Firm Enhances Travelers’ Experience with Virtual Reality
Chinedu Eze
Touch down Travels, a Travel Management Company (TMC), has developed a pre-emptive experience for travellers who are given the opportunity to witness and immerse themselves in a destination through virtual reality before physical visit to the place.
Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated 3D environment that enables users to explore and interact with a virtual surrounding in a way that approximates reality, as it is perceived through the users’ senses.
It creates familiarity and a knowing experience before the visitor travels to the new place.
Chief Operating Officer of Touchdown Travels, Olufunso Ekundayo, explained during a recent launch of its Lekki Experience Centre, that virtual reality is a game changer in travel management and for the sector as a whole.
It is a computer-generated environment with scenes and objects that appear to be real, making the user feel they are immersed in their surroundings and Touch Down Travels has incorporated it into Nigeria’s travel business.
Ekundayo said: “The idea of an experience center is to show how travel should be done. You would be able to experience the destinations before you actually go there and you get the best deals. We have been in operation for over 30 years. We are not limiting ourselves to the corporate space and we are very concerned about getting this experience to everyone. The same quality of deals we have been giving to the corporate space is what we are extending to individuals. This is how travel should be done.
“We don’t just do flights, hotels and tour packages. We leverage on technology by introducing things like Virtual Reality tools which will enable our customers experience what they want to see even before they travel. Now imagine if your kids want to go to Disneyworld, when they come to us, they would be able to experience all the activities of Disneyworld even before they leave Lagos.”
On the menace of fraudulent travel agents, he said: “We have worked so hard that we don’t need to introduce ourselves. We also have the financial capacity and muscle to put in the best resources to ensure people are satisfied. You can book flights ahead of time to cut down on cost.”
