Yoochem

Hi Danbiosca, thanks for your comment. The relief you felt in this time definitely resonates with many other people's experiences. I think it is amazing that we live in a time where we are able to digitally replicate a small element of travel. The challenge for the coming decade(s) would be to make it accessible to more people and to figure out how to implement this ethically, i.e., if/how if can be used as a tool for a more equal and sustainable world.

Hi everyone! In late February I posted this topic. Today, I’m happy to present the results of this research. First of all though, I want to thank those of you who filled out the survey or participated in the forum discussion. Without you, I could not have written this thesis. Here is the abstract: If anyone is interested, the full report can be downloaded here. I will also present the results via live video stream this coming Monday at 15:30 (Amsterdam time) - this is the link to the MS Teams meeting. Questions or comments are more than welcome!

Ah I understand now, yeah I suppose it's the same in many countries at the moment. --- By the way, the survey's closed now. Thanks again to everyone who participated. I will share the results here in due time (probably still at least a month from now).

Thanks for all your input chicagorandy, mallcott, & Kapitan! - Chicagorandy: Thanks for elaborating - and yes, it can be hard (and often near impossible) to really uncover what comes before what when dealing with these things. But we can try! - Mallcott: I'm wondering what you mean with "so see answering your question as highly undesirable at the moment" - and I do understand your reluctance to travel at the moment. Does the sim replace a part of that for you (for now), or is it only the aviation (i.e. technical flying) aspect of it that you are interested in? - Kapitan: I wouldn't be surprised if at least a part of what you're describing will be implemented at some point! --- By the way, I will close the survey this coming Monday. If anyone would still like to collaborate (every single entry helps a ton!) please do so this weekend :D

Hi Kapitan, thanks for your elaborate answer, really interesting take on the concept. You actually touch upon another relationship that came out of my statistics: age and travel attitude seem to be negatively correlated (i.e., the older the person, the less likely he/she is to like the idea of traveling). I thought it was just a little fluke that is not really related to my main research topic but your explanation fits very well with this finding, so thank you for that. I do have one question for you though, and I'm really interested to know the answer. When you say that simming is not a "substitute" but does often fill the need of going places, what do you mean, exactly? What is a substitute for you? Thanks for your reply Chicagorandy, you certainly have quite a different perspective on the concept, which is great! I guess you could say that for you, it's really purely about the aviation aspect of the sim (which makes sense). Although I do wonder, as you watch TV and Youtube travel shows/videos, are you never tempted to check out one of these places in the sim? :) Hi Neilends, thanks to you as well for adding to the discussion. The question is really about the relation between MFS and travel: how is one related to the other? So far it turns out that there is a relation to travel inspiration, which your experience of scoping out a place beforehand is a great example of. However, it seems that seeing MFS as a travel experience that stands on its own (e.g., flying to a place in the sim just for its own sake and getting a slight sense of 'being there'/traveling from that) has no relation whatsoever to wanting to travel for real. I'm curious to find out what the reason(s) might be for this. Does that make the question a bit clearer?

Hi everyone! I've been doing some first analyses of the data that the survey is producing so far, and the results are very useful. One of the more interesting things that I can see is that there is a statistical link between seeing MFS as travel inspiration and travel intention, while there is no link (one way or another) between seeing MFS as a travel substitute and travel intention. In other words: if you get travel inspiration from MFS, you might want to travel more. But seeing MFS as a (very slight) form of travel on its own, does not affect your desire for real travel. My question to anyone reading this is: what would be your presumed reason for this? Do you have any personal experiences with MFS and/or travel (ideas), that would explain this? I have my own theories but I'd love to hear some input from the community!

Thank you for elaborating! It sounds a little like you have a love-hate relationship with this sim, or do the good moments outshine the bad? Is there anything you're really missing that would take a part of those frustrations away then?

Hah great suggestion, would be nice huh! Have you flown in other sims or used any other games where you've had this craving before? What makes the difference? Thanks for the great addition to this topic Hansb57! It's full of useful info for my research. What makes this the first realistic VFR sim, and how does that affect your overall experience? And could you give an example of a moment where the realism breaks down and frustrates you? And what does MFS add for you, specifically? :-)

Hi everyone! Thanks for all your input so far. I'm reading some great stories and ideas. I'm traveling (no, for real :-) ) at the moment which means I have to type this on my phone, so I'm going to keep it short. If I understand well, I see some great suggestions for MFS or VR in general, such as avoiding crowds, enjoying some "post-tourism", or exploring new places that might just get stuck on your mind, especially if you enrich the experience with google. What I wonder now is if any of you would like to elaborate on how they think MFS influences their travel ideas/desire. As in, what made you choose to fly over a certain place, why was this special, and what (might) cause you to (not) want to travel there (anymore)? Are there any 'condtions' that need to be met, such as your distance from that place (also in a sense of budget and time available) or realism?

Absolutely no offense taken! I'd say you're wise to be suspicious/careful. I just really hope you will still fill out the survey at some point now that some others have taken the "leap of faith" ;-) First off, thanks so much for filling out the survey! Double thanks for elaborating. I have a lot of questions to follow up but I'll try not to overwhelm you. Perhaps the most important question on my mind is: do you think MSFS has anything to do with you considering to travel to certain places in Europe, or not considering Asia/the Far East? If so, for what reasons do you think? Also thanks to you for filling it out and taking the time to write a reply Neilends! I love your reply; it's exactly what my thesis is about. Did you have any specific reason to try flying to Tonga in MFS? And, as a self-proclaimed travel nut, do you think MFS also (very slightly) satisfy that travel itch for you in some way? Or is it only the opposite? What are the reasons for this, do you t

Absolutely no offense taken! I'd say you're wise to be suspicious/careful. I just really hope you will still fill out the survey at some point now that some others have taken the "leap of faith" ;-) First off, thanks so much for filling out the survey! Double thanks for elaborating. I have a lot of questions to follow up but I'll try not to overwhelm you. Perhaps the most important question on my mind is: do you think MSFS has anything to do with you considering to travel to certain places in Europe, or not considering Asia/the Far East? If so, for what reasons do you think? Also thanks to you for filling it out and taking the time to write a reply Neilends! I love your reply; it's exactly what my thesis is about. Did you have any specific reason to try flying to Tonga in MFS? And, as a self-proclaimed travel nut, do you think MFS also (very slightly) satisfy that travel itch for you in some way? Or is it only the opposite? What are the reasons for this, do you t

Hi everyone! Do you use the latest Microsoft Flight Simulator? Then please keep on reading! Contribute to scientific research by filling out a short 10 min. survey and sharing your experiences in this forum. MSFS 2020 can easily be considered a new form of virtual tourism: travel without ‘real’ travel. But could this substitute a vacation-feeling to some degree? And why/how? My master’s thesis on Virtual Tourism and Travel will try to answer these questions. From a personal perspective, this topic really fascinates me: I am both an avid traveller (at least, in ‘normal’ times!) and a MSFS-user myself. My girlfriend and I are both loving this sim since we started using it to fly around both familiar and unfamiliar places around the world… which got me to the point at which I am now with my thesis. Your thoughts, opinions and experiences can contribute so much to my research and make a difference in a cutting-edge research topic. Please fill out the survey by clicking on this link. It should only take about 10 minutes of your time, thank you so much in advance! All done? Time to discuss the topic! Share your experience, opinion, and/or comments about how Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) simulates (or stimulates?) your travel appetite. And of course, discussion about the topic and with each other is not only allowed, but also actively stimulated! Thanks again and looking forward to hearing your thoughts! Jochem Lips MSc Tourism, Society, and Environment Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands --- PS: Wondering what to write about? You can use (but you do not have to restrict yourself to) these questions to get started: 1. Do you ever have moments when your MSFS experiences make you feel as if you are ‘there’, where you are flying? What were you doing? What do you think contributed to this feeling? 2. Have you visited any place in MSFS that you would consider really traveling to? 3. … or are there any places you visited in MSFS that you feel less inclined to travel to now? 4. Why do you use MSFS? Is this the first time you are using a flight sim? 5. Who are you? Do you think that MSFS users are a very specific group of people, or do you think anyone could enjoy this sim? --- Note: by participating in this discussion, you consent to your answers being used for the purposes of this research. This means that what you write might be published or used in e.g., presentations or other material that might be publicly accessible. Anonymity of your answers cannot be guaranteed, although you can request to have your (user)name omitted in the research report and other data resulting from this study. Please explicitly mention this in you answer(s). --- Note to moderators: I have tried to contact this forum's admins to ask if there are any objections against posting this topic. Unfortunately I have not heard back from anyone. If this post breaches forum rules in any way, please let me know and I will modify the topic wherever necessary. Do please note that there are absolutely no commercial interests vested in this research!