The promise of the Metaverse as a persistent, hyper-realistic, immersive, virtual world, that allows planetwide interactions, in real-time, includes the ability to visit anywhere, at any time. So, it begs the question? In the future, will we be spending our vacation time in the Metaverse?
Travel allows us to escape the demands of daily life, it helps us to recover from the day-to-day drudgery of work, to rejuvenate and recharge our batteries. It also helps us to gain a greater perspective of the world and increases our propensity for diversity and inclusion through exposure to different people, cultures and values. So why would we vacation in the Metaverse? If the benefits of holidays abroad are so broad, why would we then consign ourselves to virtual experiences?
A couple of reasons. Data from the Office of National Statistics estimates that 60% of UK residents’ holiday abroad. Which means there’s 40% of the UK population who are missing out on the benefits of travel to a different county. As such, the Metaverse could arguably provide societal benefit to those who aren’t fortunate enough to be able to afford to visit a foreign country on an annual basis. It could also help to break down some of the barricades created by toxic social media echo chambers, through exposure to other cultures, facilitated by real-time, universal translation that cuts through language barriers.
Let’s start with the holiday itself. There are many types of vacation to choose from, but we can probably reject a few of these from the outset when talking about compatibility with the Metaverse. For example, here at The Metabite we don’t see a short-term demand for family holidays in the Metaverse. But, what about activity holidays? Adventure holidays? A wellness-break? A Bucket List?
Let’s take activity holidays first. Imagine, the opportunity to take on new challenges in virtual environment indistinguishable from the physical world, to experience the greatest trials the world can offer, like the Moroccan three peak challenge, the Guatemalan five volcano challenge, kayaking across Alaska, climbing Kilimanjaro? Then, adventure holidays, trekking to Machu Picchu in Peru, or backcountry skiing in Whistler, Canada. Wellness breaks? A photography retreat in Italy, tea ceremonies in Iceland, or restorative yoga in Spain? It’s clear how these experiences might manifest themselves in the Metaverse.
In the Metaverse all of these experiences should be available to everyone. Take a week out of work, enter the Metaverse to explore, restore and relax. Enjoy a yoga session in the morning, climb Machu Picchu in the afternoon, complete a course in a million and one different subjects in the afternoon (see our Education in the Metaverse post here), the choice yours. But hopefully it will teach you more about the world, and broaden your horizons. But why stop there? Why not trek the Valles Marineris on Mars, meditate above Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, or visit a fantastical, fictional world that we at The Metabite can’t yet comprehend?
There’s much more to discuss. But for now, we’re signing off. Please leave a comment below!
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