What is Virtual Tourism and is it the Future?

Last updated: 8 October 2026

Virtual tourism is a growing trend around the world, and it was not just a knee-jerk response to the COVID-19 pandemic- it had been developing behind the scenes for some time. Traditionally used predominantly as a marketing tool, virtual tourism, also known as virtual reality tourism, has become increasingly popular amongst tourism industry stakeholders in recent times. Fuelled by technological developments and Internet usage worldwide and closely linked with the concept of smart tourism, we now see virtual tourism activities in many parts of the travel and tourism industry.

But what is virtual tourism and how is it used throughout the tourism industry?

This article explains what is meant by the term virtual tourism, how the virtual tourism industry has developed and the different types of virtual tourism in use today. It also outlines the advantages and disadvantages of virtual tourism and gives examples of virtual tourism in practice.

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What is virtual tourism?

Virtual tourism is essentially a hybrid concept- it combines both the notions of virtual reality and tourism. In essence, virtual tourism facilitates a tourism experience, without actually having to travel anywhere.

Virtual tourism takes many different forms and comes in varying degrees of technological capability.

In its simplest form, virtual tourism may comprise of a video of a tourism destination. The ‘tourist’ watches the video, utilising their hearing and sight senses.

More sophisticated forms of virtual tourism include being immersed in an environment through use of a headset or simulator. It may involve use of various props, users may be required to wear gloves and there may be additional sensations such as movement (like in a rollercoaster simulator), feeling (for example if the user is sprayed with water) and smell.

Virtual tourism covers a broad spectrum of digitally mediated reality, which includes virtual reality, as well as mixed reality and augmented reality.

In fact, the growth of virtual activities expands far beyond the reach of the tourism industry. People are now buying houses without actually seeing them in person, having felt that a virtual tour was sufficient. People are visiting museums via virtual tours and teachers are using virtual realities to enhance the educational experience of their students.

Virtual reality has very much become ingrained in everyday life.

In the tourism industry, virtual reality (VR) has been most commonly used as a marketing tool. Destination Management Organisations (DMOs), tour operators and tourist attractions have been using VR as a means of promoting for some time now; hoping that the VR experience will entice tourists and bring in new business.

We have also seen a growing popularity in the use of VR as an additionality to physical tourism experiences. At a theme park, for example, there may be a mix of actual rides and virtual rides. Museums will also often enhance their exhibitions with virtual presentations and activities.

However, we have also seen a growth in VR as an alternative to physical experiences.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought the tourism industry almost to a complete halt in 2020. With many people confined to their homes and travel businesses closed, people turned to the next best alternative- virtual tourism.

A range of media can be used to facilitate a virtual experience, such as mobile devices or software programmes.

Video: The growth and importance of virtual tourism

Definitions of virtual tourism

To begin, it is important to differentiate between the terms virtual experience (VE) and virtual reality (VR).

According to Steuer (1992), a virtual experience is essentially a human experience, which makes use of technology, as opposed to being a technological hard-ware experience.

In contrast, virtual reality refers to a simulation or representation of a particular environment using media (Cho, 2002).

Cho et al. (2002) define a virtual experience as:

‘The experience in the virtual environment using a computer-mediated environment and is based upon the concept of telepresence’

Shih (1998) expanded on this, describing a virtual experience as:

‘The extent to which consumers feel their existence in the virtual space’ .

Others (e.g. Steuer, 1992; Kim and Biocca, 1997) use the term telepresence and virtual experience interchangeably.

Steuer (1992) describes telepresence as:

‘The experience of presence in an environment by means of a communication medium’

Whilst Shih (1998) describes it as:

‘An illusion of ‘being there’ in a mediated environment’

The nature of precisely what makes up a virtual experience is continuously evolving with technological advancements around the globe.

Whilst there are academic studies surrounding the notion of VR and VE in general, there are few that have honed in on the concept of virtual experiences within tourism. As such, there is no universally accepted definition of the term virtual tourism.

Rather, virtual tourism is a term that encapsulates the broad spectrum of virtual experiences available in the tourism sector; from watching a promotional video through to an interactive museum experience to experiencing an entire holiday through virtual means in a style similar to the computer programme Second Life or the film Avatar.

For the purposes of this article, virtual tourism can therefore be defined as follows:

‘Virtual tourism is the use of technology to artificially enhance or create a tourism experience.’

The growth of virtual tourism

The tourism industry has seen a slow but steady growth in the use of virtual reality throughout recent years. A report by Research and Markets published in 2019 suggested that the tourism industry would see strong growth in virtual tourism in the coming years.

Nobody could have predicted that the tourism industry would come almost to a complete halt the world over as a result of COVID-19. This has radically fuelled both the development of and demand for virtual tourism forms. Whether in periods of lockdown or due to fear of travelling post-epidemic, there was suddenly demand for a tourism product that only a few months earlier had been unknown to much of the population. This is demonstrated in the graph below which demonstrates the increase in search terms relevant to virtual tourism in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began.

There is relatively little published on the growth and development of the virtual tourism industry, so the infographic below summarises the main phases of its development, each of which is explained below.

Phase 1- marketing and promotion

To begin with, tourism industry stakeholders, namely destination management organisations (DMOs), tour operators and others operating in the marketing sphere, used virtual tourism as a marketing tool.

Virtual evidence of how wonderful the holiday or tourist experiences would be would lull in visitors much easier than the traditional methods of holiday brochures, guidebooks or even websites.

Seeing and hearing an experience is a powerful way to persuade someone to book as they eagerly anticipate the ‘real deal’.

Marketing and promotion was the start of the development of the virtual tourism industry.

Phase 2- Enhancing the tourism experience

Recent years have seen a growing number of tourism businesses adopt virtual technologies as a means of enhancing the tourism experience.

From the introduction of 5D rides at theme parks to sensory activities being implemented at museums, a range of tourist attractions have seen enhanced visitor satisfaction after introducing virtual tourism.

Phase 3- The development of virtual tourism experiences

In recent years we have seen a range of virtual tourism experiences being developed. Whilst these do vary in theme and technological capabilities, they usually rely on the premise that they will provide the user with an artificial tourism experience.

Typically, these virtual tourism experiences will condense an experience to include only the highlights or the ‘best bits’. For example, a 5 hour safari may be shortened to a few minutes, cutting out all of the time that the tourist would usually spend searching for wildlife and including only the actual wildlife sightings.

Whilst these types of virtual tourism experiences have been on the cards for a while, they did not really begin to receive recognition until the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020; which introduced a period of time when many people were turning to virtual tourism as a result of lockdowns, quarantines and periods of isolation.

Phase 4- Physical holidays are replaced with virtual experiences

The virtual tourism industry really began to boom during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Travel-lovers the world over desperate for an experience that might replicate the holiday that they were forced to cancel or the trip that they longed to take began to pursue alternative ways to take their holiday.

Despite the initial outlook being that virtual holidays would be unlikely to ever replace physical holidays, the tourism industry was radically transformed almost overnight.

During this time a large number of tech companies began to work alongside tourism industry stakeholders to develop innovative tourism approaches that could be utilised in the current climate.

Once travel restrictions were lifted, demand for virtual holidays as a replacement for real travel declined sharply, as expected- people were eager to travel again. However, the pandemic left a lasting receptiveness to virtual experiences, particularly for things that cannot easily be done in person.

Phase 5- Impossible adventures through virtual means

It is likely that the future of the virtual tourism industry will see people seeking impossible adventures through virtual means.

An ‘impossible adventure’ could be a person visiting a destination virtually because they do not have the funds to do so physically, or a person who cannot swim undertaking deep-sea diving, for example.

An impossible adventure could also include experiences that are currently available to the human race, such as flying above your favourite city or walking on the moon.

Throughout all of this, there is a significant reliance on technology, and indeed- there is a direct correlation between the growth of the virtual tourism industry and global technological capabilities. Recent developments include mixed-reality headsets such as the Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro (launched in 2024), immersive digital art exhibitions, and VR ‘time travel’ experiences at heritage sites, while advances in artificial intelligence are making virtual guides and recreations more realistic.

Types of virtual tourism

Virtual tourism comes in many different shapes and sizes. Some forms of virtual tourism require little more than a computer or a smart device, whereas others have a complex setup of technologies. There are five main types of virtual tourism, outlined below.

1- Try before you buy

As mentioned above, in its early form virtual tourism focussed around the concept of marketing. Virtual reality and virtual experience software allows potential customers to ‘try before they buy’.

This form of marketing has been proven to be very successful, thus many tourism-based organisations have actively pursued and developed forms of VR marketing.

Using virtual tourism as a marketing tool is particularly useful when the cost of the product or service being sold is high. For example, British Airways developed a virtual tour of its business-class-only A318 aircraft, which operated between London City Airport and New York until 2020. This allowed potential customers to explore the aircraft before paying for a ticket.

2- Visit real places without leaving your sofa

Google earth has really been a game-changer in the realms of virtual tourism.

Google Earth and Google Street View allow people to explore places throughout the world at the touch of a button. Whether it is the street down the road or the Pyramids of Giza, almost every part of the world is now documented by the Google camera.

Many organisations will adopt similar principles, whereby people can use software to virtually tour a specified area. This could be a house, a forest or a tourist attraction, for example.

3- Visit places of the past

One of the great technological feats of virtual tourism is the ability to recreate destinations or attractions from the past.

Using current images alongside computer generation projections, developers are able to design software which allows tourists to experience types of tourism that are no longer available. Some programmes allow users to toggle the time and transport themselves to any time or place that they wish.

It’s not only tourism operators who are developing such software either. The University of Reading has developed a course that is free for anyone to sign up to. The course is run by Dr Matthew Nicholls, using his detailed and award-winning 3D digital model of ancient Rome.

4- Visit areas that are inaccessible

There are many parts of the world that are off-limits. This could be because people cannot afford to travel there, because they are in remote locations or because the area is closed off entirely to visitors.

With the advent of virtual tourism, many places that are difficult or impossible to visit- from the deep ocean to the surface of Mars- can now be explored virtually.

For many destinations that people would love to visit but cannot, there is a good chance that a virtual tour exists.

5- Visit areas that do not exist

The final type of virtual tourism, and one that is yet to really take off- it is the ability to visit areas that do not actually exist.

Second Life is the most well-known platform offering this type of virtual tourism. It is effectively an online world in which users create a virtual representation of yourself, called an avatar, and connect with various places and people.

Virtual tourism examples: Inspiration for your next virtual trip

There are many free virtual tourism experiences available online.

Whether you are teaching a class full of children about the insects in the Amazon jungle, interested in learning about the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia or want to spot animals from a safari jeep in Tanzania at sunrise, there is likely to be a virtual tour available. Here are some examples.

#1 Admire some art at the Louvre

This virtual museum tour allows you to explore the Egyptian Antiquities, the remains of the Louvre’s Moat, and the Galerie d’Apollon. Here you can see famous artworks such as the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the Virgin of the Rocks, The Coronation of Napoleon, and many more.

#2 Visit Anne Frank’s House

The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam is one of the Netherlands’ most visited museums, and tickets often sell out weeks in advance. For those unable to visit in person, the museum offers a comprehensive virtual tour of the Secret Annex.

#3 Enjoy the mountain scenery at Yosemite National Park

On the Virtual Yosemite website you can experience the iconic natural features of the national park like Bridalveil Fall, El Capitan, and Half Dome. You can also walk through the densely forested areas and visit at Yosemite Falls, one of the tallest waterfalls in North America. 

#4 Take a flight over a volcano

This unique virtual tour lets users experience what it is like to fly over an active volcano in Hawaii. You can appreciate the volcanic scenery from above and see the after effects of the 1959 eruption. There is also a pretty cool lava tube that you can explore virtually too.

#5 Learn about the royal family at Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the United Kingdom, and for good reason. For those who cannot visit in person, This virtual tour allows visitors to see the Grand Staircase, White Drawing Room, the Throne Room and the Blue Drawing Room.

#6 Walk the Great Wall of China

Walking the Great Wall of China is on many people’s bucket list. It can also be explored virtually with this virtual tour which was developed during the Coronavirus crisis.

#7 Get up close and personal with the Colosseum

You can see the magnificent Roman ruins using a 360 degree tour provided by Google.

#8 Visit the Statue of Liberty

For those wanting to explore the Statue of Liberty, this virtual tour is a great way to go. You can learn all about the Statue of Liberty through 360-degree tours, videos, and photographs.

#9 Visit the Catacombs of Paris

If dark tourism is of interest, a virtual tour of the Catacombes in Paris is available. This tour takes you through the 11000m2 area whilst teaching you about the geology and the quarries, the architecture and the ossuary.

#10 Visit the Holy Land

this virtual tour of the Holy Land includes Mount Nebo, the Wailing Wall, the Sea of Galilee, the Church of Flagellation, the Tomb of the Virgin and the Resurrection Tomb of Jesus amongst others.

#11 Go diving at the Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef has suffered several mass coral bleaching events in recent years, driven mainly by rising sea temperatures, and the environmental impacts of tourism add further pressure. Virtual dives offer a way to see the reef without adding to this pressure. This virtual tour of Wilson Island is both fascinating and enjoyable.

#12 Climb Mount Everest

Climbing Mount Everest is out of reach for most people- since September 2025, a spring-season permit alone has cost foreign climbers US$15,000, and overcrowding on the mountain has become a major issue. This interactive 3D map offers a virtual alternative.

#13 Travel into space

New virtual reality tours from NASA bring space tourism dreams to life! Based on what limited data is available to scientists through their observations, these tours take users to a range of planets including Kepler-16b and TRAPPIST-1e.

#14 Go to the Amazon rainforest

The Amazon Rainforest is home to a unique and diverse range of biodiversity. You can learn all about the flora and fauna of the area on this comprehensive virtual tourism platform. This is especially well-suited to classroom-based activities and children due to its design.

#15 Go on a safari

WildEarth’s safariLIVE is an award winning, expert hosted LIVE safari, broadcast directly from the African wilderness into your home. Viewers may have to get up early, but this is about as authentic as it gets without being out in the bush.

#16 Watch the Northern Lights

Seeing the Northern Lights in person depends on clear, dark skies and solar activity, so many visitors leave disappointed. This virtual reality experience from Abisko National Park in Swedish Lapland offers a guaranteed show.

#17 Visit the Giant’s Causeway

Visit the remarkable landscape of Giant’s Causeway without the wet and windy weather through this series of virtual tours developed by the National Trust.

#18 Explore Argentinian Patagonia

The Perito Moreno glacier covers 97 square miles of Los Glaciares national park and it is fed by the melting waters of the south Patagonian ice fields in the Andes. These interactive images allow you to explore this marvel of nature at your own pace from the comfort of your computer screen.

#19 Fly over the skies of Paris

This brand new attraction enables tourists to experience a unique virtual reality attraction. Tourists visit Paris from the sky with a jetpack, taking in real-life 360° views of monuments and scenery as they go.

#20 Do the Inca Trail

You Visit have developed this impressive virtual tour of Machu Picchu which provides tourists with 360-degree views of the ruins of Inca settlements and lush green landscapes. It also provides the opportunity to virtually visit the popular vantage points and learn more about the history of the Inca settlement.

#21 Admire the marine life at Georgia Aquarium

Through the use of webcams and live streaming software, you can watch the marine life at Georgia Aquarium in real time. The aquarium is home to thousands of animals, including whale sharks and manta rays, and its live webcams are popular with schools.

#22 Party in Ibiza

Ushuaïa Ibiza is an open-air club on the party island of Ibiza. During the COVID-19 lockdowns it streamed DJ sets online through its #StayAtHomeSessions, and livestreamed music and festival sets are now a common way for people to experience nightlife destinations virtually.

#23 Take an archaeological tour of the Grand Canyon

Learn all about the formation of this remarkable natural attraction through this virtual reality tour developed by the National Park Service.

#24 Take to the clouds in a hot air balloon

Users can fly over a range of destinations in a hot air balloon with this virtual hot air balloon ride. It even had a real basket!

Advantages of virtual tourism

Virtual tourism has advantages both for the tourism industry and for the tourist. The main advantages are outlined below.

1- Virtual tourism is good for the environment

One of the great things about virtual tourism is that it has very little impact on the environment. The industry is known for its negative environmental impacts of tourism, however these are minimised tenfold if the tourist does not actually travel!

Virtual tourism means less CO2 emissions from transport, less litter, less damage to flora and fauna and less disruption to natural ecology and wildlife.

It also means there are less negative social impacts of tourism too.

2- Virtual tourism provides freedom and flexibility

When undertaking a virtual experience you often have more flexibility.

A virtual safari or Northern Lights experience can be enjoyed from home, without early starts, cold nights or long journeys.

Many virtual trips can be taken at any time that suits the user.

3- Virtual tourism costs less

Although a computer or smart device is needed, the total cost of a virtual trip is far less than that of a physical trip. In fact, many virtual tourism activities are actually free of charge!

4- Virtual tourism can stimulate physical tourism

Because virtual tourism is often used as a marketing tool, it has the potential to stimulate actual tourism. This means that a person may purchase a flight or book a hotel because they have experienced it virtually first.

Disadvantages of virtual tourism

Whilst virtual tourism is becoming quite a trend, it is not perfect. Here are some of the main disadvantages of virtual tourism.

1- Virtual tourism is not accessible to all

Not everybody has access to the digital devices that are required to undertake virtual tourism.

Additionally, many parts of the world do not have adequate wifi connections to support this type of tourism. This is not limited to developing countries- rural areas in wealthy countries can also have poor connectivity.

2- Virtual tourism does not provide the economic advantages that traditional tourism does

Whilst an advantage of virtual tourism is that it does not require much money to be spent, this is also a disadvantage.

Traditional types of tourism are hailed for bringing money into the host destination. In fact, the economic benefits of tourism is the main reason that tourism is developed in many areas.

3- Virtual tourism has limited social interaction

One of the most obvious disadvantages of virtual tourism is that it involves limited social interaction.

For some people, this might be what they are looking for, but others seek company and kinship during their leisure time.

Virtual tourism: To conclude

Virtual tourism has been growing and developing in parallel with technological advancements and the use of smart tourism. The COVID-19 pandemic gave the industry a sudden and dramatic boost, and while demand fell once travel resumed, virtual experiences have become a lasting part of the tourism industry- especially for marketing, education and enhancing visits to attractions.

There are now a wide range of virtual opportunities for those who are interested, from visiting a museum to climbing a mountain. With this comes some advantages and some disadvantages of virtual tourism.

All in all though, this is an industry that has experienced unexpected and unprecedented growth and it is worthy of additional academic research in order to fully understand this innovative tourism sector.

Virtual tourism: FAQs

Below are answers to some of the most common questions about virtual tourism.

Virtual tourism: Further reading

Here are some texts that are worth consulting if you are interested in doing some more research into virtual tourism.

• Niche Tourism– Addresses a range of tourism niches and the niche tourism industry as a macro and micro.
• Information and Communication Technologies for Sustainable Tourism– Looks at the use of ICT in the tourism industry with some focus on virtual tourism practices.
• Drive Tourism: Trends and Emerging Markets– A text addressing the concept of drive tourism with some focus on virtual drive tourism.
• What is smart tourism?
• What is e-tourism?
• From hype to value. Virtual Reality Tools in the Tourism Industry and their Influence on Booking Behaviour– A research paper examining the effect of VR exposure on the booking decision process, specifically on the purchasing probability, the speed of decision-making and turnover.

About the author

Dr Hayley Stainton is a tourism academic, examiner and the founder of Tourism Teacher. She has a PhD in tourism and more than 20 years’ experience teaching travel and tourism at school and university level. Read more about Hayley