XR Today attended the ‘Innovate Expressions in Tourism (TIS) with Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) Experiences” discussion on Wednesday at the VR/AR Association’s European Summit 2021.
Silvia Aviles, Tourism Innovation Summit (TIS) Event Director, spoke on cross reality (XR) opportunities in tourism and discussed XR industry highlights in recent years as well as upcoming developments.
This year’s TIS event will take place from November 10-12 in Seville, Spain.
Start-Up Opportunities for Cross Reality Projects
TIS is hosting its Touristech Startup Fest, an accelerator and outreach project that is accepting pitches from 400 tourism tech startups.
Touristech judges will select four startups from the submissions and offer the finalists a chance to showcase their work at the TIS 2021.
The TIS team is hosting the start up event to promote and unite global innovators and projects to “transform the tourism sector.”
Additionally, the team is helping to build a community of startups through an official TIS start-up atlas which features the latest tourism tech innovators.
Cross Reality Highlights from 2020
Aviles’ presentation cited ‘Imagine Your Korea’, South Korea’s official tourism brand, which earned Best Digital Campaign 2020 for its ‘Feel the Rhythm of Korea’ immersive experience.
“[South] Korea is a big spender on travel, and [Imagine Your Korea] created a inspiring campaign. It was really immersive and you can have a 360 VR experience where you can feel all the rhythms and benefits of visiting Korea at home”
Also noted was PastView, an AR eLearning and virtual tour platform using smart glasses to present AR visuals of historical figures and provide insights on cities such as Seville, Barcelona, Athens, and Efeso.
Aviles placed further value on eLearning in tourism, bringing awareness to platforms such as VR tours of the Merida Roman Theater powered by Imageen, VR walkthroughs of the Scheveningen-based Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, and interactive exhibitions at Mexico’s Trick Eye Museum.
Aviles also spoke on the benefits of XR in hospitality with examples from Invelon and ARSoft, two Spanish tech firms developing immersive walkthrough solutions for global hotels and resorts.
The news comes after TIS judges awarded Iberostar Hotels and Resorts with ‘Best Customer Experience’ last year, thanks to an impressive VR digital twin walkthrough of an Iberostar resort.
