Virtual tour gives visitors panoramic views of Columbia

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A new online platform will provide virtual visitors to Columbia panoramic images of the city.

Experience Columbia SC’s partnership with SKYNAV includes interactive experiences such as image galleries, YouTube videos and trackable actions.

“Over the years we have been looking for ways to offer our clients, both meetings/conventions and leisure travelers, the opportunity to experience the city from the comforts of their home,” Experience Columbia SC executive director Jason Outman said in a news release. “Due to Covid-19, this process was expedited, and a relationship with SKYNAV was formed. With almost 200 360-degree photos as part of the platform, our visitors are able to walk down Main Street, tour the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, experience our riverwalks, see a guest room at the Hyatt Place in the Vista, and so much more.”

The virtual tour features pinpointed attractions including the S.C. Statehouse and Colonial Life Arena as well as outdoor recreational activities available in the capital city such as Riverbanks Zoo and Garden.

“The Experience Columbia, SC tour is by far our most comprehensive tour to date and to view this amazing city at a birds-eye level, then down to ground level seamlessly, allows you to see areas you would have never been able to see before,” said SKYNAV CEO Ty Downing. “It’s been a thrill to add Experience Columbia SC to our portfolio of partners. As a progressive city, it certainly deserves progressive technology.”

 Bill Ellen, president and CEO of Experience Columbia SC, said that meeting and convention planners can use the site to book events when they are able to travel once more.  

“SKYNAV will allow consumers to view the spatial relationship between entertainment districts and points of interest, as well as see the inside of a variety of meeting facilities, hotels and attractions,” Ellen said. “It will be a tremendous asset to us and our tourism efforts.”