The level of fear involved in booking a travel destination must be inversely proportional to the price you’re paying. If your coughing up top dollar you’re probably fairly confident that things will turn out OK.
However, if you’re lucky enough to find a bargain, you may find yourself asking esoteric questions like, exactly how breathtaking will these views be? The unknown variables are the worst, and you may be struck with the horrible realization that the destination you’ve booked, really could go either way. Will it be good and you’ll have achieved a little life-win in paying less than you had to? Or will it be crap, and that beautiful vista was actually a well-placed shot amid a busy and grimy business district?
One of the standard holiday questions you get upon your return is always “did it live up to your expectations?”. Which is a question designed to cut through the all the hype booking platforms spew, in order to get the opinion of a real flesh and blood traveler who lived the experience. With the online travel market boom fuelled by growth in developing markets, and the VR market set to grow five times faster than the iPhone, Sygic have capitalized on the combination.
Building on their navigation platform, their new product allows users to view their potential vacation surroundings in 3D before booking the trip. An idea which fulfills the long-chased criteria of a good tech product: something we have always wanted without realizing we wanted it.
The VR functionality is accessible via the Sygic app which hosts a library of footage collected by a professional traveler and photographer. Forty global destinations are currently listed with 5000 travel videos and photos, designed to allow holidaymakers the opportunity to familiarise themselves with their booking prior to any commitment.
The content is also hosted alongside content from CNN and the New York Times on Samsung’s Virtual Vacation page. Sygic is the first to offer 360-degree travel tours, capitalizing on a form of technology which is yet to be applied to many industries.
Michal Stencl- Founder & CEO at Sygic
“Sygic is committed to exploring the boundaries of navigation, a philosophy that has directly contributed to our enduring reputation as the leader in navigation,” said Michal Stencl, Sygic Founder & CEO. “We are delighted to deliver new cutting-edge premium features such as those in our new travel app and bring the VR experience to the next level.”
The Deloitte Fast 50 Company was the first to offer navigation systems for iPhone and the second for Android, leading them onto the forefront of automotive and travel navigation, and already boasting 200 million unique users.
“We hope the new version of the app will reach more users than ever and further our travel offering to millions across the globe,” added Stencl. “Now, thanks to VR, users can travel the world from their armchair’.
