Augmented Reality And The Changing Face Of The Travel And Tourism Sector

Tourism and augmented reality pair well together. Once you consider it you would certainly realise this fact. Travel pretty much occupies the main duration of a tourist’s time. Going from place to place, sightseeing and learning facts and stories about the places being visited are some of the main activities they do.

The major concept behind augmented reality defines technology that has the capacity to transform what is seen in real life, meaning your actual reality. It serves to augment the traveller’s experience and boost their excitement while touring different places. It has become the most ideal tool for tourism. Both tourists and tourism companies can take advantage of the value and opportunities that it opens up.

Opting for augmented reality (AR) software development produces products that could have object or image recognition, or be location dependent. AR software has shown a proven capacity to transform the travel and tourism business. In this way it upgrades a user’s actual environment by including a range of different audiovisual and digital effects such as animation, videos, 3D models, specific audio bytes. 

Augmented Reality (AR) Software Development and Its Benefits in Tourism

Draw in prospects before they begin their travel or tour

Turn the taxing travel planning into an enjoyable experience. Street signs, transportation timetables or tourist maps could be enhanced with virtual dealings which users will see via their smartphone camera. 

Typical travel brochures do not interest tourists these days as they expect to view their itineraries on AR-based travel apps. The apps present to them information in a highly engaging 3D manner. Looking for restaurants, fast food joints, parks and transport becomes enjoyable in itself. Thanks to AR you can elevate travellers’ experience, promote your business as an innovative one and spread awareness of your brand. 

Guide your customers

Augmented reality will help your clients as they look for what they want such as bars, hotels, a must-see building, a famous area. As tourists focus their phone on a particular sign or object, the software will offer them various interesting details about it. Think of a time when a tour guide offered you a great experience, with AR technology it can be considerably more entertaining and attractive. Physical brochures would be a thing of the past while tourists can access everything through their AR enabled smartphones.   

This technology works in such a way that it dramatically elevates traveller’s usage of maps, turning them into interactive and enjoyable interfaces. With a fun-to-use and interactive way to navigate, travellers will no longer be confused or lost in an unfamiliar place. 

AR for a new level of hotel hospitality

Using augmented reality (AR) software development products opens up a wide range of potential to boost bookings and interact with hotel guests. Digitally superimposed informational content presented via gamification, 3D videos and other interactive videos to encourage guests to check various rooms in your hotel as well as all the amenities on offer. AR based hotel tours can display the entire range of services that a hotel offers in an attractive and convenient manner. 

AR hotel menu

While on vacation, food and drink are also major aspects that tourists need to think of. Hotel’s can use AR-based menus to showcase their offering in an attractive way. This would also be a good advertising platform for various promotional channels. The software would entice a wider guest base, prompting them to visit your restaurant thanks to excellent visual reviews and advertising. Another way to use AR in a restaurant is as a source of engagement during wait times after ordering their meal. 

Visiting places of interest

Using superimposed digital assistance, 3D characters and animated content allows guests to explore the sites they want to visit, making them more interesting and attractive to tourists. In fact, augmented reality (AR) software development turns the travellers’ smartphones into their own personalised tour guide. They are able to learn about fascinating details while touring various places. AR software can narrate the story of a ruined fortress or animate a dinosaur with movement and sound effects and many other fascinating things. 

While travelling is fun on its own, to kick it up a notch further tourism companies can include location-based gamification in their apps, allowing travellers to take part in virtual treasure hunts and other games through which they can collect points that they can redeem at physical stores and outlets. Moreover, AR content can also be shared by travellers on their social media, thus promoting tourism companies to their followers and friends. 

AR advertisements 

In the travel and tourism sector AR has broadened the ways to bring in revenue with engaging advertising in airports, train stations, bus shelters and so on. A scan of code will display the AR advertisement on user’s smartphones. Several businesses are taking advantage of virtual billboards to promote their brands in places like malls, airports, busy squares etc. Research suggests that AR ads have led to considerably higher customer conversions than other types of conventional advertisement. 

In the realm of tourism, augmented reality has substantial scope in the future. Both tourists and tourism companies can reap the advantages. Prior to setting out on their travels, people can experience virtual tours of a place and decide whether or not they would like to visit it or pick another place that will suit them better. AR tourism experience is a lucrative venture promoted by a host of businesses to advertise a range of famous travel destinations. It’s clear that augmented reality (AR) software development leads to effective products that engage travellers and tourists, giving them exceptional experiences and prompting them to come back for more.