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19 Jun 2025
8 Min Read
Mr Ch'ng Chor Ban (Academic Contributor)
Imagine stepping into a rainforest, walking the cobbled streets of Europe, or even flying over the Himalayas—all without packing a suitcase. With a headset and a click, you’re transported somewhere new. That’s the magic of virtual travel, and it’s growing faster than ever. But as these digital adventures get more lifelike and widespread, a question naturally pops up: will they ever really match the thrill of the real thing?
Think about your last holiday—or the one you’ve always dreamed of. Was it the sights, the sounds, the food, or just that feeling of being somewhere completely unfamiliar? Travel is one of the few experiences that combines all five senses, often all at once. It’s about more than just photos for your social feed. It’s about how a place makes you feel.
Whether it’s the buzz of a local market, the nervous joy of trying a dish you can’t pronounce, or getting lost and stumbling upon a hidden café, travel is built on unpredictability and emotion. It shapes how we see the world and even how we see ourselves.
Your brain actually grows when you travel. A study has shown that navigating new environments boosts the volume of the hippocampus—the part responsible for memory and learning.
Now enter virtual travel—technology’s attempt to recreate that magic using screens, sensors, and code. It’s sleek, immersive, and in many cases, pretty impressive. But can a digital version ever truly replace the messy, beautiful unpredictability of real life?
Let’s start with how far virtual travel has come. Not that long ago, a travel video on YouTube was about as close as you could get to exploring a place without actually going. Today, virtual reality (VR) headsets let you ‘walk’ through ancient cities, ‘scale’ mountains, or ‘dive’ into the ocean—turning your living room into a launchpad for global adventure.
Augmented reality (AR) has also entered the scene, where your smartphone becomes a window that layers digital content over the real world. Think of standing in front of a historic building, pointing your phone at it, and instantly seeing how it looked 300 years ago. Then there’s 360-degree video, where you’re not just watching—you’re choosing your view, looking up, down, and all around.
Thanks to VR, anyone can now experience the climb to Mount Everest’s summit—no training, gear, or altitude sickness required (but of course, you need to have the VR headset). Through ultra-realistic simulations like Everest VR, users can walk across ice bridges, peer over deadly drops, and witness the breathtaking view from 8,848 metres above sea level.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is also playing a role. Digital tour guides now respond to your questions, recommend attractions, and even adjust their tone depending on how curious—or bored—you seem. Some platforms are even experimenting with virtual companions that can join your ‘trip,’ making it a shared experience.
For instance, Replika and Hello History are apps where AI companions can be customised to take on different personalities—even historical figures—guiding you through conversations as if you were travelling with a well-informed (and sometimes cheeky) friend.
In Malaysia, platforms like ActSugi are using technology not just to simulate landscapes, but to share local culture, history, and storytelling. It’s not just about showing you a place—it’s about helping you feel what makes that place special.
There’s no denying how far technology has come. With the right headset and software, virtual environments can look stunningly real. Add spatial audio and you might just feel like you're actually walking through the rainforest or sitting in a Parisian café.
But here’s where things get tricky. Travel is about more than what you see or hear. It’s also about what you feel. The warmth of the sun, the chill in mountain air, the way your shoes hit unfamiliar streets. These are the details that technology is still working on.
Some developers are exploring haptic suits and gloves that can simulate the feeling of touch (e.g., Teslasuit). There are even scent devices designed to recreate smells like ocean breezes or roasted coffee. Taste simulation, while still experimental, is being studied in labs as a way to ‘digitally’ enjoy food. But let’s be honest—it’s hard to imagine a headset giving you the same joy as biting into warm street food on a cool evening.
There’s also the human side of travel. Talking with locals, navigating unfamiliar transport systems, laughing over misunderstandings—these are the moments that make travel feel alive. Even if a virtual environment looks perfect, it often lacks the emotional messiness of the real thing.
A study in psychology has shown that while VR can spark emotional responses, it doesn’t activate the brain in quite the same way as a physical experience. That feeling of awe you get from standing at the edge of a canyon or hearing live music in a new city—that's still hard to replicate digitally.
One of the strongest arguments in favour of virtual travel is its potential for sustainability. Let’s face it—tourism, especially air travel, takes a heavy toll on the environment. Flights burn fuel. Popular destinations suffer from overcrowding. =
Here, virtual travel has a clear advantage. You can explore without the carbon footprint of physical travel, walk through delicate environments without causing harm, and even visit places that are off-limits or unsafe in the real world.
It’s also a brilliant tool for education. Climate change, for example, is often hard to visualise. But through immersive simulations, students can see melting glaciers, rising sea levels, or disappearing forests up close—experiences that can inspire real action.
For eco-conscious travellers, virtual tools also make planning more mindful. You can preview a destination before deciding to go, explore off-peak options, or find lesser-known spots that help spread tourism more evenly. In that way, digital travel doesn’t just replace—it supports better real-world choices.
Here’s the most likely answer: virtual travel won’t replace the real thing—but it will definitely change how we travel.
Picture this: before a big trip, you explore your destination in VR to get a feel for what’s ahead. During the trip, you use AR apps to translate signs, hear stories about local landmarks, or see old photographs of the area. Afterwards, you revisit your favourite moments virtually, reliving memories or sharing them with friends.
Virtual travel can also help people prepare for real experiences—whether it’s students getting ready for study abroad, volunteers heading into new environments, or even astronauts training for space missions.
Virtual travel is evolving fast, offering deeply immersive, personalised experiences. It makes the world more accessible and sustainable—but it can’t replace the raw, human magic of real travel. The future? A powerful blend of virtual and physical exploration.
Technology is changing travel—and that’s not a bad thing. Virtual tools are making exploration more accessible, sustainable, and imaginative than ever before. They can enrich our understanding, inspire new journeys, and bring the world closer in powerful ways.
But the soul of travel—the unpredictability, the connection, the personal growth—still belongs to the real world.
So maybe the future of travel isn’t about choosing between real and virtual. Maybe it’s about finding a balance. Using technology to open doors and prepare us for the journeys that matter most. Because no matter how good the simulation, sometimes you just need to be there.
Curious about the future of travel? Begin with our Foundation in Arts and take the first step towards a global journey with a degree in International Tourism Management.
