[Survey] MSFS and tourism

"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?"

Interesting question - thanks.

Since all of these type genre are pretty much 'ground level' experiences, they don't really influence the choice to make a 'from the air' visit. But at the same time any information source could be the inspiration to see some place from the air on some subconscious level? For example I have flown over the Giza pyramid complex because I have enjoyed an interest in Egyptology most of my life and know they are right outside Cairo. So which came first - the chicken, the egg or the rooster?

"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?"

 

Interesting question - thanks.

 

Since all of these type genre are pretty much 'ground level' experiences, they don't really influence the choice to make a 'from the air' visit. But at the same time any information source could be the inspiration to see some place from the air on some subconscious level? For example I have flown over the Giza pyramid complex because I have enjoyed an interest in Egyptology most of my life and know they are right outside Cairo. So which came first - the chicken, the egg or the rooster?

I am another one approaching dotage, and no longer have the time nor the inclination to travel. I am a qualified pilot mind, so don't desire to completely remove travel from the itinerary. Just can't actually GO there in this current World..

I use the sim (P3D) to prepare for local overseas travel.plan routes and alternatives, and to advise others in my flying club. I flew to France pre-lockdown, and will go again, but recognise it is not possible or desirable in the current climate, so see answering your question as highly undesirable at the moment.

I have no desire to travel by airline and share air with lurgie-filled tourists! Especially those who consider Masks and Real-World Preventative measures to not apply to them...

I have always dreamed with a sim that motivates pilots to fly to some place.

For this the first person ability to walk, pretty much as we had in P3d, walk thru the plane, enter the jetway and continue to a beautiful and realistic 360 degree work of the airport inside.

If I was the sim developer I would allow walking and exploring in first person complex interior addons (that would need to be purchased since they would be a game within the sim with interaction people etc.), There were some interior airport basic interiors but not interesting at all, I mean the kind of quality you find today in animation real first person games.

But this shouldn't come free. ONLY if the flight and landing was completed successfully the plane door would be available to open and explore outside.

In a way you couldnt enter just by selecting World and airport. No. If you select world/airport you are only allowed to takeoff from that airport, starting already sitting in the cockpit.

Then you fly a complete flight and land correctly, park, call jetways...the sim opens the feature of being able to explore the airport by walking, talking to people even buying foreign stuff with your credit card from duty free that actually is sent to your home for real!!

But please remember, the fun is that this feature should be a kind of reward if you flew and landed safely respecting atc instructions parked, etc...a complete arrival that took you there, not just jumping from the PC in the main menu selecting an airport.

I always thought an empty thing when arriving and finishing a flight...thats it! arrived, menu end simulation, quit...no, I would give some local reward to the simmer, a virtual experience like if he was really there because he flew there...the airport would be the beginning but other parts of town or landscape could be provided by developers, the world is the limit.

Again, if they can be easily accessed just by jumping thru the main sim menu, I would have no interest in checking them out

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!

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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

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!

 

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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

Simple: We still have lockdown in UK.

So ANY desire to fly has to be tempered by the greater desire NOT to inflict damage on my fellow passengers.

I have no desire to KILL them, although I do see examples daily that make me reconsider!

Simple: We still have lockdown in UK.

So ANY desire to fly has to be tempered by the greater desire NOT to inflict damage on my fellow passengers.

I have no desire to KILL them, although I do see examples daily that make me reconsider!

Ah I understand now, yeah I suppose it's the same in many countries at the moment.

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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).

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:

The concept of virtual tourism, which can be defined as a digital approximation of a tourism experience, has gained renewed attention due to the travel restrictions put in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Several studies describe the relation between people’s travel intention and their virtual tourism experiences. However, much is still unknown about how this relationship works. This thesis therefore combines Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour and Guttentag’s Substitution Acceptance Model to provide insight into the current and future potential of virtual tourism to inspire or substitute real tourism.

 

In pursuance of empirical evidence to support any assertions on this subject, the latest iteration of Microsoft Flight Simulator was used as a surrogate for a virtual tourism experience to investigate the potential of VT from home to complement or substitute real tourism. Its users filled out a survey regarding their experiences with the simulator, attitudes, (social) environment, individual characteristics, and travel intention. In addition, many joined online discussions which yielded qualitative information to complement the survey’s quantitative data. Lastly, three industry experts were interviewed to gain a wider perspective on the issue.

 

The results show that an individual’s experience with the specific destination, attitude towards VT, subjective norms, and barriers to real travel are all important in relation to travel intention based on the VT experience. Similarly, the quality of the experience is related to personal context and, in turn, related to the extent to which VT can replace or inspire real tourism. However, the findings also indicate that these two possibilities are not mutually exclusive, and that VT can serve both functions, i.e. replacing and inspiring travel. Lastly, consideration of VT as a travel replacement does not have a significant relation with travel intention, which implies that VT from home can currently serve as travel inspiration and a way to virtually travel while not reducing the desire for real tourism.

 

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!

Either way, MSFS has helped me relief the lack of true traveling due to CoViD restrictions.

That's undeniable.