CHINA. Zanadu, described as China’s premium lifestyle travel platform, has unveiled its inaugural ‘Travel Experience Space’ at Shanghai Village, a luxury outlet shopping destination.
While focused on travel rather than retail, the concept is of interest (and potential application) to the travel retail channel in the way it is reaching out to a new generation of Chinese travellers.
The project is described as the first virtual reality travel concept store in the world and the largest travel store in China. It combines 360-degree virtual reality travel experiences with digital POS terminals and an integration of mobile application, e-commerce and social media.
The concept is designed to demonstrate the future of travel, from how consumers experience travel inspiration and retrieve information, to how they choose and purchase vacations and bespoke journeys.
The highlight of the Zanadu Travel Experience Space is a collection of high-end cinematic Virtual Reality films, showcasing some of the world’s leading hotels, destinations and tourist activities. Guests are able to fly around the world and experience their favourite travel destinations before they make a booking. Zanadu uses Samsung Gear head-mounted displays in combination with Samsung Galaxy S7 phones to showcase the virtual reality travel experiences.
“Our VR films work as a teaser, which provide travellers with a virtual experience of what the real vacation could be like,” said Zanadu Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer Dirk Eschenbacher. “They can immerse themselves into spectacular destinations, living in luxury resorts, explore the wonders of the world and learn everything about their next adventure, before they actually go there. And then they can purchase travel products that are beautifully curated on our website and App.”
“The Zanadu Travel Experience Space opens the door to the future of travel,” said Zanadu Founder and Chief Executive Officer Zan Wu. “It is a revolutionary innovation in the travel retail industry, and a milestone breakthrough for Zanadu after the launch of the Travel VR App.”
