A Look at the Future: Mixed Reality and the Travel Industry
The travel industry is an industry ripe for positive disruption and it has been very receptive to change that benefits both holidaymakers and businesses alike.
There is an understanding among stakeholders that the holidaymaker must always be at the heart of the travel experience and to enhance their experience will be to the benefit of the travel industry as a whole.
Mixed Reality represents the future for many industries, not least travel, an industry that in part relies on consumers being able to trust their imagination and envisage themselves in far flung destinations.
It is appropriate then that we were invited to give a talk last week as part of an event organised by Selligent on Consumer First Marketing. Our CEO and Chief Prototyper Max led the talk, discussing the future of the travel industry and revealing why Mixed Reality should be at the forefront.
Transforming an industry
eAgents, resort visualisations, engaging experiences and inspirational suggestions for consumers are just some of the potential uses of Mixed Reality in the travel industry with many other ideas suggested on the day itself.
Max discussed the differences between Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality and their current and potential applications and why Mixed Reality through HoloLens is offers untapped possibilities for the travel industry. From the technical capabilities of HoloLens through to the potential of Mixed Reality to create immersive worlds overlaid against a real world backdrop there are opportunities to enhance the consumer experience within the travel industry at all stages of the travel journey.
Focussing specifically on the travel industry, the event took the format of a series of talks focusing on the consumer experience and how industry players have adjusted their approach to a more consumer-focused one. The day’s talks involved presentations from companies such as Thomas Cook, The Travel Industry Club and Selligent themselves. All of the presentations and the debates that followed were lively and highlighted the industry-wide passion for revolutionising the consumer experience and maximising consumer enjoyment across all aspects of travel from planning to booking to the post-travel experience
After the event, all attendees were offered the chance to try out a demo of the HoloLens so they could see for themselves the scale of potential that Mixed Reality offers for the travel industry and beyond.
The event was a continuation of our existing partnership with Selligent and we received much positive feedback from attendees who were impressed with HoloLens and the possibilities that it opens for consumer engagement.
We look forward to working more with travel industry partners and seeing just how HoloLens and Mixed Reality bring positive disruption to the entire travel experience.
