Virtual Tourism Market

Virtual Tourism Market Overview

The global virtual tourism market size and share is projected to grow from USD 4.51 billion in 2024 to USD 45.65 billion by 2035, representing a CAGR of 23.41%, during the forecast period 2024-2035.

To learn more about this report, request a free sample copy

The new research study consists of virtual tourism industry trends analysis, detailed market forecast analysis, and providing actionable strategic recommendations.

With the emergence of virtual reality a virtual tour is an immersive exposure to a location, activity or destination provided with the help of a collection of panoramic photos that are stitched together, creating a virtual experience of an area. Virtual tours applications software finds a wide usage in virtual viewing of properties, automotive, tourist places, and others. These software use images, audio, video clips, and 3D maps to generate a 360-degree view of the place. These virtual tours are now widely available for a number of exotic locations ranging from cultural landmarks like The Louvre to natural wonders like the Thailand islands. Revolutionized by augmented reality in tourism along with VR technologies, platforms like Oculus allows users to step into a fully immersive environment, such as virtually exploring Saudi Arabia’s UNESCO heritage site for Hegra.

The global awareness of environmental concerns is a major factor driving the market growth and popularity of the virtual tourism market as it’s an eco-friendly alternative to physical travel. A significant trend in the industry is the reduced carbon footprint that is being made possible with the adoption of virtual tourism which eliminates flights, road travel, and large-scale tourism infrastructure. Virtual tourism is helping in reducing the environmental impact of travelling while still allowing individuals to explore popular destinations. It also democratizes travel, making it more approachable and a possibility for individuals with varying physical disabilities and financial means. Even though VR headsets are a luxury for majority of the population, they will be made more affordable as the technology matures. In reference to this, Dr. Kris Naudts, founder and CEO of London-based Culture Trip, stated that formats like AR and VR are still rather niche – they are expensive and time consuming to produce, but as soon as the industry learns how to scale them together with kit becoming cheaper it might get more into the mainstream. We already see museums or indeed the medical sector using these technologies more extensively. Travel will be next.

Virtual Tourism Market Share Insights

The virtual tourism report presents an in-depth analysis of the various companies that are involved in offering virtual tourism, across different segments, as defined in the table below:

Virtual Tourism Market: Report Attributes / Market Segmentations

Virtual Tourism Market Segmentation

Market Share by Type of Product

Based on the type of product, the global virtual tourism market is split into cloud based and web based. Among these categories, the cloud platform segment growth is expected to be the maximum, capturing a market share of 74.34% by 2035. This can be attributed to the benefits it offers including real-time updates, making work faster and easier, flexible pricing policy, enhanced cooperation, and easy data recovery. On the other hand, the web-based segment is expected to witness a rapid growth at a significant CAGR of 27.23% during the forecasted period. This growth can be attributed to the segment offering cost effectiveness and also catering to the growing demand for interactive experiences.

Market Share by Type of Device

The global virtual tourism market is segmented into various types of devices, such as head mounted and gesture tracking. According to our virtual tourism technology overview, the head mounted devices segment will augment the growth with a market share of 69.65% by 2035. This can be attributed to the popularity of the head-mounted devices as the most recognizable component of virtual reality. As visuals appeal more to humans, HMD are most frequently bought due to their ability to separate immersive virtual reality systems from standard user interfaces.

Market Share by Areas of Application

The market is segmented into various virtual tourism applications, such as art galleries & museums, automotive, education, marketing professionals, real estate professionals, tourism industries. According to our global virtual tourism market analysis, the tourism industry will augment the growth with a market share of 37.65% by 2035. This growth is owed to the increasing use of VR tools in the tourism industry as virtual tourism makes destinations accessible to millions of people across the world, who may otherwise not be able to afford to travel to them. On the other hand, the real estate professionals’ segment is projected to witness the fastest CAGR of around 28.89% during the forecasted period. This can be attributed to the rising demand from home buyers to list down the household properties on the internet using virtual tours.

Market Share by Type of Tours

The global virtual tourism market is segmented into various types of tours, such as 360 degree virtual tours, 3D virtual tours, and virtual reality tours. According to our analysis, the 3D virtual tours segment is anticipated to gain the maximum market share of around 47.78% over this forecast period. This can be attributed to the ability of 3D virtual tours to provide the users with an opportunity to explore destinations from the comfort of their homes with detailed 360-degree views and interactive elements. However, it is worth highlighting that the virtual reality tours segment is expected to witness the fastest CAGR of over 38.9% in the forecasted period. This demand is being fueled by the unique opportunity provided by virtual reality travel experiences where travelers can explore destinations as if physically present there.

Market Share by Type of Direct Suppliers

The global virtual tourism market is segmented into various types of direct suppliers, such as airlines, government bodies, hotel campaigns, and tour operators. According to our analysis, the tour operators’ segment is anticipated to gain the maximum market share of around 46.78% over this forecast period. This can be attributed to the crucial role tour operators play in facilitating virtual experiences and online marketing destinations. However, it is worth highlighting that the airlines segment is expected to witness the fastest CAGR of over 32.9% in the forecasted period. This demand is being fueled by the increasing investment in virtual tourism technologies to enhance customer engagement and provide immersive travel experiences.

Market Share by Type of Indirect Suppliers

The global virtual tourism market is segmented into various types of indirect suppliers, such as aggregators, corporate buyers, online travel agency, traditional travel agencies, travel management companies. According to our analysis, the online travel agency segment is anticipated to gain the maximum market share of around 26.78% over this forecast period. This growth is due to the crucial role online travel agencies play in distributing virtual tourism experiences and increasing their market significance. However, it is worth highlighting that the aggregators segment is expected to witness the fastest CAGR of over 29.9% in the forecasted period. This demand is being fueled by the aggregators ability to consolidate various virtual tour offerings and provide consumers with diverse options, enhancing accessibility and convenience.

Market Share by Company Size

The global virtual tourism market is fragmented into multiple types of enterprise namely large and small and medium enterprise. Currently, the large enterprise segment is anticipated to dominate the segment with 60.34% of virtual tourism market share. However, small and medium enterprise segments are expected to witness a relatively higher (7.2%) virtual tourism market growth rate until 2035. This is ascribable to their agility, innovation, focus on niche markets, and ability to adapt to changing customer preferences and market conditions.

Market Share by Geographical Regions

This segment highlights the distribution of virtual tourism across various geographical regions, such as North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, Middle East and North Africa, and the rest of the world. According to our virtual tourism regional outlook, North America currently exhibits dominance with 37.69% of overall market share due to the region’s strong technological infrastructure, high adoption rate of advanced AI technologies, and significant investment opportunities in virtual tourism by key industry players. North America is a bustling home to various tech giants and leading AI companies, driving innovation and development in the virtual tourism space. America’s focus on integrating the AI industry into various sectors including VR travel applications, real estate, and education, has further fueled the region’s market growth in the industry.

Virtual Tourism Market Key Insights

The “Virtual Tourism Market, Till-2035: Industry Trends and Global Forecasts” report features an extensive study of the current market landscape, market size and future opportunity within the virtual tourism market, during the given forecast period. The market report highlights the efforts of several stakeholders involved in this rapidly emerging segment of the service providers industry. Key takeaways of the virtual tourism market report are briefly discussed below.

Virtual Tourism Market Drivers

The rising technological advancements and increasing virtual reality tools are a few of the significant market drivers of the virtual tourism industry. Additionally, the psychological impact of virtual touring (reducing travel anxiety due to the aftermath of the pandemic) has also been a crucial market driver. Other factors include lower product costs, increased gaming and entertainment solutions, potential uses for virtual tours in healthcare, advanced headsets and display units, 5G and other advanced networks. Furthermore, the integration of augmented and virtual reality techniques has enhanced the application of virtual reality in various industrial operations. Virtual tour software is one of the most prominent growing applications of the virtual tourism market as it supports destination-based marketing. Multiple industries such as education, automotive, manufacturing, real estate, tourism and hospitality are actively adopting this software as a part of their marketing strategies, enhancing customer engagement.

Porter’s Five Forces Analysis of Virtual Tourism Market

Porter’s five forces is a method for analyzing the competitive environment of virtual tourism domain, focusing on five key forces that determine industry attractiveness and profitability in the long run.

Virtual Tourism Competitive Landscape

With the presence of several small and large virtual tourism companies, the market is experiencing intense competition and changing market dynamics. From large multinational companies to local virtual tourism players, companies are striving to enhance their competitive edge. In terms of market share, large enterprises and multinational companies are dominating the market. While small virtual tourism players are continuously improving their products to cater to niche markets, enhance virtual tourism market opportunities and offer specialized services. These industry players are focusing on adopting competitive strategies, such as developing innovative virtual tourism techniques, forming strategic alliances and partnerships to expand their portfolios and global footprint, investing in recent developments and new feature launches to enhance their virtual tourism offerings. For instance, in August 2024, BA Cultural Outreach Sector collaborated with Heritage International Institute and the Italian Embassy in Cairo to launch the virtual tours for several of its museums on the official website.

Virtual tourism market Challenges

Despite the strong market growth projection, there are a number of challenges in the virtual tourism market. The most common challenges are limited realism, technological barriers, content quality, digital fatigue and security and privacy concerns. Virtual tourism can be a limiting experience more than a liberating experience for some of the individuals as it limits itself in replicating the full sensory experience of physical travel. While VR and AR technologies can offer immersive visuals, they cannot truly capture the tactile, olfactory and auditory aspects of the destination. For the technological barrier aspect, the high-quality VR headsets and devices can be extremely pricey, limiting this experience to only the wealthy demographic. Further, poor content quality and inaccurate representations of destinations can also impact the market negatively. Moreover, overexposure to screens can cause digital fatigue whereas data breaches and privacy issues can deter individuals from participating in these visual escapades.

Regional Analysis: North America is Expected to Dominate the Market with the Largest Virtual Tourism Market Share

With respect to regional virtual tourism industry insights, North America is likely to dominate the market for the forecasted period. The dominance of this region can be attributed to its advanced technological infrastructure, widespread internet access, and high consumer interest in digital travel experiences. Along with this, the region’s rich cultural, historical and natural attractions are well-suited for online travel exploration, attracting both local and global audiences.

Leading Virtual Tourism Devices Manufacturers

Examples of key virtual tourism device manufacturers involved in the virtual tourism market (which have also been captured in this market report, arranged in alphabetical order) include 360 Cities, 360 Imagery, 360 Pano VR Solutions, Airbnb, Ascape VR, Blue Raven, Comp11, Concept3D, Dubai 360, Exsight 360, Expedia Group, First Airlines, Google Earth VR, Google, Invision Studio, Klapty, Kuula, Matterport, MI 360, Pan 3Sixty, RealTourVision, Roundme, SeekBeak, Starts360, TourVista, TripAdvisor, Unimersiv, Visit Wales, VeeR VR, Wanderlust VR, YouVisit.

Recent Developments in Virtual Tourism Market

• In July 2024, Greater Anglia launched a virtual tour initiative for Witham railway station in the UK to improve accessibility and allowing the users to get familiarized with the station facilities.
• In April 2024, Nium and Thredd partnered to launch virtual card solutions in APAC travel sector.
• In May 2024, Worldline partnered with Visa to launch virtual card issuing solution for online travel agencies.
• In January 2024, Planitar Inc. launched iGUIDE instant, revolutionizing virtual real estate experiences.

Virtual Tourism Market Report Coverage

A preface providing an introduction to the full report, virtual tourism market, 2019-2023 (Historical Trends) and till-2035 (Forecasted Estimates).

• An outline of the systematic research methodology adopted to conduct the study on the virtual tourism market, providing insights on the various assumptions, methodologies, and quality control measures employed to ensure the accuracy and reliability of our findings.
• An overview of economic factors that impact the overall virtual tourism market, including historical trends, currency fluctuation, foreign exchange impact, recession, and inflation measurement.
• An executive summary of the insights captured during our research. It offers a high-level view of the current state of the virtual tourism market and their likely evolution in the mid-long term.
• A detailed assessment of the virtual tourism market landscape, based on several relevant parameters, including year of experience, company size, location of headquarters, and ownership structure.
• Elaborate profiles of prominent players engaged in the virtual tourism market, featuring information on their year of establishment, location of headquarters, company size, company mission, company footprint, management team, contact details, financial information, operating business segments, virtual tourism portfolio, moat analysis, recent developments, and an informed future outlook.
• A qualitative assessment of the various megatrends ongoing in the integration with growing demand for immersive experiences, increased accessibility, integration of AI and machine learning and corporate adoption.
• An analysis highlighting the key unmet needs across virtual tourism industry, featuring virtual tourism market research insights generated from real-time data on unmet needs as identified from social media posts, recent publications, industry blogs and the views of key opinion leaders expressed on online platforms.
• An in-depth analysis of various patents that have been filed / granted related to agriculture robots and its components, based on various parameters, such as type of patent, patent publication year, patent age and leading players
• A detailed analysis of recent developments in the virtual tourism domain, based on relevant parameters such as year of initiative, type of initiative (partnerships and collaborations, expansions, funding and product launches), geographical distribution and most active players (in terms of number of recent developments).
• Key winning strategies framework that helps in analyzing the level of competition within an industry, by tracing the key market activities including partnership, funding, expansion of leading players
• A qualitative analysis, highlighting the five competitive forces prevalent in virtual tourism industry, including threats for new entrants, bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of customers, threats of substitution and rivalry among existing competitors.
• A discussion on affiliated global virtual tourism market trends, key drivers and challenges, under a SWOT framework, which are likely to impact the industry’s evolution, along with a Harvey ball analysis, highlighting the relative effect of each SWOT parameter on the overall virtual tourism market.
• A value chain analysis featuring a discussion on various stakeholders involved in the development of the virtual tourism market, from suppliers to end-users.
• A detailed estimate of the current market size and the future growth potential of the virtual tourism market over the next decade. Based on multiple parameters we have provided an informed estimate on the market evolution during the forecast period 2024-2035. The report also features the likely distribution of the current and forecasted opportunity within the virtual tourism market. Further, in order to account for future uncertainties and to add robustness to our model, we have provided three forecast scenarios, namely conservative, base, and optimistic scenarios, representing different tracks of the industry’s growth.
• Detailed projections of the current and future market across various types of products such as cloud based, and web based.
• Detailed projections of the current and future market across various types of devices such as head mounted, and gesture tracking.
• Detailed projections of the current and future market across various areas of application such as art galleries & museums, automotive, education, marketing professionals, real estate professionals, and tourism industries.
• Detailed projections of the current and future market across various types of tours such as 360 degree virtual tours, 3D virtual tours, and virtual reality tours.
• Detailed projections of the current and future market across various types of direct suppliers such as airlines, government bodies, hotel campaigns, tour operators.
• Detailed projections of the current and future market across various types of indirect suppliers such as aggregators, corporate buyers, online travel agency, traditional travel agencies, and travel management companies.
• Detailed projections of the current and future virtual tourism market across various geographical regions, such as North America (US, Canada, Mexico and other North American countries), Europe (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and other European countries), Asia (China, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and other Asian countries), Middle East and North Africa (Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE and other MENA countries), Latin America (Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela and other Latin American countries) and rest of the world (Australia, New Zealand and other countries).

Author: Ronit Sharma and Anmol Bali

Customization Opportunities

At Roots Analysis, we genuinely care about your success and understand that your business requirements are unique. While our virtual tourism market research reports provide valuable insights, we recognize that they might not cover every aspect you need to make well-informed strategic decisions. To account for that, we offer 15% free report customization tailored to your specific needs. Whether you require additional quantitative analysis, qualitative insights, or any other information related to the virtual tourism market, reach out us today at: support@rootsanalysis.com