(TAN): Global tourism has almost come to a standstill, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. As travel restrictions and social distancing continue to be enforced across the planet for the conceivable future, travel-related businesses such as airlines and cruise lines are reportedly on the verge of bankruptcy while hotels, restaurants and museums have locked their doors for the time being.
With travellers now confined to their respective homes, demand for indoor activities and exploration is on the rise. Several cultural organisations have therefore come up with online tours of their properties and experiences, so that the quest for discovery remains unhindered, shifting only from the physical to the virtual.
Good news for art lovers
Although the buildings still remain out of bounds, some of the best museums the human race has ever known are offering online tours of their galleries amid the lockdown.
While the Van Gogh Museum in Netherlands’ Amsterdam directs admirers of the Post-impressionism painter to some of his timeless pieces, including the “Almond Blossom”, “Wheat Field with Crows” and “Sunflowers”, the Louvre in Paris offers tours of exhibits such as Egyptian antiquities, remains of the Louvre’s moat, and artworks from European masters such as Delacroix, Tintoretto and Rembrandt.
London-based British Museum has designed a virtual tour called “Museum of the World” which takes audiences on a journey across time. All you have to do is click on the colourful dots to find out the significance of each artifact that belongs to eras dating back to as early as 5,000 BC.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art or “The Met” as it is popularly known, is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. Google Arts and Culture reportedly partnered with 2,500 museums and galleries worldwide to bring virtual tours of these museums right up to the living room, the Met, the largest art museum in the United States, being one of them.
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National parks and other monuments at fingertips
United States’ National Park Service is offering virtual tours of some of their most-loved sites and parks, Yellowstone National Park, the Statue of Liberty in New York, Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska, and Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve being some of them.
The Great Wall of China, one of the most sought-after tourist attractions in the world, can now be experienced from the comfort of the living room, all it takes is a personal mobile device and internet connection.
If you want to revisit the iconic American, Horseshoe or Bridal Veil Falls, Niagara Falls State Park has arranged a virtual tour which can take visitors right up to the edge of the famous waterfalls.
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Even though France is in the middle of a grave crisis, the City of Love is not out of reach of travel enthusiasts. Paris’ Eiffel Tower is offering not just a view of the world-famous monument, but also a panoramic view of the entire city.
The Stonehenge in the English countryside has always been steeped in mystery. The ancient structure now invites people for a virtual tour coupled with a deeper understanding of the ring of standing stones.
Stay home, see Greece
Greece has unveiled an interactive website to keep its tourism brand thriving – while it urges tourists to “stay safe, stay home” in these “uncertain times”, it does not believe people have to “stop connecting, being inspired and learning”; it rather stresses they probably need it “more now than ever before”.
“So this is where we share our love for Greece – connecting you with Greeks doing amazing things on our YouTube channel and letting you experience the best of Greece right now,” Greek tourism’s interactive website Greecefromhome.com said.
Visitors can take virtual tours of Acropolis, walk through the Hora of Mykonos, explore the old town of Rhodes or Corfu, or go a culinary adventure in Thessaloniki.
Airbnb’s travel experiences now on Zoom
Global home-sharing platform Airbnb has rolled out its popular Experiences on a digital format, christened ‘Online Experiences’, to enable people to explore virtually and give hosts an opportunity to earn amid the pandemic.
The virtual version of the Airbnb Experiences offer activities such as baking, bike tours, Korean makeup tutorials, magic, hangout sessions with goats, fortune reading and meditation with Buddhist monks, by pairing customers with hosts from over 30 different countries.
Bookings are open for over 50 Online Experiences that will be hosted through remote conferencing app Zoom.
