For managers of hotels, restaurants etc:

Yes, it is definitely worth having a virtual tour because it can significantly increase interest in your property.

• Attractive 3D presentations grab the attention of internet users and allows you to be unique compared to your concurrents. Besides impressing people, these 3D virtual tours also provide information on the features and services the hotel, restaurant etc. has to offer.
• CD-based version can be used to advertise your property at exhibitions and fairs; furthermore it can be given to VIP guests as a present since there is no better marketing tool than direct marketing.

For managers of museums and other cultural monuments:

Yes, it is definitely worth having a virtual tour because

• this is the only 3 dimensional technology to show hundreds of exhibition items in an easy-to-use way
• web-based version attracts visitors to the monument
• multilingual CD / DVD version can be sold in museum shops producing direct income for the customer

Visitor statistics of 3dtour.eu

3dtour.eu created a complete 360° virtual tour about the Cathedral in Pécs, Hungary. A shortened teaser version was uploaded to the internet while the complete version has been sold on DVD in the shop of the cathedral. We have measured more than 16.000 unique visitors in Februrary 2011 of the teaser with a daily maximum of 985. Visiting sources included several religious websites, Google search, Facebook, Hungarian and international mail systems, blogs. There were 6.000 visitors from Budapest, 4.400 from Pécs, 400 from Miskolc, 220 from Győr, 150 from Székesfehérvár, 150 from Debrecen, 140 from Szeged. International visitors included 116 from Bratislava or for example 90 from Sydney during that month time.

Pew Internet Life Study about 360° virtual tours

• 80% of internet shoppers say images are imperative when deciding to buy or use a company’s product or services.
• 96.2% of travelers use the Internet as a source of information when planning a trip.
• In cyberspace, a site with a virtual tour and interactive media will receive 38% more views than a competitor’s site that is lacking media.
• More people in the 30-49 age group take virtual tours (57%) than 18-29 (47% ) or 65 and older (29% ).

Property week about 360° virtual tours:

• Properties complete with virtual tours are, on average, clicked 10 times more than those that do not offer the service.

Return On Investment (ROI) in case of hotels

Extract from a Case Study in the ROI of Online Virtual Tours for the Radisson Group of Hotels by Joseph L. Ortiz, VP - General Manager, IPIX Immersive Still Imaging Group

Radisson actively measures statistics on their web sites and have a clear view of what its return on investment is:

Hotels with a virtual tour achieved 135% increase in online revenue amounting to $7,200 per hotel per month over those without a virtual tour

• Return on investment (per hotel) = less than 4 weeks
• Average 2,000 views per month
• Radisson Aruba = Average 16,000 views per month
• Radisson Lexington New York = Average 9,000 views per month
• Radisson Edwardian Vanderbilt Hotel = Average 3,000 views per month
• Radisson Adelaide, Australia = Average 1,400 views per month
• 4% conversion rate = bookings made through the virtual tour page only (NOTE: This does not include bookings made by people who saw the tour and then made the actual reservation over the phone)

The unabridged report can be found here.