The China VR Tourism Cloud Data Service Platform was jointly announced today by the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), Renwoyou (Xiamen) Technology Development Co., Ltd., and HTC Vive, a pioneer in innovative, smart mobile and virtual reality (VR) technologies.
In addition to experiencing travel destinations in VR using Vivepaper, this platform integrates functions such as instant messaging, information sharing, online entertainment, and big data analysis to create more exciting opportunities for the tourism industry. Hongye Xin, Deputy Director of the Information Center, CNTA, Shaoqing Lin, Chairman of Renwoyou, and Alvin W. Graylin, China Regional President of Vive, HTC, attended the press conference together with more than 600 representatives from travel agencies and over 40 international travel bureaus.
“As the world’s largest travel market, China will now become the world’s first market to systematically apply VR technology to its tourism industry,” says Hongye Xin, Deputy Director of the Information Center, CNTA. “In the next couple of years, we expect to see The China VR Tourism Cloud Data Service Platform take root in tens of thousands of offline stores nationwide, thus introducing a brand-new VR travel experience to consumers across the country.”
“It is a great honor for us to partner with CNTA and Renwoyou to bring this pioneering VR experience to another untapped industry,” says Alvin W. Graylin, China Regional President of Vive, HTC. “We see the travel industry as one of the first to be disrupted by VR and with the full support of the China National Tourism Administration, we are very optimistic on its growth potential. The addition of the Vivepaper VR reading platform and Vive VR system into the China VR Tourism Cloud Data Service Platform is a clear sign in the progressive attitude of the Chinese government towards adopting new technologies into traditional industries.”
Developed by Vive, Vivepaper is the world’s first augmented-VR (A-VR) enhanced reading platform. Using Vive’s VR headset (or compatible mobile VR device), users will be able to interact with a paper booklet printed with Vivepaper QR codes simply by making gestures. This includes mimicking the turning of pages or pointing at virtual objects using one’s fingers, thus allowing readers to easily immerse themselves in a world of exciting immersive content.
By integrating industry big data from the Information Center of CNTA and VR travel content from the Vivepaper platform, the platform will provide VR applications and cloud service solutions to the offline stores of travel agencies. The platform already has 11 Vivepaper magazines of destination content embedded today, and access to over 5,000 360-videos of scenic areas. Comprised of a dual-screen desktop device with one screen for customer display and one for salesperson operation, this system will be deployed throughout the country via the Smart Tourism Offline Transaction System developed by Renwoyou. In addition to VR demonstration and travel product sales, it can also realize a range of sales management services including electric contract signing, online notarization, and currency exchange.
The China VR Tourism Cloud Data Service Platform is already in close collaboration with seven leading travel agencies, namely China International Travel Service Ltd., China Comfort Travel Group Co., Ltd., Hna-Caissa Travel Group Co., Ltd., BCTS Travel Service, Nanhu Travel, XM Air Travel, and Xiamen Tourist Service Center; it aims to tap into more data and take advantage of Vivepaper technology and Vive’s VR system to present international tourist destinations in a richer and more vivid way to Chinese consumers using VR. In the near future, travel agencies will be able to incorporate the service platform into the majority of their more than 200,000 offline stores, heralding the arrival of VR tourism as a new way to market to customers.
