The Ministry of Tourism (MoT), Government of India as part of imparting and improving visitor experience through the help of technology will soon introduce audio guides. This is being done in partnership with a technology provider, Genesys International, an agency in the field of mapping and survey.
Smartphone enabled audio guides for cities like Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Goa is ready for launch after due trials.This new innovation is coming close on the heels of MoT introducing ‘Walking Tours’ with the help of Google (read: Get, Set… Walk with “Walking Tours”)
get-set-walk-with-walking-tours/). These features which could cost Rs 200 crore otherwise, is being introduced without incurring any cost for the exchequer. The model is ‘advertisement driven’. The mobile phones of travelers will double up as audio guides with the introduction of the new system. The fine prints of this scheme are yet to be declared,
In India many monuments already have a walkman based audio guide facility. In this a tourist, while entering any monument can hire a walkman audio guide for a nominal fees. These guides take tourist on tour to a monument by directing him to a pre-designated route and points and then describing them. This facility is available in many international languages as well. The new smartphone based guides take this experience to a new level minus hassles of managing a walkman.