As part of National Travel and Tourism Week, Gov. John Carney, Secretary of State Jeffrey Bullock and Delaware Tourism Director Liz Keller showcased a virtual reality tour of the state.
The reality tour includes the experience of canoeing through Trap Pond State Park, strolling the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk and walking the lavish grounds of Nemours Estate.
The demonstration was held at the estate in north Wilmington that is rarely a part of public events but is a popular tourist destination.
Click here for the tour.
“With the launch of this new virtual tour, the Delaware Tourism Office is embracing new technologies when marketing the state’s ‘Endless Discoveries’ at a time when, as a state, we are working to grow innovation and the high-tech sector to move the economy forward,” said Carney.
A record 9 million people visited Delaware in 2016, contributing a record $3.3 billion to the state’s economy, according to the latest Value of Tourism report.
“One of the most important ways the state tourism office works to drive out-of-state visitation to Delaware is by keeping on top of the changing landscape of technology,” Delaware Tourism Director Liz Keller said. “Staying at the forefront means adopting new technologies, listening to customers and engaging with them.”
Nemours Estate expects that being featured in the tourism office’s first-ever virtual tour will help continue the tremendous growth in visitation it has seen recently. The number of visitors grew to 25,000 in 2017, up from 15,000 in 2016.
“The virtual tour will introduce people who may not yet be familiar with Nemours Estate to the beauty of our mansion, gardens and grounds,” said John Rumm, executive director of Nemours Estate.“We’re confident that once people see us on a virtual tour they will want to visit us in person.”
Travelers stopping at the Delaware Welcome Center Travel Plaza on I-95 Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. have the chance to put on the headset for themselves to take the tour in celebration of National Travel and Tourism Week.
The virtual reality tour comes as New Castle County and municipalities in the state plan to tap into tourism revenues with up to a three percent increase in the state’s room tax.
The lodging industry has warned that the proposed, tax – which unlike the state’s eight percent charge, does not set aside a percentage for tourism – will make northern Delaware less competitive in getting overnight.
Legislation that would allow for counties and municipalities to impose the tax is now before the Genal Assembly.
Visitors in the northern corner of the state have the option of staying in nearby Philadelphia or adjacent areas.
