Grow Your Sightseeing Business with GPS Commentary

Are you looking to advance your business by having the opportunity for continuous growth? Sightseeing companies are turning to GPS commentary systems to grow their business, and today we’re going to tell you about the top reasons why.

In this business, consistency is key. Everyone should be receiving the same experience every time your tour departs. Live tour guides are great, but they have to be incredibly motivated. It can become pretty boring saying the same thing day in and day out, so what often happens is information unintentionally changes. For sightseeing companies that hire driver guides, it’s a safety issue, and we know it would be better to ensure the drivers are watching where they’re driving as opposed to focusing on entertaining passengers.

Automating Foreign Language Tour Experiences

On top of providing a wonderful experience for your guests, the main goal of your business is to sell more tickets. A benefit of using a GPS commentary system is that you can have the same tour in multiple languages, assigned to their own designated channels. This allows you to sell all of your tickets, and fill your bus, boat, train or tram with a diverse group of people who speak a variety of languages instead of having language specific vessels.

Another reason why operators choose to switch to GPS commentary is because they are looking to reduce costs. Some of our customers run through a Return on Investment (ROI) analysis, and they include the costs of staffing tour guides. These costs include the hiring and management of foreign language tour guides and the annual training required to maintain this service. What they found is that the costs of foreign language tour guides are higher than installing GPS commentary systems on their buses since everyone can receive the same tour in their language.

Now that we’ve shared some of the many benefits of GPS commentary, you may be thinking that you need to invest in a system, but how do you pick one? Before choosing a company to provide your GPS commentary system, you should be considering these three things:

1. Does the company understand how to create compelling content?

Some companies write and produce audio tours for their GPS systems, but what do these tours sound like? Are they fun, entertaining and memorable? If you are listening to audio samples, envision yourself as a passenger; does the audio make you feel better? Or is it limited to dry factual information found in every guidebook?

• Do you feel entertained?
• Did you learn something new?
• Does the audio offer you an immersive experience?

2. Does the company understand how to create a tour architecture?

Think of making a grilled cheese sandwich without the cheese. You’re left with two pieces of toast that don’t stick. The cheese is the middle part of the sandwich that holds everything together. That’s what tour architecture does; it’s the expertise between the commentary system and the content. It’s how, when, where and why audio commentary is delivered at specific spots on your routes. Its’ what makes a seamless passenger experience entertaining.

• Does the company have lots of in-field experience in planning and route logistics?
• What is their approach to providing entertainment?
• How much research is involved and where?

3. What is the company’s record of reliability?

The most valuable consideration for your short and long-term success is reliability. Some companies contact us, albeit painfully, to tell us they’ve purchased commentary systems that don’t work reliably. To avoid this pitfall yourself, ask to speak with a company’s customers. Dig into old and recent installations and ask lots of questions.

• Ask to talk to old customers – not just recent ones
• Find out how often commentary systems are serviced and why
• Learn more about a company’s warranty and service policies

At AudioConexus, we are driven in the aim to provide industry leading solutions to our customers to provide exceptional tour and sightseeing experiences around the world. If you’re looking to learn more about GPS commentary, we’d love the opportunity to share some of our success stories with you.