The Essential Role of 360 Virtual Tours in the Tourism Industry
If you’re in the tourism industry, then you may have heard about these virtual tours – and you may have been tempted to try one out yourself!
While there are many benefits of using virtual tours over traditional photography or videography, there’s one key thing that virtual tours can do that traditional method can’t: give your audience an immersive experience.
Through 360° virtual tours, your audience will be able to see and hear from every angle as if they were there themselves, creating a much more powerful experience than they would get by simply looking at pictures or watching video clips of your location!
And from the ability to reach more people and raise awareness of your product or service to give visitors who can’t make it in person an immersive experience that helps them feel like they’ve been there, virtual tours help tourism businesses everywhere improve their bottom line.
Check out these 8 reasons why you should add virtual tours to your tourism business today:
1) Reach a Wider Audience
Virtual tours allow you to reach a wider audience than if you only had written descriptions and pictures. People will be more likely to book if they can imagine themselves at the location, which is something that doesn't happen with just text and photos.
Give your customers a 360° experience of your museum or hotel. Offer them the opportunity to see what it would look like from every angle.
They can decide whether or not they want to invest their time in visiting in person when they're already viewing it from afar through virtual reality goggles.
2) Enhance the Customer Experience
360° virtual tours allow tourists to explore your property or museum with the click of a mouse and without them having to leave home.
This is convenient and increases customer satisfaction as they feel like they have had an immersive experience. Plus, you will always be there in person should any questions arise!
Furthermore, if you are planning on adding more services to your business, 360° video footage of new rooms or exhibits can be added to current posts.
Do not forget about mobile users who can use their phones or tablets to access these amazing visuals! And finally, many social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram now automatically detect panoramas so this feature will save time in editing!
3) Boost SEO Rankings
360° virtual tours have been shown to increase traffic by as much as 400%. As such, they can be an invaluable marketing tool for tourism businesses. The main benefit of 360° virtual tours is that they allow viewers to explore the site before even arriving in person.
Virtual tours also help with search engine optimization (SEO), which is important because the vast majority of tourism-related searches happen online.
4) Generate Leads and Sales
360° virtual tours have become the next big thing in digital marketing, and it's easy to see why. These types of tours give viewers an immersive experience, allowing them to virtually explore your business as if they were there in person.
There is no more effective way to convey what you do than by allowing people to experience it firsthand. If you're interested in seeing how 360° virtual tours can help your tourism business, contact us today!
5) Increase Brand Awareness and Recognition
360° Virtual Tours have proven to be an extremely effective way of increasing brand awareness and recognition. The tours provide a unique, immersive experience that can't be replicated in any other medium, which makes it much easier for customers to take notice of your business.
They also allow you to create a sense of intimacy with potential visitors by providing them with the access they may not otherwise get.
It's also worth noting that while there is no rule on how often you should update your tour, updating as frequently as possible will help keep your audience engaged and curious about what's new.
6) Drive Traffic to Your Website
Tourism is one of the largest industries in the world, and it's only going to continue to grow. With tourism comes many different uses and features, which can make it challenging to choose what type of virtual tour system is best suited for your needs.
If you're looking to market your business or event with virtual tours, there are plenty of benefits that will keep you coming back!
7) Create an Engaging Marketing Tool
Virtual tours give potential customers an in-depth look at your establishment, giving them the opportunity to get up close and personal with your company.
Customers will feel like they're right there, walking through the museum or hotel, experiencing what it would be like to stay at your location.
8) Stay Ahead of the Competition
The tourism industry is constantly changing, with new technologies and techniques always being developed to make the experience even better.
It can be difficult to stay ahead of the competition, but by using 360° virtual tours you'll be able to provide your visitors with an immersive and engaging experience that will set you apart from your competitors.
Virtual Reality (VR) has been gaining in popularity over the past few years as an effective tool for marketing and showcasing your product or service to consumers.
Since VR has become more mainstream, many improvements have been made to optimize user experience- such as faster processing speeds and increased field of view- which means we're now able to immerse ourselves in not only a photo or video but in reality!
Conclusion
Tourism-related businesses have long relied on the internet to create buzz and draw in new clients and customers, with most focusing on social media presence and search engine optimization.
Virtual tours provide an opportunity for customers to get a taste of what's to come and see if it's the right fit before committing. Think about it this way, if you're considering buying a car, you might take it for a test drive first. A virtual tour is a test drive.
360° virtual tours are becoming more common, however, and they’re starting to change the game in terms of how tourism businesses can reach more people from all over the world.
While 360° virtual tours aren’t yet as popular as their 2D counterparts, these interactive features are sure to grow in popularity over time, so now’s the perfect time for business owners and marketers to start taking advantage of them.
With these eight benefits outlined in detail, there really isn't any question as to why so many businesses have begun using virtual tours in their marketing efforts.
