| Summary: | This thesis is a marketing research conducted as a commission from Iceflake Studios Oy. The objective of this thesis was to develop the usage of Virtual Reality in travel marketing. The thesis commissioner had created a Virtual Reality demonstration of Northern Lights that was presented to the target group in Singapore. The target group consisted of travel-related businesses and Singaporean individual consumers. The purpose of my thesis was to study how the product can be used when marketing Finland to Singaporeans. The research was conducted by combining the methods of a desk study and a marketing study. The desk study explores the characteristics of Singaporean travelers, Virtual Reality and its current usage in travel marketing. The marketing study was conducted in Singapore on 25.2.-17.3.2018. Data were collected by a qualitative research method: customer surveys and semi-structured interviews. After the target group has tried the product, they answered questions concerning Virtual Reality, the product and its usage opportunities in travel marketing. The data consisted of the total of four interviews and 37 customer surveys. The data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. To reach the objective of developing the usage of Virtual Reality in travel marketing, the key findings of the utilization possibilities were presented. Virtual Reality can generate or increase consumer’s desire to travel to certain destinations and therefore increase their desire to book a trip. It can be used to present the travel destination in realistic, immersive and comprehensive way. The results showed that the product should include customized contents, interactive and human elements. Companies need to consider the costs and possible competition but the results suggest that interest in marketing with Virtual Reality exists: all four travel businesses interviewed had either already used it or expressed their interest. In conclusion, there is a clear demand for Virtual Reality in travel marketing.
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