Augmented reality is taking travel experience to a whole new level. By using AR-powered travel apps or AR glasses, you can explore almost everything that you want to see in the real world. AR technology is one of the top innovative technologies in the travel & tourism industry. It is changing the way people experience travel & tourism.
The Global AR VR in travel and tourism market ecosystem was valued at US$ 74.6 million in 2018 and is expected to reach US$ 304.4 million by the year 2023, growing at a CAGR of 32.5%. The growth of the AR VR in travel and tourism ecosystem is primarily due to the increasing demand for travel and tourism among people.
As a result, businesses are increasingly adopting AR in their travel services and business solutions. But how ultimately augmented reality is used in the travel & tourism sector? In this article, we will talk about the application of AR in travel.
But before we dive into this, let us have a quick understanding of
What is augmented reality technology?
Augmented reality (AR) is an immersive and interactive experience with the real world. It integrates virtual computer-generated graphics with the user’s selected real-life environment.
In a more technical sense, AR overlays real-world objects and physical environments with 3D virtual objects on the user’s device or mobile screen. Hence, augmented reality enables users to virtually manipulate the real-world scenario as per their own choice.
Famous real-life examples of augmented reality in travel & tourism
- AR City
- Horizon Explorer
- Wikitude World Browser
- World Around Me
- Google Maps Live View
- Yelp Monocle
- Airbnb’s AR
Use cases of augmented reality in travel & tourism
AR-powered smart tour guides
Ever feel bothered when your tour guide forgets his own way? Or did you get perplexed about what turn you need to take? AR technology solves all these problems. By using AR-based tour guide apps, you can get all the essential information about the local places.
360-degree tour of hotel rooms
Before booking rooms or accommodations, customers mostly look for reviews and feedback before making decisions. This helps at some level. But often, customers feel dissatisfied finding the difference between reality and what is shown on sites. As a result, hotels and travel businesses suffer significant losses in terms of finance and brand reputation.
But AR here helps the hospitality and hotel industry by empowering them with augmented reality tours of rooms. Many hotels and accommodation service providers use AR in their travel applications or portal to provide 360-degree tours of their rooms. This helps their customers make the right decision and get 100% satisfaction.
AR-based travel mobile apps
This is one of the top use cases of augmented reality in travel & tourism. Travel businesses use AR-based mobile apps to offer innovative and custom travel experiences to users.
There are various types of augmented reality mobile apps in travel that provides different features and solutions for making travel more fun and interactive. For instance, ARCity. WorldAroundMe, Smartfiy, Horizon Explorer, etc are popular AR travel apps.
Real-time AR directions
Finding accurate route directions is very challenging for passengers and travelers. Here, augmented reality helps by providing accurate and detailed real-time AR directions. Many AR mobile apps allow users to get real-time directions on local or high-traffic streets, subways, or stations.
These apps help passengers and drivers to avoid potential jams or taking wrong turns. Google Maps is the best example of using augmented reality in travel & tourism. This app gives AR-based directions to the user’s selected route or space.
Final Thoughts
AR technology is transforming the travel & tourism industry in an innovative way. This technology empowers travel applications with advanced and immersive digital capabilities, which in turn improves the efficiency and quality of the travel experience. However, the use of augmented reality in travel & tourism is in the evolution stage. But the way travel businesses are adopting AR technology, its usage is poised to reach the next level.
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