Ben Austin 
Most gamers are adventurers at heart. After all, once you’ve been gaming for a while, you’ve visited new worlds, explored history, and made friends with the locals, depending on what title you’re playing. While this may all take place in the virtual world, it can often feel as if you’ve visited the place yourself. As gaming culture continues to spread, thanks to the accessibility of gaming on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, more and more people are getting the travel bug, wanting to visit the places they’ve seen on their screens. Although many of these places are make-believe, there are often real-life destinations that resemble them enough to make a trip worthwhile. Keep reading to learn about how gaming is redefining modern travel.
Gaming-Inspired Travel Destinations
Most people do at least part of their gaming online these days, with online casinos being a destination frequented by gamers who enjoy table games and themed slots. Virtual casinos do their best to deliver a realistic experience, and most would agree that they do a good job replicating real-life experiences. Given their authenticity, it’s not surprising that these virtual platforms often inspire players to plan trips to destinations known for casinos, and the number one among them is probably Las Vegas. In Vegas, gamers can explore some of the most famous casinos in the world. As almost every gamer knows, Vegas is about more than casino games; it’s also a major esports hub, with HyperX Arena at the Luxor Hotel & Casino being a major draw.
While Vegas is the city many think of when talking about gaming-inspired travel destinations, Japan isn’t far behind. Some of the most iconic video games come from Japan, so it’s not surprising that many want to visit the country. For example, the video game Yakuza takes players on a journey through fictionalized versions of real-life districts in Tokyo, like Kabukicho, which inspired the in-game district of Kamurocho. Kabukicho is best known for its entertainment and nightlife area in Shinjuku, and fans often visit to experience the real-life atmosphere that inspired the game. Likewise, the Assassin’s Creed series has motivated players to travel to places like Greece, Italy, and Egypt, wanting to see the real thing after exploring these ancient cities in the game.
Gamification of the Travel Experience
Gamification has become a way to motivate everyone, from workers completing training sessions to students studying foreign languages. Recently, gamification has come into the world of travel. When we speak of gamification, we’re talking about using game design elements in non-game contexts. If you’ve ever used the Duolingo app to learn a new language, you’re familiar with how this works.
Challenges, leaderboards, and rewards are some of the most important tools in gamification, and travel apps are now using these features to encourage travelers to get out and explore new destinations. Virtual reality is another way travel is changing, giving gamers an opportunity to preview the place they’re planning to visit before purchasing a flight or booking accommodations. Mobile games have also become a big part of the travel experience, keeping travelers entertained during long flights and layovers.
Virtual Tourism and Gaming
So much of our lives seem to be virtual today, and tourism is no different. Advancements in gaming technology have fueled a new type of tourism, the virtual type.
People no longer have to spend thousands of dollars on plane tickets to reach far-flung parts of the globe. Instead, they can explore these places from the comfort of their homes. One of the most popular ways to do this is through VR-enabled games like Microsoft Flight Simulator, which offers realistic simulations of locations around the globe, making it possible for users to visit destinations virtually that they might not be able to access otherwise. While nothing compares to visiting a place in person, virtual exploration helps players learn about different cultures and develop a better understanding of the world as they interact with new environments and diverse scenarios.
About Author
Alma Bax 
