CityRealty Insider > Off The Bus: GPS Tours Set Tourists Free

Off The Bus: GPS Tours Set Tourists Free

APRIL 21, 2009

Like pay phones and the $1 cup of coffee, the classic get-on-and-off-a-bus city tour is beginning a long, slow fade into history.

For visitors, or anyone with a need to explore, GPS systems with audio "tour guides" make it easy to locate landmarks and hotspots by following directions from a personal mobile device or a dedicated gadget, without ever having to suffer the indignities of standing in a group of pointing rubes or sitting atop a big red bus.

Tour companies like CityShowNYC offer a virtual guidebook for creating personalized tours, right down to details–like "restroom finder"–that you never thought you'd need but grow to appreciate when you're on your own and on the town. The company offers both a walking tour and a drivers' version. A similar product, GPS Storyteller, creates custom GPS tours available as an iPhone application. These unique tours call on the services of writers, actors, researchers, musical composers–and locals who are asked to send in their stories–taking your city tour off the map into more interesting territory. AudioConexus, who got into the biz doing museum and event audio tours, have been offering the wireless, hands-free tour experience for tour companies as well. As with event tours, the technology makes it easy to add language translation and interactivity–all the better to bring the city to the fingertips of visitors.

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