GISPlanning Blog

360° Virtual Tours & Custom Tours - what's the difference?

Written by Alissa Sklar | Jul 30, 2020 4:28:26 PM

The addition of the 360° Virtual Tour and Custom Tour buttons to our ZoomProspector sites and buildings GIS data tool a couple of weeks ago has generated serious interest from economic developers, site selectors, and commercial realtors. These are game changing additions that will make site selection easier during the pandemic and beyond. We are proud to ensure that every single property in your system benefits from virtual viewing technology - not just the ones that can afford to pay additional charges for specialized media.

Since we launched this new feature, our clients have told us that they appreciate the enhanced functionality that makes it possible for businesses making location decisions to get as much information as possible about regions and properties without having to take in-person trips while travel is difficult, unsafe or even impossible. They love the use of Google tools such as 3D viewing, Google Earth and Street View, which are familiar to all website visitors and don't require any specific training. After all, the whole point of any online GIS data tool for economic development is to make it accessible and user-friendly for all your end users.


If you aren't sure about the difference between the two, check out the lists below.

360° Virtual Tour

  • Offered at no additional charge
  • Automatically added to every single property in your system
  • Uses Google Earth to show a 360° flyover of the selected property and surrounding area
  • Requires no additional effort from brokers or economic developer
  • Familiar, intuitive & impressive Google mapping technology that is regularly updated
  • Clicking on this button opens media in another tab, so the user can easily come back to your tool for further analysis

Custom Tour 

  • Added to properties only where additional media is available and supplied by the EDO or broker
  • Choose from a wide variety of media: interactive video, VR video, drone footage, interactive interiors (such as this excellent example from Leland, NC), immersive video, 3D modelling, and more
  • Clicking on this button opens media in another tab, so the connection with your GIS web tool is maintained for further analysis

Want to learn more about the GIS Planning suite of online tools for economic development? Schedule a meeting with us today.