Immersive Cultural Tourism in Paris: Odyssée Opens on October 16

Atelier des Lumières, one of Paris's digital art centers, is preparing for a new sea journey this fall season.

"Odyssée, immersion vers les profondeurs" will take visitors from the ocean surface to coral reefs, kelp forests, the open ocean, and the depths where light fades starting from October 16, 2026.

The production, consisting of seven sections, is not just about giant projections. In the project directed by Jean-Baptiste Hardoin, 3D modeling, sound design, music, fog effects, and voiceovers are used within the same experience.

However, there is a more important question from the tourism sector's perspective:

When does a cultural venue transform into a travel experience on its own?

From the ocean surface to dark depths

The narrative of Odyssée does not progress wall-to-wall like a classic exhibition route.

The experience begins with a lighthouse in a nighttime atmosphere. Then the visitor virtually descends underwater.

On the route:

seagrasses,
coral reefs,
kelp forests,
schools of fish,
mobula rays,
tunas
and large marine mammals

are included. Some scenes utilize 3D visualizations.

As they dive deeper, light decreases; jellyfish, glowing plankton, and bioluminescent organisms come to the forefront.

Upon returning to the surface, the narrative tone shifts.

Shipwrecks, plastic waste, and polar landscapes address the impact of human activities on marine ecosystems.

Scientific content is integrated into the experience

The project also receives contributions from ocean scientists Lisa Brenot and Maé Dany-Fort, creators of the Café Némo podcast.

The goal is to integrate scientific content into the narrative of the experience instead of using classic information panels.

This approach is increasingly seen in contemporary cultural tourism:

Integrating education and entertainment into the same visitor journey instead of separating them.

This has significant operational implications, especially in the family and children segment.

The venue aims to offer different layers of the same product not only to adult cultural consumers but also to different age groups.

A separate interactive area for children is coming

A special section for children is also being prepared alongside Odyssée.

Children will be able to paint marine creatures and see their drawings move on the venue's walls through a digital system.

This detail may seem small, but it is important from the revenue model perspective of cultural venues.

In family visits, the decision is often not made solely based on the adult's desire to "see the exhibition."

The child's:

not getting bored,
being able to participate,
staying long enough in the venue

also affects the purchasing decision.

This could be one reason why immersive centers create strong products in the family market compared to traditional museums.

Approximately 50-minute experience

In the product information published by ticketing partner Fever, it is stated that the Odyssée experience lasts approximately 50 minutes.

This duration is significant from a tourism operation perspective.

When a cultural product is too short, it may be difficult to add it to the program for tourists on its own.

If it is too long, it competes with other parts of the city tour.

An approximately one-hour format:

lunch or dinner,
neighborhood tour,
shopping
and another cultural stop

can be integrated into the same half-day program.

This increases packagability from the perspective of tour operators and concierges.

Old foundry is now a reprogrammable tourism product

The physical model of Atelier des Lumières is also important here.

The venue opened in 2018 after transforming an old foundry from 1835 into a digital art center by Culturespaces.

In this model, while the main architectural infrastructure of the building remains fixed, the content can be continuously changed.

In the 2026 program, the same center will feature:

Renaissance,
Van Gogh,
Le Petit Prince
and Coldplay

as completely different themes.

This creates a business advantage different from the classic permanent collection model.

With each new content, the venue can generate:

repeat visits,
different demographic segments,
new season communication

and more.

Odyssée is not a repeat of the previous ocean exhibition

Due to the name similarity, an important distinction needs to be made.

Atelier des Lumières presented another sea-themed show titled "Océans, l’Odyssée immersive" between October 20, 2023, and January 7, 2024.

This program was based on nearly 40 years of underwater work by National Geographic photographer Brian Skerry and was prepared by Culturespaces Digital and Spectre Lab.

The "Odyssée, immersion vers les profondeurs" opening in 2026 is a separate project with different artistic direction, a new seven-part structure, and a focus on 3D modeling.

Therefore, the visuals or technical information of the two experiences should not be used interchangeably.

Immersive center is no longer a single city model

Today, Culturespaces has immersive centers in cities outside Paris such as:

Bordeaux,
Les Baux-de-Provence,
Amsterdam,
Dortmund,
Hamburg,
New York,
Seoul,
Jeju
and Tokyo.

The company reports a total network of 12 cultural venues and approximately 5 million visitors annually. This figure pertains not only to Atelier des Lumières but to the entire Culturespaces network.

This spread indicates that the immersive cultural product has transformed from a single Parisian entertainment into a scalable international model.

The same content concept can be reproduced in different cities.

For example, according to the Culturespaces archive, the previous program "Océans, l’Odyssée immersive" was shown in centers like Dortmund and Amsterdam after Paris.

Content is now a portable cultural product

This point is significant from a business model perspective.

In a traditional museum exhibition:

artwork transportation,
insurance,
climate control,
security,
international lending

can incur high operational costs.

In a digital immersive production, while the physical venue investment is strong, the content can be adapted to different centers much more easily.

This does not make cultural content franchise-like; however, it facilitates international distribution of digital production.

In hospitality, a similar model can be seen in destination-based experience supply.

Tourists no longer just say, "Let me go to the museum."

They also think, "What can I experience in the evening?"

It could be a concierge product for city hotels

A hotel in Paris may not directly generate revenue from Odyssée.

However, the cultural program can serve as a destination amenity that supports the accommodation decision.

Especially for:

families,
couples on short city breaks,
those looking for programs on rainy days,
international visitors focused on culture

an immersive event lasting about an hour can easily be added to concierge recommendations.

The hotel can use this not just in a "places to visit" PDF but also:

in pre-reservation emails,
within the mobile guest journey,
in concierge recommendations,
in weekend packages.

However, the critical point here is not the commission, but facilitating the travel program.

Clarifying what the guest will do in the city in advance can also enhance the accommodation experience.

There is visitor traffic opportunity for F&B, but no guaranteed income

L’Echo Touristique reports that Atelier des Lumières hosts over a million visitors annually. This figure should not be confused with the total of Culturespaces' overall network and should not be evaluated as the company's independently audited annual visitor report.

Nevertheless, a cultural point of this scale creates potential pedestrian traffic for surrounding:

cafés,
restaurants,
bars
and retail.

However, it is not possible to draw direct conclusions from visitor numbers to restaurant turnover.

The main determinants will be:

session times,
how long the visitor stays in the venue,
behavior before/after the event,
nearby F&B supply.

Therefore, following the cultural calendar may be as valuable for surrounding businesses as following the classic tourist season calendar.

The main KPI in immersive tourism is not the number of photos

It is appealing that such centers produce strong visuals on social media.

However, from a business perspective, the main performance indicators are different.

More meaningful KPIs for an immersive cultural center include:

Annual visitors: How many people came?

Repeat visit rate: Does the same visitor return when the content changes?

Average dwell time: How long do they stay in the venue?

Family share: What is the share of the family segment?

Ticket yield: What is the average ticket revenue?

Retail/F&B spend: How much is the ancillary revenue within the venue?

Cross-program conversion: Does a customer who attends one program return for another exhibition?

International visitor share: Are they tourists or local visitors?

Without these metrics, the immersive experience being merely "very impressive" does not explain economic success.

What is applicable for Turkey?

Examples of digital exhibitions and immersive experiences are increasing in Turkey.

However, the lesson that can be drawn from the Paris model is not to "turn every empty industrial building into a projection center."

For a successful model:

high-quality creative content,
strong technical infrastructure,
year-round program renewal,
correct ticket pricing,
family segment,
accessible location
and a reason for repeat visits

are all required together.

In cities like Istanbul, which attract a high number of foreign visitors, the model can contribute to evening and bad weather programs in city tourism.

In smaller destinations, periodic immersive productions may be less risky than large fixed investments.

Stafflink’s Opinion

In our view, the important aspect of Odyssée for the tourism sector is not just showcasing the oceans in a digital environment; it is the transformation of cultural content into a reprogrammable experience economy.

Atelier des Lumières can transition from Renaissance to Le Petit Prince, from Coldplay to oceans within the same physical venue.

This way, the building remains unchanged, but the reason for visits is continuously renewed.

There is a similar lesson in hospitality:

It is not only the assets a destination possesses but also how well it can program those assets to produce different reasons for visits that creates a competitive advantage.

The success of immersive cultural centers lies more in this than in a technology showcase.