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.
“They see what it looks like, they experience it and feel the chills. It is not a case of what you ordered versus what you got; it is a case of experiencing it at our centers before you even travel. Imagine if I expect that when I travel, I will swim with dolphins, so to have that experience, you can come to our centers and see it for yourself before you travel so that you are sure of exactly what you are going to get and see.
“We want to do things differently and we want our customers to be able to get themselves immersed in that location. We want to make you want to travel and our doors are open and we want people to expand their horizon and to experience what they want without actually being in that country. The best deal and the highest level of service delivery and empathy. We have our travel partners and we help those who don’t have the funds to plan their travel in a way that would be very conducive for them. “
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. Everyone can’t afford to travel but everyone deserves to travel. If a fare is N500,000 for instance in January, you can lock it with a minimum down payment, so that by June, when the price increases to N800,000, you would have saved the cost. We are trying to solve two things; availability and affordability.”
On the issue of blocked funds belonging to foreign airlines which has caused an increase in travel ticket, he said: “This is an industry specific problem and you cannot blame foreign airlines for taking any action because they are all trying to survive. If you cannot repatriate money back to your source, what is the aim of doing business? They are trying to limit their risk of exposure.
“We are in the business of solving a travel problem, which is, getting people from point A to point B. One thing we don’t do is to outsource our problems to customers. We go all out to solve problems irrespective of what is happening in the industry and that is what sets us apart from others,” Ekundayo said.
