Sounding Off: Metaverse requires a big change in perception to be accepted

Each Friday, PhocusWire dissects and debates an industry trend or new development covered by PhocusWire that week.

It might feel fairly out of sync with the times when consultant Steve Bambury proclaims the metaverse world is a future that travel could embrace.

Society at large has spent much of the last two years in a virtual bubble, connecting over video services such as Zoom with friends, families, colleagues and others.

Such a huge shift in communications, from face-to-face to digital, served an important purpose during a pandemic when the very idea of mixing with other people was dangerous.

This also coincided, as we all know, to a rapid and massive reduction in travel services - from flights to overnight stays to activities, rendering the travel industry to one that could only inspire people about places near and far.

There have been some excellent examples ( LocalPurse comes to mind ) of brands that created digital-first, virtual travel services. Some might argue that the shelf-life of such tools is somewhat limited.

If the already overused phrase of "pent-up demand" is true, in relation to the travel recovery, then the desire for consumers to continue to use any virtual or digital service at the expense of an ACTUAL trip seems rather questionable.

This is obviously the situation in the short-term and, many brands will probably argue, long may it continue for years to come.

Metaverse, therefore, seems at odds with the zeitgeist and for some considerable distance into the future. Just as anything virtual seems to be not a particularly enjoyable thing to do, gven the last few years, others have a different idea.

Perhaps they are thinking more about the next generation of consumers and travelers, those who despite the relaxation of face-to-face restrictions are still glued to their screens.

Metaverse could be the next way that people live and communicate in their virtual worlds but the concept might need more than the promise of showcasing a destination or service for it to truly replace the physical enjoyments that travel can provide.