China’s Scenic Spot, Museum Operators Embrace the Metaverse to Lure Visitors

(Yicai Global) Dec. 30 — Many Chinese tourism companies and museum operators are teaming up with tech firms to improve the visitor experience with virtual tours through the metaverse.

The metaverse can drive more visitors to tourist locations and boost incomes by disseminating information in an informative and entertaining way, Shi Bosi, director at digital content firm Beijing Hetu United Innovation Technology, told Yicai Global.

Over 100 museums and travel agencies are working with tech firms to build metaverse spaces, Shi said. A number of these projects, developed by the likes of Hetu United, Meta, Beijing Shiji Technology and Culture as well as Alibaba Group Holding, are on show at the ongoing 2022 Tech G Shanghai International Consumer Electronics Show.

For example, Alibaba’s ‘Sanxingdui Digital Fantastic Journey’ lets viewers travel back in time to get a taste of life in the famous Bronze Age ancient civilization.

“User experience is critical as consumers are the core of the tourism industry,” Shi said. A product is 50 percent successful if it can improve the visitor experience and give people additional information. A journey through the metaverse lets users get a closer look at scenic spots and introduces them to more exhibits at museums.

“But frankly, these digital products cannot boost visitor numbers much,” Shi said. They mainly provide another source of income for venues. For example, some museums rent out augmented reality glasses at between CNY50 (USD7.20) and CNY100 a time.

Only a handful of tourism firms are investing in metaverse services, such as operation, maintenance, iteration and updates, industry insiders told Yicai Global. This is probably because the metaverse is still a relatively new thing and most scenic sites don’t have a clear long-term plan of what they are looking for.

“As a technological developer, we usually hope to sign a three-to-five-year deal with clients,” Shi said. “Even we cannot provide operation and maintenance services ourselves, we will help them find the right partner.”

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor