The business is creating a travel metaverse where ardent travelers may gain awards, play games, explore, communicate, and create, ultimately maximizing their trip experiences.
March 20, 2023, New York, NY, US – SIMBAN, a new travel-style Metaverse, is pleased to announce the availability of its first downloadable metaverse for users to interact with available this April.
The first phase of the product, which focuses on user registration, includes two layers of identification: a Digital ID (DID) and an Avatar ID (AID). These two types of identification represent the physical user, who is given a digital ID, and their virtual representation, which is centered on the Avatar ID. The HUB, a virtual location in Simban’s universe, is the first location users enter. From here, users can meet up and rest before exploring other locations or worlds that will be introduced later this year.
As the Metaverse unfolds, our reality and environment merge with a digitized universe, creating a new layer of integrated information and an all-encompassing billboard. Hundreds of millions of users will gather, interact, create, share content, and play games in real-time. It will constitute a radical change in our socio-economic architecture, disrupting and enhancing every industry from communication, e-commerce, creative art, gaming, marketing, architecture, and real estate. Brands are shifting from 2-D online ad buys to existing in a ubiquitous shared virtual economy that is hyper-personalized and full of collective engagements.
An economic survey by the World Economic Forum (WEF) revealed that 48% of the global population supports immersive virtual travel experiences, with numbers as high as 70% in emerging countries such as India, China, Turkey, and others. Recent restrictions in travel have opened up more travelers’ eyes to the opportunity and possibilities of virtual experiences.
This is where SIMBAN comes in. The company is working to broaden our virtual horizons and introduce new ways of interacting with one another and the world around us. Simban’s travel engines include a web2.5 booking platform for traditional users who prefer OTA (online travel agency platforms), as well as metaverse TravelFi engagements such as treasure hunts, mini games, special events, and outdoor adventures. All of this can be experienced virtually, with the ability to book trips directly through the Simban platform, promoting richer, more connected travel experiences and opportunities for businesses to participate and communities to form.
Simban will launch on Apple, Windows and Android on PC and mobile. “Over the last few years, there have been many exciting companies and technological advancements across the metaverse landscape,” said Simban’s CTO Leohnidha Zhezha. “We believe, however, that many are still figuring out their place in the industry and adding value. We’ve seen many creator tools and platforms that provide various loyalty incentives, as well as corporate partnerships; these recent experiences have helped us understand how to better serve our audiences. We realized the difficulty of serving one thousand users globally versus one thousand users locally. We’re taking these lessons and experimenting with them to create unique concepts and activations tailored to specific audiences and businesses.”
According to the YouGov travel and tourism report of 2022, a new generation is emerging that is more tech savvy and experience-oriented. This new generation is not only setting trends and seeking adventure, but they are also spending more on travel-related goods and services than any preceding generation. They view the blending of the real and digital worlds as an extended experience and value seeking out unique experiences. Innovative VR and web3 technologies are being used by businesses and nations as a way to interact with this generation and boost the growth of the tourist and hospitality industries.
To deliver a well-structured user experience, Simban collaborates with creators and businesses to develop various destinations within Simban. The HUB is the first place users go after logging into Simban because it acts as the hub for all network and beginning point activities. Users can access the travel center and examine a list of potential destinations from the HUB.
The venues are open to all Simban users, however some have gamified restrictions that must be satisfied in order to enter. The HUB allows creators to join, engage and expand it as they build in it. Excluding the HUB, all other worlds are collaborations with professionals, real-world businesses, real-world real estate properties, retail brands, and global resorts to create digital replicas or official IP approved worlds.
“At the moment, metaverses are unable to provide interoperability features that allow users to travel and explore other worlds,” said Simban Co-Founder Francis Berwa. “Our team is excited to power the next wave of traveling by providing the ability to jump into different worlds, or digital twins of real locations, and engage with the world in a new and exciting way. We believe that Simban has the potential to establish a new standard for metaverse experiences, while also advancing the way we digitally and physically interact with and grow communities. We are excited to continue working towards our mission of unlocking the full potential of how we experience each other and the world.”
Simban is sticking to a community that scales and cooperates with partners who are willing to learn together. Simban does not believe we are at a scale in the metaverse industry yet, we believe starting small by introducing one unique world at a time, and scale based on businesses and brands signed throughout our journey.
In addition to finalizing and launching the first downloadable product, Simban will focus on expanding its partnership, accelerate its product development and scale technology capabilities, ahead of the company’s official launch.
Simban is currently hiring for various positions including software engineering, marketing, community management, partnerships, integrations, and business development teams. If interested in learning more and applying, please visit simban.io.
About SIMBAN
Simban is an open ecosystem in which users can log in and “travel” to other worlds, including digital twins of real-world locations, based on the experience or environment they want to immerse themselves in. The company is creating a travel metaverse where travelers can earn rewards, play games, explore, connect, and create in order to get more out of their experiences. It also makes travel more accessible to those who do not have the financial means to do so on a regular basis, with virtual experiences allowing you to see parts of the world you had no idea existed. More details: simban.io
