A very old saying goes: "Opposites attract!" Just like in love, we can find this attraction in everything around us and lately it seems to have a common denominator: technology.
Technology and Tourism.
The latter is increasingly exploited in all areas, from the simple purchase of products online, through the development of increasingly innovative applications, through the choice of the wine that goes best with lunch or dinner, to smart cars capable of everything. .
However, along with the term "Technology", I want to add the term "Tourism", and then it becomes very intuitive to think of booking holidays online or virtual tours, etc.
When tourism meets video games.
But what if instead of technology in the strict sense I talked to you about video games? Well yes, video games are "embedded" in tourism. It's not crazy, it's simply looking at what surrounds us from another perspective.
I'm Alfredo and I'm a recent graduate in Tourism and Environmental Resources Management from the 'La Sapienza' University of Rome and I have two great passions in life: travel and video games.
Given the historical moment we live in, in which the professions in my career sector are currently, the only thing I have to do is alternate my job search with some healthy and deep video game sessions. At this point I would say, thank goodness there are those who manage to make me feel great emotions simply by sitting in front of my desk.
Emotions not only given by the plot itself, but also and above all by the vast landscapes, although sometimes they are in a post-apocalyptic setting, created in a way that is perhaps too precise. Then I started to think about how many video games have been made taking real scenarios as a reference and how many titles have been released.
Browsing the Internet, I learned that a well-known video game site, which has been reviewing and evaluating past and future games for a long time, has organized a weekly event on the online streaming platform 'Twitch' in which they realistically show the environments reproduced within the video game.
This is how the two worlds collide, especially now in times of pandemic. So how can technology be at the service of tourism? In particular, how can the world of video games become an added value for the tourism sector?
By doing some research, for example, we found out how the municipality of Alghero in Sardinia, the only one in Italy, wants to promote its beaches, its history and its culture through video games: through a contest aimed specifically at young people, you can be an active participant. It is part of 'Med Gaims', a Euro-Mediterranean cooperation plan that promotes artistic and cultural heritage and uses gaming as an element to promote the tourist experience.
Video games: a bridge between the virtual and the real.
After all, video games have changed a lot since the launch of the first modern console in 1994.
Graphic features have changed a lot today and it seems that even the use of them is completely different from what it might have been twenty-six years ago. Just think of the online and social component, an aspect that was completely unknown until 2006.
Connecting players from all over the world was the movement, in my opinion, that led to the enormous expansion of video games, many friendships that can be born online could become important in a person's life.
This happened to me personally and in addition to meeting fantastic people online, it also led me to travel, both in Italy and abroad, to get to know the place where they live and their customs.
Easter eggs.
In short, the world of video games should be exploited even more by the tourism sector not only with the applications seen so far but thanks to its enormous potential we could think of adding 'Easter eggs': no, they are not real Easter eggs. Easter.
They take their name from the Anglo-Saxon custom of hiding decorated eggs for children to find. It is therefore a curious type of humour by programmers through which they hide within the game objects or dialogues related to films or other related video games.
The addition of "Easter eggs" in the game, to then find them 'IRL' or In Real Life, perhaps in the same place where the video game is set (Game Tourism). This could lead the most passionate or even those who are simply curious to embark on a journey to discover the Easter egg hidden in a certain place in the real world.
The tourism sector is always in continuous evolution and after the historical period we are living in, we will see that the most passionate or even those who are simply curious will be able to discover the Easter egg hidden in a certain place in the real world.
The tourism sector is always in continuous evolution and after the historical period we are living in it will surely change even more, perhaps there will be more and more tourism in video games and more and more video games in tourism, we do not know this yet, but we will surely see some beautiful ones.
About Giampaolo Rossi.
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Video games and tourism are related in several ways, such as promoting destinations, creating immersive experiences and integrating cultures.
ReplyDeleteVideo games have already become an indispensable sector of culture and entertainment. Beyond solidifying itself as an artistic and identity expression of the new generations, the video game industry is also positioned as one of the most profitable globally, since it is estimated that in 2023 alone it generated 400 billion dollars. Meanwhile, we see that relevant markets such as those of the European Union are investing significant resources in generating a profitable and careful regulatory framework for the sector.
DeleteSince 2022, the European Commission has embarked on the study of the potential and best practices for the development of this technological art, and the opportunity they represent for tourism has been included in the debates.