Africa in your living room

Chennai: Deepa Narayanan always dreamed of going to Paris. But with two kids, a full-time job and elderly parents to care for, she never found the time or money. In the past two months though, the 35-year-old IT professional has been to the city of love as well as explored Greece and gone on a safari in South Africa — all from the comfort of her couch in her home in Anna Nagar.

"I get an insider’s view of the places, plenty of travel tips, and will know exactly what I want to do there once I actually get to travel. And most important, it’s free," says Deepa.

The travel and tourism industry has been hugely impacted by the pandemic. And with people still hesitating to fly to international destinations, companies are trying to engage through virtual tours. Stunning views, a local tour guide and interesting insights have been packaged to woo back the Indian tourist.

Munyaradzi Pakamisa, 36, who has been a professional safari guide in Zimbabwe for the last 10 years, decided to take a route less travelled once the pandemic hit and began doing virtual tours.

"I realised the impact the pandemic had on people who would have loved to travel to scenic Zimbabwe and elsewhere around the globe. I felt that the only way to bring them closer to their destinations was to give them the feeling of being virtually present there," says Pakamisa, who is also a photographer. "And once the world gets back to normal, people can travel with their destinations knowing exactly what to expect."

Pakamisa, who has done virtual tours of Hwange National Park and taken tourists on safaris, uses Zoom to reach out to the audience. "I do the guests’ orientation, using videos to show it happens in reality," he says. A mix of slides and videos gives a feel of the safari, and of connecting with the wildlife and plants, and experiencing the sundowners, and bush lunches, while discussing the local culture and people.."My virtual tours are free but tips are always appreciated," says Pakamisa.

Tourism Australia too has launched a series of immersive videos — www.australia.com/8Descapes — that use the innovative 8D audio technology to take viewers on a sensory journey of Australia’s unique sights, sounds and textures.

Each video is themed by a colour — blue, red, magenta, green, black and white — while the 8D audio ensures a surround sound effect when the viewer puts on headphones. "The colours play a massive role in this virtual journey because of the varied feelings and emotions that they evoke among us," says Nishant Kashikar, country manager (India & Gulf), Tourism Australia, adding that the video can be enjoyed on Australia.com and YouTube. "Virtual tourism has seen considerable growth on account of the restrictions on international travel," says Kashikar, adding that prior to the border closures, India was Australia’s fastest growing tourism market and has been so for the last three years.

The 8D videos have been produced primarily with the aim of providing inspiration to keep Australia on top of the mind for a holiday. "For the year ended December 2019, Indian visitors spent around `9,000 crore on their Australian trips, an increase of 9% over the previous year," he says.

Their instincts telling them that the demand for domestic travel, especially outdoor travel, will increase, Paras Savla and Jinay Parekh launched Virya Wildlife Tours two months ago. The two began their road trip 45 days ago, recording their journey on social media, and giving followers a virtual taste of what they can expect, whether it’s the wildlife or places to stay.

"So far, we have covered national parks in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and are on our way to Madhya Pradesh. People can follow us and see exactly what they can do in these places, and we hope it will encourage them," says Paras, adding that they are also partnering hotels and local tour guides. "Tourism has taken a big hit but we believe we have spotted an opportunity," says Paras.

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