NEWSROOM

The concept of the metaverse, which came to the fore with blockchain technologies, inspired new projects in the tourism industry. Travel agency Bugün Nereye Gidelim has entered the metaverse with rental bungalows, breaking new ground that will give tourists visiting Turkey the chance to experience their accommodation in a virtual environment.

*** This release is originally published in Turkish.
Google Translate Application translates the content you see on this page.***

ISTANBUL (TR) - Augmented reality technologies, which offer realistic experiences to users in the digital environment, gained more meaning with the emergence of the metaverse concept, which is defined as the new version of the internet. While developing technologies are opening new doors for many industries, the tourism industry has made metaverse and augmented reality concepts part of its growth plans. Turkey-based travel agency, which closely follows global trends, Bugün Nereye Gidelim, broke new ground by promoting a bungalow in Sapanca on the metaverse.

Sharing his evaluations on the project, Bugün Nereye Gidelim, Founder İlker Kulaksız said, “New technologies such as Metaverse create a suitable basis for the 'try before you buy' method, which has become a common trend among users. Thanks to the metaverse project, which we have implemented as Bugün Nereye Gidelim, guests visiting our country from abroad can tour our rental bungalows in the virtual universe beforehand. In this way, the metaverse turns into a medium with high potential for tourism-oriented sales. Our long-standing work has given its first fruit, and a bungalow house in Sapanca has been introduced on the metaverse.”

Vacation first in the virtual universe, then in the real

Pointing out that the new opportunities that arise with technological developments contain many opportunities for the future of the tourism industry, İlker Kulaksız said, “Seeing and seizing these opportunities contributes not only to the companies but also to the sector. Our bungalow villas, which we display on the metaverse platform called OVR, attract many domestic and foreign tourists, especially on social media, who want to experience the places they will vacation in advance. Visitors can have a personalized experience by visiting our 3D modeled bungalows.”

Metaverse move after first tourism-focused NFT collection

Ilker Kulaksız, who stated that they are closely interested in blockchain-based concepts that emerged with the new internet concept called Web 3.0 as an agency, said, "Last month, we exhibited Turkey's first tourism-themed NFT collection on OpenSea, the largest NFT market. With the NFT collection we created inspired by Star Wars movies, we made it possible for our country's most important tourism destinations to take place on a global platform with a new generation of an art form. After this project, which was met with great interest, we are now breaking new ground by being included in the metaverse community.”

“We are working on intersecting augmented reality technology with tourism”

Emphasizing that purchasing experiences have been transferred to digital regardless of the sector and that realistic digital experiences affect consumer decisions, the Founder of  Bugün Nereye Gidelim İlker Kulaksız said, “With the motto of Turkey's holiday platform, we bring accommodation options such as villas, bungalows and glamping, located in the most beautiful holiday destinations of our country, to domestic and foreign tourists. We focused our work on this area with our predictions about the potential that augmented reality promises for country tourism. With the international project we will implement, tourists will be able to visit holiday regions such as Fethiye, Kaş, and Göcek in a three-dimensional way through agencies in their own countries and make their holiday plans based on experience.”