Drone tourism- the future?

©Thomas Ehrhardt

 

You have seen them in the media or even flying across the sky- drones. Finding use in different industries ranging from agriculture to film as well as serving as a consumer product, drones have become the bread and butter of our times. According to the article entitled ‘First-person drone tourism will let you see the sights from home’ written by Aviva Rutkin, drones could potentially find their place within the tourism industry.

The article talks about the work of Helmut Hlavacs from the University of Vienna who has developed technology that enables precise drone control from a distance using just the movement of the head. In theory potential tourist equipped with virtual reality goggles could explore destinations sitting comfortably on the couch at home.

According to Hlavacs this new way of travelling could yield many benefits most notably in terms of low cost and low environmental impact. Another major advantage is the accessibility. People excluded from travelling due to for example health constraints could take advantage from this solution and enjoy the tourism experience from afar.

On the other hand the article provides information on several problems that cast shade on drone tourism. First of all drones can be dangerous to people. There have already been accidents involving drones falling down from the sky due to failure or collisions with people which resulted in injuries. This issue could become even more important as drones would be flown by amateur users and not by professionals. Secondly the legal status of drones is still unclear and it is unsure that destinations or local governments would allow drones in touristic sites.

This article is relevant as it provides an insight on how drones coupled with innovative technology could affect the tourism industry. As usual there are both positive and negative aspects, however we personally believe that the latter reach far beyond safety or regulatory issues.

In our opinion adoption and popularisation of this technology could lead to drastic distortion of tourism concept itself. The very core of tourism is the physical travel to a destination which gives an opportunity to truly experience the site and interact with people. A vision of empty destination crowded with buzzing drones is rather terrifying. Another aspect concerns the economy. Since tourists would no longer need to travel many businesses like hotels would have to cease their operations.

So is drone tourism a future? We genuinely hope that it is not.

Gizem Tudes and Tomasz Wawrzeniec

Article: https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn27631-first-person-drone-tourism-will-let-you-see-the-sights-from-home/#.VXFo8_nF98E