Since Visit Faroe Islands launched their virtual Remote Tourism initiative on 15 April, more than 700.000 people from 197 countries have ‘visited’ the Faroe Islands.
This is over six times the number of in-person visitors for the whole of 2019, Visit Faroe Islands writes in a statement on Facebook.
The initiative was launched following the travel restrictions imposed by the Faroe government mid-March due to the COVID-19 outbreak. On 15 June, the borders reopened to tourists from Denmark, Greenland, Iceland, Germany and Norway, and on 27 June, the borders will open up for travellers from even more countries.
– Curious virtual visitors from around the globe have enjoyed taking ‘control’ of Faroese locals by transforming their phone, tablet or PC into a joypad to request their guide to turn, walk, run and even jump around the islands during the 60-minute tours. Over 1.000 people have had a chance to control a Faroese guide while they have explored our island nation via a live video camera and a remote control. Just like a real-life computer game, players using the Remote Tourism tool were invited to take turns to control the moves of the Faroese islanders for one minute each; locations were explored on foot, on horseback, by boat and, excitingly, also by helicopter, giving virtual visitors a bird’s eye perspective on our nation’s steep grassy slopes, our 80.000 sheep, our endless seascapes and our unspoilt, wild and natural countryside.
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