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The May Bank holiday is usually a busy weekend for tourism, but despite the fact that most of the world’s top attractions are closed due to Covid-19, you can still visit them virtually from the safety of your own easy chair.
It’s now possible to explore the Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia, listen to birdsong as you walk through the Grand Canyon, and have a virtual hug with a koala in Australia via your keyboard or mobile device.
According to a recent consumer sentiment survey conducted by Fáilte Ireland, 62% of Irish people have already postponed or canceled travel plans abroad.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding international travel, a third of people here said they still expected a long-term trip abroad in the next six months.
But in the meantime, there are other ways to stifle your passion for travel through virtual tourism.
It’s an idea that Irish tour guide Mark Doherty hoped to take advantage of after many of his potential summer visitors had to cancel tours with his company ‘Connect the Dots Tours of Ireland’.
Mark, who lives in Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, has worked as a tour guide in Ireland for 12 years and decided to start his own business last October.
“I bought a 16-seater bus and spent the winter months promoting tours of Ireland. It was shaping up to be a great 2020 for my first year on my own. And then there was Covid-19.”
“Now it’s all about cancellations or rescheduling for 2021, overall, it doesn’t look like a good year in the tourism industry,” he says.
Mark is now exploring ways to offer a virtual tourism experience to people who want to visit Ireland.
As part of his research, Mark traveled extensively this week with a company called ‘The Tour Guy’.
The website emphasizes that these are not virtual reality tours but rather a “webinar” led by a licensed tour guide who is paid for his time and can answer your questions through live chat. At a cost of around € 15 to € 20, you can travel the world and even learn how to cook local cuisine.
This weekend, one of the destinations on offer is Egypt, where you can learn about the Great Pyramid and Great Sphinx of Giza, the Egyptian mummies, the history of King Tut and the hieroglyphs.
“It is amazing what is available,” says Mark. “I took a virtual tour of Versailles during the week, then visited the Colosseum in Rome and also Pompeii, I was in Botswana, virtually, too. It offers exciting potential for the travel industry.”
Mark points out, however, that virtual tourism is in its infancy and is still figuring out what people will be willing to pay.
“There will be a lot of people out there who have been planning and saving to visit Ireland for years. It is this trip of a lifetime and then suddenly it is canceled.”
“Would a virtual tour appeal to them? How much would they pay for it? Perhaps people sitting and watching Netflix will want to try something different.”
Mark hopes to launch his interactive online tours in the near future. In the meantime, he has been exploring areas less than 2 kilometers from his home and posting the mini tours here.
In London, tour guide Katie Wignall continues her live walking tours of lesser-known sites in the city through her website and Instagram, where tours start at 2 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
She uses her mobile device to show visitors the quieter streets of the English capital. This Monday’s tour will be through Temple, London’s famous legal center, which will include a visit to a 12th-century church. Instead of paying in advance, your virtual tour group can donate what they feel was worth it through a link to their PayPal.
“People have tuned in from all over the world,” says Katie. “I have regulars who tune in live from Japan, Russia and the United States and viewers who catch up from New Zealand and Australia on my website.” In terms of donations, he reveals that viewers “have been incredibly supportive and generous.”
Other virtual sightseeing options in London include Blue Badge tour guides on their Facebook page, while Harry Potter fans can explore many of the movie locations, including the streets that inspired Diagon Alley.
There are also many self-guided virtual tours that can be explored without spending a penny. Photographer Scott Highton is the creator of the Virtual Yosemite tour that allows you to explore the national park and the surrounding areas of Northern California. Turn on the sound for maximum effect to hear the wildlife and the water flowing around you.
Scott told RTÉ: “Over the past two months, as the Covid-19 restrictions were put in place, our visitor traffic has increased from 15 to 20 times. Currently, we are seeing traffic numbers between 7,000 and 10,000 visitors. unique per day. “
FIVE MORE SITES TO SEE FROM THE SOFA
1. Travel to Australia, where you can take a virtual dive with David Attenborough on the Great Barrier Reef, a glorious slice of marine life that covers an area the size of Italy. This interactive experience allows you to explore some of the 1,500 species of fish, 600 species of coral, and 30 different species of whales and dolphins. You can even board the next-generation research ship, The Alucia.
2. In addition to Yosemite, mentioned above, several other national parks in the United States are open to virtual visitors, including Yellowstone and The Everglades.
3. Fancy a hike on Everest? Now you can climb the highest mountain in the world through Google Earth, while in your robe.
4. The UNESCO World Heritage site of Machu Picchu in Peru may be closed to visitors at this time due to the blockade, but you can still admire the views and learn about the resident alpacas.
5. Closer to home, the twin city of Galway, Bradford, in England, should have celebrated the tenth anniversary of being declared the first UNESCO Film City. Explore its history of cinema, which dates back to the birth of cinema here.
Still don’t know where to travel? National Geographic allows you to select your own destinations.
HOME SWEET HOME
You can also go on vacation from your sofa – here are five fabulous virtual tourism sites across the island of Ireland.
1. The Old Orient of Ireland website has several suggestions for places to visit, including a tour of Waterford’s specially built medieval museum, including a 13th-century Choristers’ Hall and the 15th-century Mayor’s Wine Vault, that you can explore here.
2. You can also take a 360 degree tour of the Titanic museum in Cobh, Co Cork.
3.There is an interactive quiz about ‘Hidden Heartlands’ from Ireland on their instagram.
4. Limerick.ie will host this weekend a virtual Riverfest with live music, food, fashion and a review of the highlights of the festival attended by over 120,000 people last year.
5. You can also take a tour of the Giant’s Causeway in Co Antrim, captured in all its splendor on a perfect summer day.
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