Video: Facebook Chief Creative Officer Thinks Virtual Reality Is a Low Priority

Virtual reality has earned a lot of buzz even as travel companies struggle to make the most out of the technology.

Mark D'Arcy, vice president and chief creative officer at Facebook Creative Shop, doesn't think they should struggle all that much. Speaking at Skift Global Forum this fall, he said virtual reality is valuable to a degree.

"Is it useful? Absolutely. Should you be knowledgeable about it? Absolutely," he said. "But if I was going to stack rank things that will drive your business at scale now, I wouldn't put it at the top of where I'd invest a vast amount of money and time."

D'Arcy said one area he thinks travel businesses should be working harder at is Instagram — which, of course, is owned by Facebook.

"We weren't there when magazines were invented, but boy we're really at the beginning of this," he said. "Every brand in the world can have a competitive advantage just being smarter than anyone else. And the way to get smarter is to make more and learn more and maybe not be perfect the first time but just get faster and faster, having your creative department be a learning department."

Even if travel companies get smarter about Instagram Stories, for example, D'Arcy pointed out that their best customers are probably still better at using the platform.

"They know more about it than you do, they have taste about it that's probably more refined," he said. "And I don't mean that as an insult, because they are by the very volume and engagement with it living through these platforms."

Watch the entire interview above, and find more coverage of Skift Global Forum here.

At this year's Skift Global Forum in New York City, travel leaders from around the world gathered for two days of inspiration, information, and conversation for panels such as this, as well as solo TED-like talks on the future of travel.

Visit our Skift Global Forum site for more details about 2018 events.