟旅游营销变得越来越吸引人，"Kaniper 继续说道。"你可以有一个虚拟的经验，在飞机上飞行，跳伞，乘坐过山车，或只是参观一个度假村或酒店。虚拟旅行在不断发展，人们期待有更多的体验，以及他们可能永远无法体验到的地方，如月球或火星。
虚拟成功
要让虚拟旅游营销活动取得成功，它需要吸引与实际旅行一样多或更多的人员。当它有效时，这种营销可以激励人们现在或将来计划并预订旅行。
"这一切都与'哇'因素有关，"旅游世界VR总裁约翰·格雷厄姆告诉《电子商务时报》。"这一定是令人兴奋和精力充沛的。360/VR 视频需要有一个均匀的流动，以保持观众参与，想要学习和看到更多。它还会导致旅行预订量增加，并大幅缩短销售周期。
虚拟旅游营销在强调它为消费者提供的许多好处时尤其成功。
"今天虚拟比以往任何时候都重要，"卡尼珀断言。"父母在家上学，希望为孩子探索一些方法。那些有流浪者可以有经验，但以安全舒适的方式。这也是一个环保的解决方案，过度旅游。
"无论是度假、巡游还是会议，虚拟都能够让您在旅行前进行规划和了解，也能够摆脱这一切。那些不能旅行的人现在可以到世界上任何地方去，使得存储桶列表比以往更容易实现。
对于消费者来说，了解和理解虚拟旅行在日常生活中的相关性也很重要。
MMGY的里德说："雪松博览会（Cedar Fair）等主题公园的虚拟和增强现实项目，以'沉浸式生活故事'为特征，而柏林等目的地，游客可以在实际旅行前体验这座城市，从而可以真实地表达旅游现在能够代表什么。"将特定的视频或动画内容与 VR/AR 体验捆绑在一起，以全新的特殊方式让旅游品牌生动起来，让旅行者更加相关。
虚拟旅行的未来
虚拟旅行可能会在这里停留，事实上，在大流行之后很久。它为营销人员提供了接触广大客户的机会，也让人们有机会从自己舒适的家中旅行。
"VR旅行正变得越来越主流，"旅游世界VR的格雷厄姆说。"它正在发展成为所有类别的旅游供应商、旅游销售商及其客户（消费者）的终极营销工具。它正在改变旅游的看待方式 - 不仅现在，而且还包括未来。"
虽然受到大流行危机的刺激，虚拟旅游营销正日益成为常态。
Relic的总裁兼首席执行官亚当·斯托克对《电子商务时报》说："当大流行爆发时，每个人都在争先恐后。"当人们无法旅行时，您如何销售目的地？旅游业的每个人都立刻发现，虽然人们现在不能旅游，但当旅游再次开放时，竞争将会非常激烈。
"许多目的地决定想办法让被关在家中的人有机会体验目的地。理论是，如果人们能够从家里看到目的地是多么神奇，那么在安全的时候，他们更有可能预订到目的地的实物旅行。
事实上，虚拟旅游营销人员在大流行期间使用的许多技术都可能永久改变旅游营销的世界。
"这种虚拟旅游营销现象可能已经出现在大流行中，但我认为这是行业新一轮创意执行浪潮的启动，"Relic's Stoker 解释道。
"在大流行期间，这种营销策略的成功目的地将导致随着时间的推移不断创建虚拟内容。这是该行业需要投资很长时间的东西。大流行只是一个加速器，"他建议。
Virtual Travel Marketing's Cure for Wanderlust
By Vivian Wagner • E-Commerce Times • ECT News Network Sep 25, 2020 4:42 AM PT
https://www.technewsworld.com/story/86859.html
While many people have been stuck at home during the pandemic, virtual travel marketing has emerged to help fill the void felt by those who yearn for faraway places.
The E-Commerce Times caught up with some virtual travel experts to discover how they're using augmented and virtual reality, video and other technologies, to give folks the opportunity to explore the world without leaving their homes.
"As the pandemic has left many stuck indoors, cautious and scared, there is a common need to feel normal," Lynn Kaniper, president of Dana Communications, told the E-Commerce Times.
"The ability to dream of vacation provides hope and inspiration for the future. Virtual travel marketing provides businesses the advantage of allowing their customers to have an immersive experience by connecting them directly with their products and services," she said.
In an increasingly closed-down world, virtual travel opportunities have become more important than ever.
"We know from our monthly travel sentiment study that people have not stopped dreaming about vacations during COVID," Clayton Reid, CEO of MMGY Global, told the E-Commerce Times.
"In fact, being anchored to home has pronounced the amount of time people are spending with the inspiration and shopping elements of travel. Strong virtual experiences have helped people stay connected to what an ultimate trip will offer and helped to keep long-term leisure travel intent high," he noted.
Experience the Thrill
Virtual travel marketing can offer a close-to-reality experience, inspiring people to learn about destinations, dream about journeys, and eventually book trips.
"Video is one of the top marketing tools that give the ability to experience through sights and sounds," explained Kaniper. "Nowadays, 360 tours of destinations or properties allow the audience to experience and set expectations for their travels. Social media has been a way for properties, destinations and travel providers to communicate with their audiences in real time."
Virtual travel experiences are beginning to imitate the immediacy and thrill of actual travel, and that kind of authentic experience is important for the success of these new marketing techniques.
"Virtual travel marketing has become more and more engaging," Kaniper continued. "You can have a virtual experience flying in a plane, skydiving, riding a rollercoaster, or simply taking a tour of a resort or hotel. Virtual travel continues to evolve, as people look to have more experiences and to places that they may never get to experience, such as the moon or Mars."
Virtual Success
For a virtual travel marketing campaign to be successful, it needs to engage people as much or more than would an actual trip. When it's effective, this kind of marketing can inspire people to plan and book a trip, now or in the future.
"It's all about the 'wow' factor," John Graham, president of Travel World VR, told the E-Commerce Times. "It has to be exciting and energetic. 360/VR videos need to have an even flow to keep the audience engaged, wanting to learn and see more. It will also lead to increased travel bookings and shorten the sales cycle dramatically."
Virtual travel marketing can be particularly successful when it highlights its many benefits it offers for consumers.
"Today virtual is more important than ever," Kaniper asserted. "Parents are homeschooling and want ways for exploration for their children. Those with wanderlust can have experiences, but in a safe comfortable way. It is also an eco-friendly solution to over-tourism.
"Whether it's vacations, cruises, or meetings, virtual gives the ability to plan and know before you go or the ability to get away from it all. Those who aren't able to travel can now go anywhere in the world, making the bucket list more attainable than ever."
It's also important for consumers to see and understand the relevance of virtual travel in their daily lives.
"Virtual and augmented reality programs for theme parks such as Cedar Fair which features 'immersive living stories,' and destinations such as Berlin, where visitors can experience the city in advance of their actual trip, allow a new expression of what travel can now represent," said MMGY's Reid. "Tying specific video or animated content to a VR/AR experience brings travel brands to life in new and special ways and allows more relevance for travelers."
The Future of Virtual Travel
Virtual travel is likely here to stay, indeed long after the pandemic. It offers marketers the chance to reach a wide range of customers, and it gives people the chance to travel from the comfort of their own homes.
"VR travel is becoming more mainstream each day," said Travel World VR's Graham. "It's evolving into the ultimate marketing tool for all categories of travel suppliers, travel sellers and their clients, the consumer. It's changing how travel is being viewed -- not only now, but in the future."
Though spurred on by the crisis of the pandemic, virtual travel marketing is increasingly becoming the norm.
"When the pandemic hit, everyone was scrambling," Adam Stoker, president and CEO of Relic, told the E-Commerce Times. "How do you market a destination when people are unable to travel? It became immediately apparent to everyone in the tourism industry that while people are unable to travel now, the competition will be fierce when travel opens up again.
"So many destinations decided to figure out ways to allow people who were cooped up in their homes the opportunity to virtually experience the destination. The theory is that if people can see from their homes how amazing a destination is, they will be more likely to book a physical trip to the destination when it's safe."
Many of the techniques being used by virtual travel marketers during the pandemic will, in fact, likely permanently transform the world of travel marketing.
"This phenomenon of virtual travel marketing may have appeared in the pandemic, but I see this as being a kickstart to a new wave of creative execution in the industry," explained Relic's Stoker.
"The success destinations see as a result of this marketing strategy during the pandemic will lead to continuous virtual content creation as time goes on. It's something the industry has needed to invest in for a long time. The pandemic was just an accelerator," he suggested.
