Remote-controlled audio guides to solve the challenges of guided tours

Contents of this article

Since the pandemic, recruiting qualified guides has proven difficult and costly as qualified guides have migrated to sectors with better conditions. The shortage of tour guides creates logistical problems at sites that can only be visited on a guided tour. While audio guides offered a partial solution, they often led to a dispersal of groups.
Nubart offers an innovative solution with a remote-controlled digital audio guide via QR code, which allows the guide to send explanations to the group in the language chosen by the visitor and at the right time, thus setting the pace of the visit, keeping the group together and facilitating logistics.

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 Recruiting tour guides has become difficult

 Logistical problems due to shortage of qualified tour guides .

 Circumstances in which hiring a guide is essential for the visit.

 The logistical problems of tour guides, audio guides and languages.

 A QR-code audio guide activated by remote control

 Technological aspects to consider in a remote-controlled PWA audioguide

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Recruiting tour guides has become difficult

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, tour operators and tourist attraction managers are having serious problems recruiting guides.

Many of those who worked as tour guides before the pandemic have changed industries and will not return to this work. And a guide is a skilled worker who is not easy to replace. Their work is regulated in many countries and requires, among other things, language skills, good communication skills, and an adequate education in history or the humanities. This type of profile is also in high demand in other private sectors that offer greater job security and much more attractive salaries.

If we add to this the gradual inversion of the demographical pyramid and the growth in demand due to the increase in tourism after the pandemic, recruiting guides has become an almost impossible task for many historical and cultural sites.

Logistical problems due to the shortage of qualified tour guides.

The difficulty of recruiting, followed by the inevitable turnover that often accompanies a tight labor market, means that visitor services staff face an increasingly difficult and thankless job of coordination. Unexpected vacancies in the middle of a tourist session, guides on sick leave...

This is further complicated when the site receives international visitors, as this requires the formation of a group of visitors for each language. Even if a professional guide is fluent in three languages and can change shifts with ease, he or she can only speak in one of these languages on each of the tours he or she leads.

In other words, even if Ana speaks English, French, and Japanese and can lead the tour in any one of these languages, she will inevitably have to do so in consecutive shifts: For example, English at 10:00, French at 11:00, and Japanese at 12:00.

If a spontaneous group of Japanese showed up at 10:30 a.m., they would have to wait an hour and a half to get access to the site with a guide who would explain the site in their language. It is very likely that they would decide to go elsewhere, resulting in a loss of revenue for the historic site.

Circumstances in which hiring a guide is essential for the visit

For some attractions, hiring a guide is not essential to enjoying the experience, such as a city tour. However, there are several situations where hiring a guide is not only desirable, but essential for safety, security, or preservation reasons. Sometimes it is even required by law:

• Some palaces, house museums or other protected historic sites only allow access with a guide to avoid damage and ensure proper interpretation.
• Some decommissioned military installations or prisons open to the public require guided tours for security reasons and to prevent access to restricted areas.
• Many excavations at active archaeological sites require visitors to be accompanied by a guide to protect sensitive areas and ensure safety.
• It is also generally not possible to visit soccer stadiums or sports facilities independently, for the safety of the players and to avoid dispersal of the group.
• Guided tours are usually mandatory in reserves with dangerous wildlife or fragile ecosystems to protect both visitors and the environment.
• Caves, historic mines and former industrial sites often require the accompaniment of a guide to ensure the physical safety of visitors.

The logistical problems of tour guides, audio guides and languages

Given the difficulty of hiring professional guides, more and more historic sites are turning to unqualified personnel to guide groups of visitors. The explanation previously provided by a human guide is replaced by a digital or physical audio guide. The guide is often a room watchman and his possible lack of historical or linguistic training is compensated for by the knowledge transmitted to the visitor through the pre-recorded audio guide.

This measure may help to alleviate the staffing problem. However, it does not solve all the logistical problems faced by these sites, such as:

• Group desynchronization and lack of group cohesion: Audio guides may lead to visitors becoming separated, which can be problematic in complex or sensitive environments.
• Pacing conflicts: Some visitors may rush through the audio guide while others take more time, creating tensions within the group and challenges for the inexperienced guide to manage the overall pace of the group.
• Divided attention: Visitors may have difficulty dividing their attention between following the human guide and listening to the audio guide, and may miss important safety instructions or directional cues.

A QR-code audio guide (PWA) activated by remote control.

The solution is for the tour guide not only to monitor and guide the group, but also to take control of the audio guide..

At Nubart we have developed an innovative remote control digital audio guide that makes this step possible. As a web application, visitors do not need to download or install any application to access the audio guide. It is very easy to use:

1. The guide logs on to the Nubart platform from his or her smartphone.
2. Group members simply scan a QR code with their smartphone and select their language.
3. The guide activates each soundtrack remotely from his or her smartphone at the exact moment the group needs to hear it.

This easy and intuitive procedure not only allows to set the rhythms of the group, keeping it synchronized and cohesive, but also solves another of the major logistical problems of guided tours: the separation of groups by language.

With Nubart it will no longer be necessary to organize an English group at 10:00, a French group at 11:00 and a Japanese group at 12:00, but any visitor from any country will be able to join any of the groups that have places available, as it is guaranteed that they will be able to listen to a reliable explanation in their own language.

This will not only greatly simplify the logistics of the site, but will also increase the monument's revenue by attracting spontaneous visitors.

Technological aspects to consider in a PWA audio guide with remote control

Until now, a remote digital audio guide required a native application that had to be downloaded from the app stores, because audio guides that opened in the browser were disabled when the visitor's mobile screen was blocked. Nubart made the necessary developments to prevent this from happening.

We have also minimized the problem of lack of internet. Sometimes the monument does not have a good Internet signal (either Wifi or mobile coverage) along its entire route. In these cases, thanks to Nubart's offline mode, the soundtracks corresponding to the places without internet can be preloaded at the beginning of the tour. The Internet signal required to receive the remote control activation is so low bandwidth that it works even in areas with very weak coverage.

So far, our remote-controlled PWA audio guide has been successfully implemented in the sightseeing boat tour sector, where receiving a commentary in the desired language and at the exact moment the boat approaches a scenic landmark is a key element in providing an enjoyable experience.

In this video you can see the Nubart remote control in action: