The Hard Business Case for Do-It-Yourself Tours in the Face of Generative AI

25.08.2023 - 14:01 / skift.com / Selene Brophy / Generative Ai

Creators of self-guided audio tours, targeting independent travelers who prefer to explore on their own steam without paying private tour prices, are upping their unique storytelling game to differentiate beyond generic facts spat out in a destination.

Anything that ChatGPT will eventually do, these self-guided tours have to do better.

ChatGPT as a generative artificial intelligence language tool cannot pinpoint global positioning systems (GPS), but no doubt it will eventually be developed into one that does.  The changing expectations of travelers and the rise of new technologies such as generative AI amplify the need for businesses to tap into the power of the human experience through emotion to set themselves apart.

Essentially, unique tours that are theme-led and offer a unique perspectives are most effective in creating an audience prepared to pay for the experience, according to VoiceMap founder and CEO Iain Manley.

In February 2023 VoiceMap, a platform that offers GPS self-guided audio tours created by its destination experts and storytellers, reached a milestone of 1,000 tours. Manley told Skift that while it hasn’t been the quickest journey over the past 10 years, it has seen “consistent organic growth of up to 300 percent” in recent years, baring a drop in 2020 during the pandemic. Manley declined to share exact audience figures with Skift.

For VoiceMap, he said, it’s always been about crafting high-quality, immersive experiences through the unique stories and perspectives of its 563 local guides, across 350 destinations and 62 countries. And the platform has ensured its tech tools and features to produce and upload the tours have remained easy to use.

Manley noted the importance of this, since the offering is used by tours and activities operators and experts who have never had to produce a tour digitally before. He referenced Detour, a former market leader in audio tours founded by Andrew Mason, the former CEO of Groupon. It was said to be cost heavy, using mainly documentary filmmakers and reality television producers to produce its tours, and technically difficult to use. The company was acquired by Bose, before eventually being shuttered.

And yet, VoiceMap still remains quite a process.

Frank Bures, an author of four VoiceMap tours, told Skift he almost quit before he got started.

“The first time I did it, I could not believe how long it was taking and how much work it was, and I was like, I’m never gonna do this again. By the time I got it finished, I was really happy with it.”

He added that the VoiceMap support team were “hands on” and the testing tool to walk the tour before writing the script ensured it was on point. Bures outlined how he mapped the GPS route for his tour