Skift Take
Virtual reality is finally going mainstream in 2017. Travel brands and event planners are leveraging that demand to engage their audiences in more impactful ways, which is proving to drive higher conversion rates.
Tim Baxter, president of Samsung Electronics America, announced at the CES 2017 technology show in Las Vegas last month that the company topped five million sales of its $100 Samsung Gear virtual reality (VR) headsets since launching them 13 months ago.
Also at CES, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich held his company's press conference in virtual reality with 260 media wearing Oculus Rift headsets.
VR is moving into the mainstream consumer mindset in 2017, and travel brands are leveraging that to engage them in new ways using 3D immersive technology. Brands are also discovering the power of VR to drive higher conversion rates.
"Virtual reality is changing the game for a variety of industries including health care, agriculture, manufacturing, and business," said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, which produces CES, in a Reddit chat. "Doctors are using VR to enhance traditional therapies, architects use VR to design stronger buildings, and travel agencies are using it to simplify vacation planning."
For example, the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority (LVCVA) reports that its Vegas VR app, showing experiential videos ranging from helicopter rides over the Strip to bartenders mixing drinks, has been downloaded over 19,000 times since March 2016, and the videos have been viewed more than 17 million times.
“We were relying on Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat to tell our story, but we felt that VR and 360 video really helped us improve our connection with consumers, and move them down the path toward conversion,” said Nick Mattera, senior director, digital engagement at LVCVA. “We’re also looking to partners to help us on the conversion side, and really begin to quantify how Vegas VR can not only get people excited about Las Vegas, but ultimately book.”
The meetings and events industry is now moving in on the action. This month, the Freeman event company, which handles logistics and production duties for CES, among other large shows, announced a new slate of virtual reality products and services. Coinciding with that, the company also published a white paper on VR event appl
