British Columbia Takes a Virtual Step into the Future of Travel Marketing

  • eBrains
  • January 6, 2015

According to Information Week, Destination British Columbia has entered the realm of virtual reality marketing using the Oculus Rift helmet, which will be available next summer to consumers. The idea is that with a very real preview, you will want to then see the very real thing. This is the first ever use of marketing for travel with the Oculus Rift technology, but it seems like a great plan. Once immersed in the “towering mountains, untouched forests, and coastal wilderness” of British Columbia, you will be wanting more and will make the trip for yourself to the actual fresh air, and natural beauty.

Using GoPro cameras on drones and a backpack rig, a video was made that can be viewed on YouTube (above), but meant to be viewed in virtual reality. It places you near the Great Bear Rainforest and you decide where to go out of two options: on a skiff riding along the coast where you could maybe find sea lions, or on a hike up the alpine to explore waterfalls. It is an entirely interactive experience and the choice is yours of the destination.

Virtual Reality simulates your physical presence in places in the real world, as we see here in British Columbia. It is supposed to replace, augment, or at least mimic plain old reality.

This certainly takes travel marketing to another level. Using this type of technology, you can “sample” your next travel destination! You could be in Egypt looking at the pyramids and back in British Columbia hiking through the alpine before dinner.