It is one of the most touristic regions of the Mediterranean. The epicenter of the infinite skyscrapers that rise above the Levante. International tourism city and who knows? capital of the metaverse in Spain? Benidorm wants to become a reference in this post-reality universe based on the union of different technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), thanks to the Benidorm Land project.
Promoted by the tourist foundation Visit Benidorm and the company Six3D its launch is scheduled for the end of this month of October. The objective? Especially attract a younger audience. And the fact is that, although this Alicante city attracts a whopping almost 9 million tourists every year, the age range is still high, which is why the administration itself also wants to attract an audience from the Alpha and Zeta generations. Therefore, nothing better than doing it with the thriving Metaverse.
The keys to Benidorm Land
The new generations are more technological and seek greater digital and virtual inspiration for their trips. Benidorm Land will allow you to expand the experience prior to the trip, in an immersive way. In other words, get to know Benidorm before traveling to know what it is like, if it meets the needs of the traveler and how it doesn’t, learn and `play´ on its beaches, streets and monuments.
It is a virtual space where the user only requires a computer or virtual reality glasses to be able to walk through its old town, fly over the charismatic Castell, descend the stairs to the balconies of the viewpoint to contemplate it even from the sea as if it were a drone… In short, an opportunity to reach more than 140 million of STEAM users, which is the platform from which this metaverse will be launched.
The objective of this Benidorm in the metaverse is to achieve both tourist and economic impacts and although, at first, it was more focused on gaming, from the council they want to promote this tool as another marketing action. Users will be able to visit, walk and fly along Levante and Poniente beaches as if they were in this Valencian municipality, the city that never sleeps.
The director of Six3D, Alberto Lozano, has commented that “they intend to be a meeting place where concerts, cultural activities and also where you can make purchases at companies that have their establishment hosted there.” Making clear all the opportunities offered by the metaverse and Benidorm’s commitment to this technology. In addition, taking advantage of the situation, the Business Foundation of the University of Alicante (Fundeun) has also organized the first course of employability in the metaverse together with several professional associations.
Despite its innovative character in Spain, the truth is that projects like these are recurrent all over the world. Without going any further, the city of Zaragoza was one of the first Spanish cities to carry the Pillar Day celebration to the metaverse. And for this they created in the virtual world a representation of the Plaza de Nuestra Señora del Pilar. Further afield, Qatar and Qatar Airways launched Qverse, an experience in the metaverse where users could tour Hamad International Airport, inside the cabin of the airline’s planes or its famous business class. There are even options that go further: Meta Media, a company that, using the XiRang service offered by Baidu, is developing YuanBuang, its own city in the Metaverse that will have all the comforts and facilities for users.
The options of the Metaverse are endless and its application in all economic and social areas has only just begun.
