Immersive cultural tourism relies on VR, AR, holographic projection, intelligent interaction and other technologies, combined with cultural tourism IP to create a space that combines virtual and reality, allowing people in it to interact with cultural works, and even participate in the creation of works, and experience the special effect and identification with thinking. At present, there are many immersive cultural tourism projects, such as immersive museums, immersive performances, and immersive exhibitions, which fully reflect the charm of culture + technology. Immersive theme parks, immersive experience halls/secret rooms, immersive light shows perfectly amplify the entertainment effect of tourism + technology, especially the immersive night tour products, which are favored by tourists because of their strong sense of picture and immersive interaction experience.
With the support of digital technology, various immersive experiences have sprung up into performance venues, cultural parks, tourist attractions, hotels, restaurants and other places, expanding the experience space for tourists, which are becoming one of the most concerned areas of cultural tourism consumption. Immersive museums, immersive art exhibitions, immersive restaurants, immersive theme parks, immersive scenic spots, immersive cultural tourism complexes, and immersive cultural tourism towns have penetrated into the cultural tourism attractions, bringing new visual experience to people. The enthusiasm of "immersion" provides a new direction for cultural tourism development, presenting a trend of diversified business formats, rich products, and active consumption.
The immersive experience in contemporary society is widely regarded as "Sleepless Night" which initiated in 2011. The domestic immersive experience started with the immersive performance "See Pingyao Again" in 2013. 2019 is the year in which the "experience economy" really took root. As the author of "The Experience Economy" B.Joseph Pine said, "Immersive experience has always existed, and it is because the current economic form is transforming to experience economy. That's what drives the growth of the immersive entertainment industry." According to "Immersive Land - China Immersive Industry Development White Paper 2020 (hereinafter referred to as the White Paper) the total output value of China's immersive industry in 2019 reached $483.1 million, and the number of domestic immersive experience projects increased explosively in 2019, a year-on-year increase of 149% . The White Paper divides 8,058 immersive projects around the world into 12 sub-sectors and 258 immersive formats. These formats include immersive drama, immersive performing arts, immersive music festivals, and even immersive study rooms, immersive bars and so on.
The immersive cultural tourism industry as a whole is at an early stage. The industry peers need to consider how to develop sustainably. Take Disney as an example. Over the years, it has become the “evergreen” of immersive theme parks through the application of technology and the continuous creation and updating of IPs, as well as replicating it globally. But not all immersive amusement can be replicated like this. Some immersive projects have similar formats and experience forms, and they also face problems such as regional cultural differences and unfinished industrial division of labor. The industry peers should take the exploration, experience and value transformation of cultural IP as the core, and prevent the simple show of science and technology, sound and light, and ignore the cultural connotation and true value.
※The article is published in the GTI Magazine Issue No. 197 in June 2020 |
