VIRTUAL MUSEUMS AND THEIR USE IN THE TOURISM SECTOR: A CASE STUDY IN TURKEY

Abstract

Museums are spaces that are also called cultural memory as they pave the way for easily understanding the cultural diversities of a society and they are essential for the tourism sector. Today, the failure of meeting the need for exhibition areas, efforts for also involving the handicapped in tourism, studies on life-long learning and the advancing technology have revealed the concept of united and virtual museology. Virtual museology is gradually becoming more and more important today, where we live the digital age and could access to all kinds of knowledge. As is known; virtual museums are places that are prepared by using panoramic photographs and various media possibilities, present the space or the environment to visitors from all aspects, enable worldwide communication owing to the internet access and need no physical space for traveling and seeing. While the present study is a theoretical research supported with examples of usage of virtual museums in Turkey and their position in tourism, obtained data collected through literature search