Can apps replace tourist guides?

Source: Tourism update, 09/10/2015

Mobile apps may be able to assist tourists in planning itineraries,
but tourist guides are able to offer a personal experience.

In an era of mobile apps that can guide travellers through sites and
destinations, are tourist guides redundant? By Tessa Reed.


Many museums offer portable audio devices, preloaded with applications
to take guests through the museum while providing relevant
information. Mobile apps are available to provide guided audio tours
of popular cities. There are also mobile apps to help tourists put
together itineraries themselves. But where does this leave tourist
guides?


Apps have a number of advantages. For example, Dieter Holle, Chief
Information Officer at Tourvest Destination Management, says the
information provided is likely to be correct and well researched.




"They deliver content consistently and, if carefully
set up, are likely to be more factually accurate," he says, adding
that they are also cost effective.


Likewise, Tourvest Destination Management Touring and Guides Manager,
Lee Luizinho, points out that apps provide a great source of content
that is related to an attraction or destination to mobile
users.

Particularly, he says, apps that are built for
attractions usually consist of content that is rich enough to form an
overview or perspective on the relevance of the site and the history
surrounding it. "They definitely have their place in travel and
specifically aid self-drive travellers to experience what the site or
city has to offer."


Another advantage of apps is that they allow visitors to visit an
attraction at their own pace, says Sabine Lehmann, MD at Table
Mountain Aerial Cableway, who explains that visitors can skip points
or areas that they are not interested in, tailor-making their
experience. "Anything that aids and enhances the visitor experience is
a good thing. The ideal app would be something that allows for some
interaction amongst family members and caters for kids and adults at
the same time."


Both Lehmann and Christiaan Steyn, Marketing Manager at Drifters
Adventours, point out that apps come with the ability to cope with
large number of visitors at the same time and are often available in a
number of languages.


Applications also come with the advantage of allowing users to share
their experience, as Luizinho points out: "[Apps] generally include
opportunities for users to be able to share or comment on experiences
within their own social networks." He adds that mobile apps give
travellers the ability to receive comment or feedback from existing
collaborators (existing users of the app), which allows them to form a
`bigger picture` as to what the site, attraction or city has to offer.
"There`s definitely a sense of excitement that travellers experience
in their ability to share their experiences, either through the use of
the app or from the app itself."


Despite the many advantages of apps, there seems to be consensus that
tourist guides offer a richer experience. Jenny Briscoe, CEO at Gold
Class Guides, and Lehmann both point out that a guide`s interpretation
of a site will always add value to a museum or attraction. Lehmann
adds that tourist guides offer personal interaction and the
opportunity to engage with a local, something increasingly desired by
travellers.


Commenting on this point, Luizinho argues that tourist guides are also
particularly relevant to South Africa. "Part of the South African
attraction is its people and culture and what better way to explore
the diversity of our country than through the guidance of someone who
is qualified to provide the information, and charismatic enough to
deliver an unforgettable experience," he says.


"The personal interaction with people is far better and far more
interactive," says Briscoe, adding that travellers are able to ask
guides questions and get a response. The ability to answer questions
is seen as advantage guides have over apps. Says Steyn: "As people
receive information they will always have some follow-up questions
that they will not necessarily be able to get from an app."
Furthermore, while apps are seen as advantageous because of the amount
of technical detail they can offer travellers, Briscoe argues that
guides offer more than this by being able to offer a personal take and
give additional anecdotal information. "It is so much more fulfilling
to go with a guide that can actually go along and explain.

It
is not just the technical details that one gets perhaps on an
instrument, but the anecdotes that go with it and it is also the
personality and the passion that come through with a person," she
says.


Even as efficiency is seen as one of the advantages, Briscoe points
out that having tourist guides will help the industry create jobs.


She uses the example of Cypress, which has site guides at most
significant sites. Briscoe points out that South Africa has many
attractions where site guides would be able to enrich the tourist`s
experience and make the destination more attractive to self drive
tourists.


"It`s easy to assume technology is the answer to many challenges and
we have to remember that most leisure travellers wish to somehow
interact with a local in some shape or form," says Holle. "Purely
being serviced by vending machines, apps and automated processes could
make the world we are seeking to explore on our travels a rather
mundane place."


Luizinho also argues that apps are relatively static compared with the
type of interaction that a traveller would have with a tourist guide.
"There is so much more information that you can derive from a tourist
guide that you simply cannot obtain from an app," he says.


"Things like personality, charisma, experience, and the element of
personalising the experience and information for the traveller are the
main benefits of having a tourist guide on tour."


While apps can aid self-drive tourists, guides still play a pivotal
role for group tours. "Tourist guides are hosts throughout tours and
expert problem solvers," says Luizinho. "Due to their proximity with
the travel business, they usually have large networks of people they
can rely on to accommodate requests – however special they may be."


Lehmann also points out that guides are better able to adapt
an experience. "Guides should be able to read a group and change their
tour accordingly," she says.


Luizinho adds that tourist guides are also trained in first aid and
therefore have the basics in order to deal with real-world situations.
Briscoe also highlights the importance of training.

"Training
is key to quality and people would like a quality experience and are
happy to pay for a quality experience," says Briscoe. Speaking on the
importance of training, Holle says: "Apps may replace mainstream
routine physical guides at attractions such as museums, however
nothing will ever beat the live commentary delivered by a passionate
expert on the subject."


While apps are viewed as cost effective, both Briscoe and Holle argue
that guiding can provide much-needed employment.


Despite the rich experience that guides offer, apps are here to
stay.

Luizinho suggests that the focus should therefore be on
how technology is embraced within the travel experience and used to
supplement it. Likewise, Holle says: "I actually enjoyed using an app
in combination with live guide commentary, as it works well to
contextualise the information, especially where different opinions
apply as a result of how history is recorded."


Lehmann suggests that some travellers will opt for apps while other
will choose guides but says apps cannot replace guides because they
offer a different experience. "The tourist guide, ideally, is much
more of a personal interaction and perhaps is able to give a more
personal viewpoint and background to the site." She says the one does
not preclude the other. "The problem for attraction managers is
finding the time and budget to accommodate as many different versions
as possible and to keep all of these versions up to date."