VR technology takes Chinese on tour of Ecuador's Galapagos

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If you've always wanted to travel to Ecuador's world-renowned Galapagos Islands but had no time or money, then maybe this might be your answer: a virtual reality (VR) tour developed by Chinese tech company Tencent.

The VR tour of the remote islands, located 972 kilometers off the coast of Ecuador, was launched last week.

As one part of Tencent's VR projects, the tour of the pristine Galapagos, which biologist Charles Darwin put on the map for having helped him formulate his theory of evolution and natural selection, was chosen to be the first destination in Latin America to attract Chinese "VR tourists".

"People can explore the landscapes and fauna of the Ecuadorian archipelago," Tencent's Xian Yecheng said.

According to Xian, the project has an educational as well an entertainment aspect. The company has plans to compile information about the wildlife captured on the VR film to create a virtual encyclopedia, which is to be donated to the Charles Darwin Foundation to improve the research on the islands' ecosystem.

Galapagos Islands are famous worldwide. /VCG Photo

Meanwhile, Chinese tourists inspired to visit the islands will get a better guide of the plants and animals there.

The initiative was made possible with the help of Ecuador's Export and Investment Promotion Institute (Pro Ecuador), which was eager to boost the interest of China's growing outbound tourism.

Fabricio Rodrigues, technical general coordinator for Pro Ecuador, said the project received backing from the Ecuadorian embassy in China.

"Ecuador is now a destination for projects with global reach," said Rodrigues. “Without a doubt, this opens a new gateway to foreign investment and tourism promotion for the country",

In 2016, 24 percent more Chinese tourists visited Ecuador than the year before, according to Pro Ecuador.

(Source: Xinhua)

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