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When we talk about smart tourism, chances are we focus on visual experiences. However, sound and audio are important for making these experiences more immersive. With this in mind, let’s take a look at some ways smart tourists can benefit from audio technologies.
Live Streaming
In some cases, smart tourism is able to provide virtual alternatives to traditionally in-person experiences. This could be for those who cannot physically visit the destination, or because increased footfall to the region could have an adverse effect on the environment. One way that these virtual experiences can be provided is by using live streaming technology. This is already a tried and tested technique in the entertainment industry.
Take online casinos, for example – players can access live free bingo at Paddy’s through an online platform, which are streamed in real time to all players, creating an authentic casino experience. To make this more immersive, these platforms not only live stream video but audio too, making the experience more believable. This same logic can be applied to live streamed tourism experiences – instead of just streaming video of a hike to the summit of a conservation area, including the audio of the wind in the trees and the surrounding wildlife helps to make the experience more immersive.
Portable Headsets
Guided walking and bus tours are popular excursions for tourists. In fact, Allied Market Research estimates the adventure tourism market (for which these are segments of) will reach over £1.5 trillion by 2032. However, the tour guides are only human – how far their voices carry can be affected by a whole range of environmental factors. Not to mention, for those who are hard of hearing or struggle to keep to the front of the pack, it can be difficult to consistently hear all the information that the tour guide is providing to the group.
With this in mind, many tour groups now provide guests with portable headsets. These sets are worn on their person, and a microphone is worn by the tour guide, the audio of which is transmitted to the sets simultaneously, ensuring everyone has access to clear audio. Depending on the application, different headsets may be more appropriate. For the clearest audio, a traditional two-ear headset works well. However, for excursions hoping to immerse people in the cities – including all the sights and sounds – a one-ear ‘D’ earpiece allows travellers to hear both the tour guide and the natural soundscape simultaneously.
Source: Pixabay
Augmented Reality
Put simply, augmented reality (AR) imposes digital elements on the existing environment, as opposed to virtual reality (VR) which creates a whole new digital environment. Due to this, AR has become widely used in tourism experiences to help visitors interact with historical monuments by recreating the history digitally, which Nilam Desai argues helps to preserve the history, tradition, and culture.
Of course, AR is oftentimes used for visual recreations, digitally restoring sites to their original form. However, these AR programmes can contain interactive elements, which can also allow visitors to experience sounds played aloud. For example, if someone taps a historic instrument, they’ll hear it play. Or, if you virtually enter a ballroom, you could watch (and hear) the dancing, playing, and singing.
And there you have it – just a few technologies providing immersive audible smart tourism experiences. All that’s left to do is explore, listen, and become absorbed in the interactive audio-visual experiences.
