The Case for Virtual Experiences Thriving Even as In-Person Travel Returns
Skift Take
Amazon divested from its virtual experiences venture, but that doesn't necessarily mean the small players should do the same.
Travel Tech Briefing
Editor’s Note: Exclusive reporting on technology’s impact on the travel industry, delivered every Thursday. The briefing will guide executives as they decide if their companies should “build, buy, or partner” to stay ahead.When the pandemic hit and travel stopped for two years, tourism companies had to offer virtual tours to survive.
Now that people are traveling again, there’s no need for virtual tours anymore, right? Amazon shuttered its virtual experiences platform after just two years, as confirmed during the company’s latest earnings call — which could be taken as a pretty clear answer to that question.
But no, that assumption is wrong, at least for now. Despite that move by Amazon, there’s a growing demand for specific virtual experiences in late 2022. Three virtual tour startups that each have reported continued growth: Heygo, Beeyonder and Wowzitude.
Each of those companies, all founded during the pandemic, say that a necessity for virtual experiences in April 2020 made way for them to fill a need that had gone largely unnoticed.
Travel for Those Who CannotThe main sources of revenue for Boston-based Beeyonder right now are corporate groups
