Will Metaverse Change the Future of Travel?
Technology is making it possible for travelers to have their travel experience before they travel
Metaverse travel is the next big thing to hit the travel industry, even if we aren’t there yet. Like space tourism, if you build the idea, the fans will follow. However, unlike taking travelers to some distant space ship for an overnight bunking amid the stars, the metaverse is already here. It just needs refining to become a hit with a passionate traveling public.
To that end, citizenM, a chic brand in luxury hospitality is acquiring a spot in “The Sandbox,” a popular decentralized gaming virtual world where users will eventually be able to explore a virtual hotel and interact with other users for such things as NFTs, that can be purchased in the digital space.
Marriott, too, is moving toward the new and yet unformed space that metaverse travel could inhabit. The hotel company entered the metaverse travel space last December with three elements of virtual art seen last year in Art Basel Miami Beach 2021, a leading annual contemporary art show.
The alternative universe is seen by Marriott as a new form of digital marketing and to a new audience. But those watching the travel industry evolve believe the metaverse could be much more in travel, possibly transforming the concept as we know it.
A study on metaverse travel that Emergen Research released this month posits that this concept has the potential to change the way travelers engage in pre-, post- and in-trip purchases, and become an essential part of the travel ecosystem.
