Of all the industries around the world, tourism is currently one of the most affected sectors because of the COVID-19 outbreak. The industry faces uncertainty during these times. Luckily, these players have tech by their side, which they can use to invite people to continue exploring new places. Many of these attractions have turned their attention to Virtual Reality, offering virtual tours to travel enthusiasts. So, if you’re into nature, then you can visit Table Rock from the comfort of your home. Or maybe, if you are eager to find out more about Egypt’s history and its queens, then we suggest you explore Queen Nefertari’s tomb for the first time in 360.
Providing VR tours is a great idea to keep the audience entertained and display natural and historical best-kept secrets. Yet, Visit Faroe Islands has taken this idea one step further. The tiny island nation is one of the world’s most idyllic places magically embedded in long green valleys, imposing cliffs, and dream-like landscapes. Although it offers one-of-a-kind views, the archipelago is hard to reach. Because it is so far away from the rest of the world, not even Google stepped its foot there. This is why the islands have had remained neglected by the tech giant’s mapping feature, Street View. Fortunately, the locals here have plenty of imagination. And sheep. To map their terrain, the Faroese equipped some of their sheep with 360-degree cameras and let them roam freely on the green hills. And just like that, the cute woolly companions were the ones to update the archipelago’s Street View.
The campaign was imagined by Visit Faroe Islands, which now plans to send you to a virtual tour. Called “Remote Tourism,” the project is available under the form of a website that people can access if they want to travel across the Faroe Islands. Every day at 5 p.m. local time (GMT +1), a local Faroese resident comes online and plays guide for all the users who have logged on to the website. What makes this experience more awesome is that internet users can actually control the movements of the resident. There are a few options though: run or jump buttons or up, down, left, or right.
The first-of-its-kind tool can be accessed via mobile, tablet, or PC and allows you to admire Faroes’ mountains, see close-up its cascading waterfalls, and spot the traditional grass-roofed houses through the eyes of the local Faroese who is equipped with a live video camera. The experience unfolds in the skies too. By using a helicopter, you can have a “bird’s eye perspective on our beautiful island nation’s steep grassy slopes, our 80,000 sheep and our unspoilt, wild and natural countryside,” says Visit Faroe Islands in a press release.
Around 50,000 people have joined the initiative which takes place twice a day until 25 April at least. “We hope that visiting our remote islands through the eyes and body of a local can bring joy and inspiration during these challenging times – and we, of course, hope to welcome visitors in person once all are free to travel again,” concludes the company.
No one knows how long we have to stay in safe isolation but experts say that it is not going away anytime soon. So why not keep yourself entertained with these kinds of projects?
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Photo credit: Kirstin Vang