The 2020s started off with the cataclysmic COVID-19 pandemic. What will the future hold for tourism?
A post-coronavirus world of tourism: Tourists will be back, gradually. But they’ll no longer condone the “fast-food” mass tourism of the past. Instead, they’ll demand meaning in their travels: meaningful causes, meaningful places, meaningful stories.
Virtual tours
“Work from home” (WFH) and “virtual” are two terms that became buzzwords thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Travel from home” (TFH) also became a possibility as borders were closed during the pandemic.
In a post-coronavirus world, virtual tourism is here to stay. Tourists will gradually return to beloved destinations, but virtual tourism will still be attractive for those who don’t have the time or means to travel in person. The attractiveness of virtual tours stems from the fact that TFH-travellers can sit at home and explore the world at no cost. Moreover, they can explore many places on their own without constraint of time or weather.
However, for physical tourist companies, virtual tours are also beneficial in attracting tourists. This is because virtual tours can motivate TFH-travellers to eventually travel in person. When a TFH-traveller explores a place, she/he will naturally want to visit the place.
Mobile technologies have enabled this trend of TFH-tourism, with virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) making enhanced tourist experiences possible.
Metrunner helps you design the best experience for people to explore places at home. Design a virtual tour that leads travellers through streets and lanes, exploring places along the way and learning the stories underneath. Free premium plan for 14 days upon registration.
Tours with a meaning
The days of mass tourism and overtourism are over. We mean it. Over is over. But tourism will never be over—because curiosity is a basic human instinct.
In their place comes travel for a cause, for exploring places and stories, for exploring the meaning behind the places and stories people travel to.
Metrunner positions itself at the intersection of tourism with fitness, health and sustainability. Travel and explore places where you get yourself into action—walk, jog, explore and learn. Explore the stories that come whenever you discover a new place on the way. Get rewarded with points as you explore. Keep track of the calories you burn when you travel.
IN DEVELOPMENT: Connect places with layers of time and stories with Historical Places Schema
At Metrunner, we strongly believe that places must be connected with their stories over time. Tourism should not just be a hedonistic business; it has to be rooted in the stories that happened over time at the place.
Therefore, we’re developing a Historical Places Schema to connect places with layers of history. It’ll encompass the major historical events that happened at the place, as well as epochs over time that diverse historical people and culture have occupied.
The Historical Places Schema will be integrated with the Metrunner platform and be openly licensed to all that would be interested to implement it, for example tourist businesses, organisations that promote historical understanding, and destination marketing agencies.
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