Who does the audio guide lead?

“Although the profession of tour guide is thriving, it is difficult to provide individual guidance to every tourist. Unless you have the right equipment.”
Andrzej Jarczewski

Audio guides, also known as audioguides, are most commonly used in museums, where they serve individual visitors, or in municipalities (though much less frequently) or cities, where they assist in exploring the city or a particular area. This type of equipment is also used by tourism organizers who employ it during special events, such as boat cruises.

Audio guide content – what should be inside?

An audio guide is a guide recorded in the form of short broadcasts, made available together with a carrier, which is equipment specially designed for this purpose. Such a device is used by one person, not a group. Importantly, broadcasts can be recorded in more than one language, which enables tourists speaking different languages to use the equipment by simply selecting the language option that is convenient for them. Sometimes an audio guide is enhanced with slides or videos, although the general assumption is that the visitor should observe their surroundings while listening to the guide’s narration.
Recording engaging broadcasts is becoming increasingly popular. History is not presented in an encyclopedic manner or in a way that is inaccessible to the average recipient, but rather as a short (max. 2-2.5 min.) story that captures attention, builds tension, or is humorous (to the extent that the subject and history of the place allow). Sometimes tourists are guided through the city by historical figures – real or fictional. A good example is one of the oldest and largest city audio guides in Poland – Audio Guide Gdańsk. After all, no one wants to bore their guest. Therefore, if you want to tell more or go into detail on a topic, it is worth dividing it into several short stories and, for example, advertising them in the first general broadcast, rather than expecting someone to listen to a 15-minute broadcast – a compendium of knowledge.

Simply put – the average person, especially on vacation or simply during their free time, will not remember dates, names, and other details of the kind we had to learn in school lessons and did not particularly enjoy. However, they will certainly remember the emotions that we can try to convey through a well-written story. A bit of knowledge can be “attached” to these emotions, which makes it much easier to absorb. As a reward, our satisfied guest will pass on their emotions and word about our place and interesting audio guide will spread throughout the world.

Good practice is to create separate audio guides (separate tour routes) for children, for students, or for people particularly interested in some aspect of the subject, thereby differentiating the message according to the visitor’s age and interests. An excellent example here is the audio guide at the Gdynia Museum, where separate routes have been created for different groups of visitors, including children.

How much does it cost and how to organize it?

Audio guides are complex projects, each time tailored to individual needs. It is impossible to create a fixed price list, and starting with equipment pricing (of which there are also many models and operating technologies) is the most common mistake.

An audio guide is a story, not equipment. Equipment comes at the end. Therefore, if you want to implement such a solution in your facility or city, you need to start with a plan. Write down the story, moving from general to specific, consider what, to whom, and how you want to tell it. And certainly do not try to tell everything. Finally, you need to create broadcast scripts and use the services of specialists in their production. At the end, choose the way in which the story will be delivered to visitors. This can be purchasing equipment, an application, or simply posting broadcasts on a website in the form of a downloadable file or streaming. Sometimes you can also sell the audio guide together with a carrier – a CD, USB drive, or a special inexpensive MP3 player.

Advertising as a lever for visiting

No one will listen to even the most wonderful stories if they do not know they have such an opportunity. Very often when constructing an audio guide project budget, advertising and promotion costs for the audio guide are forgotten. If we have the system in Polish and English, then the advertising campaign should also be in both Polish and English. And these will not be identical campaigns at all.
When commissioning broadcast production to a company, it is essential to find out who translates and verifies the texts of broadcast scripts. The text should be verified by a translator for whom the foreign language is their native language, i.e., a native speaker.

It is also worth choosing the best, professional voice actors. Even the most wonderful and interesting story read by an amateur and recorded in a “home” studio will be turned off halfway through. Therefore, when selecting a company to implement the project, you need to check their references and production examples.

Just like the verifying translator, the voice actor should also be a native speaker. Even a Pole with the best command of a foreign language will still be recognized and may sound unconvincing. Foreign voice actors and actors do not have to be much more expensive than Poles. Another extremely important issue related to broadcasts in foreign languages is their appropriate cultural localization. Stories told to foreigners do not always have to, and sometimes should not, be identical to Polish ones. Not everyone in the world laughs at the same things; a good translator will not translate a joke literally.

Several tips and guidelines

• Start with a general plan, defining goals, target groups (guests, visitors).
• Move from general to specific.
• Consult with specialists. Unless you are a specialist in everything.
• Write a general broadcast script and gradually adapt it to the audio guide format.
• Do not be afraid of personal narration (a character telling the story), humor, dialogues, building tension. All of this can make your story better remembered.
• Remember that your guest is on vacation or has free time. Respect that.
• Create broadcasts for children – let them not be bored when their parents are visiting.
• Think about broadcasts for blind and visually impaired people – create an audio description of your place.
• Advertise your project!
• Collaborate – with tourism organizations, enthusiasts, associations, other companies (cross-selling).
• Post broadcast samples on your website.