(TAN): The Faroe Islands have launched a new tourism campaign that enables web users to control a real-life local during a guided tour, all without leaving the comfort of their homes.
Visit Faroe Islands, the tourism board of the North Atlantic archipelago, has developed a remote tourism tool to enable prospective visitors to explore up close the “cascading waterfalls and spot the traditional grass-roofed houses” of the destination during the times of quarantine.
Each user will be paired with a local Faroese, armed with a live video camera, who will be their “eyes and body on a virtual exploratory tour”. It will enable the armchair tourist to not just passively appreciate the views but also “control” the movements of the resident using mobile phones, tablets or desktops.
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“Just like a real-life computer game, you – the main player – will control the moves of the Faroese islander, who will not only explore locations on foot, but also take to the skies by helicopter, giving virtual visitors 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,” Visit Faroe Islands said.
“If you ask them to go left, they go left. If you ask them to jump, they jump. If you ask them to run, they run. You’re sort of steering this person and deciding what you want to see and where you want this person to go,” tourist board spokesperson Levi Hanssen was quoted by Traveller as saying.
The virtual tours, that started last week, will run once or twice daily until at least April 25. During the tours, the tourist board will be available online in real-time to answer any questions participants may have.
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The digital innovation is reportedly aimed at sustaining interest in the Faroe Islands, so that the potential tourist’s appetite is whetted and they plan to visit the volcanic islands in real life.
“When the travel bans began to escalate, we wondered how we could recreate a Faroe Islands’ experience for those who had to cancel or postpone their trip to the Faroe Islands, and for everyone else stuck at home. The result is this new platform to enable those in isolation to take a walk across our wild landscapes, to regain a sense of freedom and to explore beyond their own four walls. We believe that our remote islands are the perfect place to inspire people in lockdown – and, naturally, we hope to welcome them in person once everyone is free to travel again,” Gudrid Hojgaard, Director of Visit Faroe Islands, was quoted by Conference & Meetings World as saying.
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