what is the real need to travel abroad, if current technology allows us to "be" there virtually?

I took this post from a comment I made in my last post.

Yes, definitely it does. However, sometimes like in my case, I have to fly to Australia in order to attend University. Even though I do not travel much (Flying to Sydney was only my 3rd time flying on an airplane), I do understand the carbon impact that it produces and also understand that there are ways to offset the carbon footprint I have caused by for example donating to non-profit organizations like Carbon Neutral and The Nature Conservancy or even planting a tree.

Hmmm... just a thought, if students could study at their home country and not travel abroad and receive the same education, will that eliminate the need for study abroad? If the development of inter-countries communication will to be further improve, it could happen. With current communication technologies that allow people to work from home, but yet able to "be" at the workplace, I do not see why this cant be applied to oversea education.

However, one can argue from the point of by traveling oversea, one could experience a foreign land that differs in climate, culture and etc. These are things the any virtual environment can not replace.

So the question is what is the real need to travel abroad, if current technology allows us to "be" there virtually?