Can Virtual Reality Help Improve Slum Tourism?
By: Tourism Geographic Editor
Tags: Travel, Virtual Reality, Poverty, Tourism, Life

Opportunities to virtually visit distant destinations are more available than ever. Virtual Reality Head Mounted Devices, or VR HMDs, completely cover your view, immersing you in a virtual place. As you move your head, the view changes, and it feels like you are there (as a quick YouTube search can show).

Destinations, cruise ships, convention centres, and more have used VR to market their services. There is a growing body of research on VR and tourism. There are many marketing opportunities but also challenges as some VR experiences may decrease the desire to travel.

We were curious if VR experiences of a slum tour might change perceptions and interest in visiting one. The questions that guided our study were:

How might a virtual tour of a slum confirm or challenge perceptions of slum communities?

Will watching a virtual tour of a slum make people more or less likely to want to visit one in reality?

Could a virtual tour of a slum lead to better educated and more mindful tourists?

We first surveyed 202 undergraduate students from Ryerson University in Toronto. We asked them to rate their interest in three experiences: kite-surfing lessons in Portugal, a nightclub tour of Las Vegas, and a slum tour in Manila. More than half (60.9%) showed interest in the slum tour, and we invited them to be interviewed. Of the 16 who agreed, most were between 18 and 23 years old (two were older), and nine were female.

In the interviews, we talked about their impressions of slums and their interest in touring one. Then students watched a 10-minute virtual tour of the Happyland slum in Manilla using a Samsung Gear VR HMD. The video follows a Filipina singer as she visits the slum with Smokey Tours tour company. We also hear from an NGO representative and a tour guide, commenting on their experiences in the area. The only Happyland residents to speak in the video are children.

Photo by SwapnIl Dwivedi on Unsplash

Immediately after watching the video, students shared their reactions. They were also asked to return for another interview one to two weeks later.

For some, the video confirmed that people in poverty are happier than ‘us’ in our busy, complex, modern lives. One student was concerned that none of the children were in school, even though this video could easily have been shot on the weekend. To us, this was a sign that some students used the video to strengthen and confirm what they already thought they knew about slums.

For many there was a realisation that slums actually exist, causing some emotional distress. Making eye contact with a passer-by (who was looking at the 360o camera) made it more real than a regular video. Some said that because the VR video is harder to edit or control to show a particular view it felt more authentic and trustworthy.

For most, the video made them more interested in touring a slum one day. It helped to see the residents and learn that profits went to the community. Three participants did express hesitancy about touring a slum following the VR. Realizing how it would feel to stand in a slum and look at people made them uncomfortable.

Watching the young woman tour the slum helped many feel that the tours are safe and visitors are welcome. Others were more critical and questioned the representation of slum residents needing ‘our’ help.

There are profound, but varied impacts of using VR technology to expose potential visitors to slum tourism. If slum tourism can be good for communities (which is still very much under debate) VR could help. Educating and preparing tourists before the experience could create more positive experiences and benefits for both the community and the people who visit.