I jump from great heights at Milbank Tower with Skyscanner

I'm at the top of the Milbank tower in London in their  Altitude bar. This is the softest of April evenings. Across the river the gardens of Lambeth Palace are frothing with trees just bursting out in that tender green of early spring. Who knew that the Archbish had such vast grounds?  The London Eye turns almost imperceptibly, Big Ben tolls 7pm. I don a helmet and when a German voice says "Go to the ledge and jump!" I do just that, and hurtle through space, bumping into the edge of buildings as I go but feeling nothing but a giddying, plummeting sensation. "Get ready to land!" cries the German. Before I can figure out how to do that, he says "Oh dear, you died," and gently removes the helmet.

The German is Nils Müller, CEO of Trendone who along with Skyscanner's Filip Filipov has come to the Altitude to talk to us about the way we will travel in 2024. The helmet, or rather Oculus Rift head-mounted display, was one of several alluring gadgets brought along to illustrate the ways in which the burgeoning field of virtual reality will allow travellers to 'try before they buy.'  And no, jumping from a ledge will not necessarily be a routine holiday choice in 2024 but it did show how powerful the virtual experience has become.

A better example of 'try before you buy' was another  display that, when the headset was donned, took the traveller to a Tuscan villa on the Mediterranean. I tried that one and found myself walking through a somewhat stylized, albeit beautiful, Tuscan garden into a villa where a fire burned in the grate. When Nils, from outside the helmet, suggested I go upstairs, I reached, needlessly, for the banister and started lifting my feet up - also unnecessary because I was only going upstairs in my eyes and brain. Once on the balcony I had a breathtaking view of the sea beyond a garden where dozens of butterflies danced. I said I thought the butterflies were a stretch but was assured that this is just a prototype.

"Try before you buy" will not just be a visual experience. Haptic technology will also  allow the user's touch to feel the texture of a hotel bed or warm sand beneath their feet.  Skyscanner also foresees the use of  "Digital Travel Buddies", an Artificial Intelligence device with, perhaps, the face of a favourite actor, friend,  fictional hero or heroine that can appear as a hologram image. It will  know our choices, habits, dislikes etc and will be able to assess our mood or emotional reaction  and make suggestions accordingly. This digital travel buddy would be always with us (hmmm...) contained inside a watch or a small piece of jewellry. And you thought Aladdin's genie was just a fairy tale???

And yes, Google Glasses were in evidence. More sophisticated versions will allow a traveller to translate a menu instantly, or interpret what your Turkish taxi driver is saying.  And for those of us who thought Google Glasses were a bit scary, the University of Washington is developing contact lenses that serve the same function. Are you ready for Wifi in the eye?