Why Virtual Reality and Virtual City Tours Will Change Small Town Tourism Forever

This article looks at and discusses how the trend towards virtual tourism is going to affect small town tourism, with specific reference to the smaller towns and villages out there.

The Rise of Virtual Tourism

Virtual tourism provides the user with a virtual, immersive, and interactive experience of a location, activity, or destination, using modern-day technology. It is generally a mix of video, audio, and narration, but for the most immersive experience, viewers are expected to use VR headsets.

It is a means of seeing some of the greatest sights in the world and for some great immersive experiences. From cultural cities to great architecture and natural wonders of the world, it is now more than just the advertisement or taster that is available, but the entire tour is now something that you can book and do from start to end, all online and all virtually.

It may have been a fantastic way to get people to see the wonders of the world and travel during the pandemic and may even be an effective way forward for those of the world’s most sensitive tourist sites. However, for the small towns and villages that survive on seasonal tourism and visitors, it spells the death knell for many businesses. Just as the online casino sites have put paid to the brick-and-mortar casinos, so too the virtual city tour will reduce the numbers of actual real people, feet on the ground, and people in seats at local tourism spots.

Its Impact on Small Towns and Villages

Ely and its reliance on tourism and visitors to the local area are well known, and the East Cambridgeshire Cathedral City is synonymous with day trippers and all-year-round local and international tourism. As the second smallest city in England, it can be seen in its entirety on foot and many visit to do just this. Visiting to see Oliver Cromwell’s house, the National Stained-Glass Museum, and the many Churches is something that the city and its surrounds have relied on for some time.

With the rise of virtual tours and trips, it has been postulated that many of these local tours can simply be replaced by professionally made and presented virtual tours. The tour businesses and national monuments may still make some money from this, but the ancillary businesses such as local cafes, shops, and merchandise makers, and sellers will lose out on all the tourist footfalls.

There are some merits to the virtual tour and yet, as with all modern technology, the trick will be to use these virtual tours and trips in the right way, perhaps as an addition and amalgamation of the actual physical tour, to advertise and market, and provide a means of sightseeing for those who aren’t able to make it the physical location, but not as a replacement for the people that support local businesses and keep small cities like Ely alive. There needs to be a balance if businesses are to survive in the long term.