How many people would love to visit the Tower of London, the White House or the Vatican, but can’t? Perhaps they can’t afford to travel. Maybe a handicap limits their ability to experience a site. Or important areas are inaccessible for safety reasons. What good does it do to preserve a site if the public can’t experience it? But now they can, with the help of a high quality, high resolution Tour de Force.
360VR tours won’t fully replace in-person visits any time soon. But if the experience of being there is part of an attraction’s “attraction” a Tour de Force is the next best thing by far. Online visitors can experience your site from the inside, up close and personal, almost as if they’re there. They can view and explore it in ways that just aren't possible with still images or video.
Use it to increase traffic or raise revenues directly.
Consider that 85% of leisure travelers consider the internet their main source of travel planning and the average traveler visits ~22 travel related sites during 9.5 research sessions prior to booking. (Google ThinkInsights, 2011) If an destination’s website gives a more enticing taste of what it is like to be there, to experience the place, it will attract more in-person visitors. Adding an interactive, easily navigable Tour de Force will do just that.
What’s more, your Tour de Force can help raise revenues. You can charge a small admission fee for the virtual tour, you can place ads on the tour page and you can attract an underwriter to whom you give prominent credit for sponsoring the tour.