Indraneel is a techno-creative geek with over 20 years of creative experience. He has been credited with over 50 projects by International Movie Database (IMDB) and 37 uncredited projects. He started his creative journey as a 3D Artist with Mega Motion Studios and then moved to creating computer games as an Art Director at Paradox Studios. His passion to create the Wow factor on unreal objects took him to Computer Graphics at Pixion CCL. The ability to connect to the cutting-edge creative talent at Hollywood & Bollywood productions saw him marshalling 400+ skilled artists for global project deliveries at Reliance MediaWorks. Over the years he has designed, executed & delivered various projects for a wide spectrum of clients. As Chief Imagineer & Co-Founder at D-Ammo Imagineering he was the brain that takes charge of ‘Everything Creative’. His vast experience across various aspects of gaming, 3D, VFX and immersive technologies with global entertainment & media industry enables faster & effective creative-technology solutions.
Technology has been progressing at a fast pace, but it is still extremely underutilized in many spheres. However, the New Normal has brought more awareness about technology in all the fields especially travel and tourism. This has led to harnessing of technology in increasingly innovative and lucrative ways, that help not only businesses, but also their clients. Technology like AR/VR are impacting various aspects of the travel and tourism industry in a myriad of ways like:
- Travel Promotion:
Ministry of Tourism or Travel & Tour companies can use immersive technology to help their viewers/clients in many ways that would elevate the client’s experience and increase demand for bookings.
- They can have kiosks in their office or outlets at the malls or airports. These kiosks can be geared up with VR headsets that can display a 360º virtual reality view of the different locations they offer across the globe. This would give clients the ability to really visualize the various locations in a more interactive way, and businesses can add imaginative narratives to create an almost life-like experience.
- It can show the best attractions and famous places in those particular locations.
- This will help the viewers to better choose their destination packages. They can even help foreign tourists know more about their travel destinations. Hotels can also give clients a better idea of their amenities and facilities, and give them a glimpse of the luxury that awaits them.
- It can help tour operators who offer adventure tours. The VR experience of the adventures to a traveller can be very enticing to go for it.
Seeing pictures of a locations can never be as convincing as a 360-degree view of the destination. Interactive maps can also go a long way in helping clients navigate new places and find local attractions that might be hard to find otherwise. Tourism has to involve comfort, adventure, and picturesque sights all in one. Technology is the best way to enhance all of these aspects of tourism by creating more comfort through AR based apps that facilitate navigation, encourage adventure through providing appealing visuals of local attractions, and give a better sense of the beautiful scenery that awaits the clients at their desired locations.
- Virtual Travel Assistant:
A supplementary AR mobile App can help travellers who need help with the local place at different locations. It can augment the favorite cafe shops or the famous theatre or probably help them back to their hotels or maybe just show all these in their own language. It may also help at the airports to guide travellers to the desired gates, or they may choose where they want to go and the AR app will show them the way in their chosen language.
Furthermore, such apps can make tourist spots more attractive by providing augmented tours of historic sites. An app that presents the rich history of a location like famous events and the story behind its architecture through object recognition technology, would amaze visitors and bring in more tourists. Every place has a story to tell, and that what makes it unique and worth visiting. An AR based app would make this story easier to access and present it in an exiting way as well. A tourist could simply stroll through a city and use their phone to find information about all the galleries, museums, and other landmarks. Moreover, travel tours facilitated through AR based apps can offer unprecedented customizations. each tourist would want the content of style of their tour guide to differ. With AR assisted tour guidance, the tourist can choose the content and style of delivery to cover topics they are especially interested in, and even have different options for adults and children.
Technology can assist a tourist at every step of the way, if only the tourism industry recognizes this largely untapped potential.
- Virtual Religious Visits
there are many instances where individuals are unable to physically visit places that hold importance for them. Religious sites are one of them, and if we cannot bring the individual to the location, we can bring the location to them! Technology can in a sense ‘transport’ us and create experiences that we never thought possible. For instance, senior citizens who wish to visit religious holy-places can now visit them virtually without the effort of physically visiting the places. The immersive experience with effective sound can teleport them to any of these places. Voice overs can be a part of the story telling to enhance the experience.
- Virtual Travel
In the context of the current pandemic, travel has become virtually impossible for many. Virtual reality technology can satiate one’s desire to travel. Virtual reality tours can offer immersive experiences where one can explore the most attractive sites of tourist destinations, and even discover the history behind the sites. While such virtual tours cannot replace travelling, it can provide a respite and a welcome escape from everyday monotony that many may feel. Voice overs that narrate the story behind the sites and provide interesting information can add extra incentive for clients as it becomes not only a pleasant experience, but also an educating one. These experiences can give clients a glimpse of their favourite locations, and even encourage them to travel there once the pandemic eases.
- Travel Back in Time
Reconstructing the history of a site through immersive virtual reality would not only make tourism more attractive for history buffs, but also amaze and entice travelers from all walks of life. Utilizing AR and VR to create 3D recreations of historically significant events or past eras would be like being transported to another time period for tourists, and make their experience more mesmerizing.