Good travel agencies have already accustomed their clients to guided sightseeing using a tour guide system. This type of equipment is chosen not only by great tour operators, but also by medium and small-size companies and even individual guides.
System tour guide – the system comprised of a transmitter with a microphone and receivers with earphones. The guide speaks to the microphone and as a result he or she is heard perfectly by tourists equipped with receivers. The transmitter’s range usually reaches 75-150 meters. The system runs on alkaline or rechargeable batteries. Most of the tour guide systems provide unidirectional transmission but there are also bidirectional, full-duplex systems.
The use of tour guide set facilitates the jobs of the tour guide and tour manager, and gives the group touring comfort and a justified sense of safety. Touring in a hustle & bustle, crowd and noise as well as in a place requiring silence (e.g. church) is no longer a problem, since even the quiet whisper of a guide will be heard clearly through the headphones of tourists.
However, not everyone knows that tour guide systems are also used for simultaneous interpretations, including systems for increasingly common mobile translations – where the speaker simultaneously describes and shows – e.g. a new factory, a city or trade fairs, constantly moving with the listeners. Important as it is for the users of the tour guide devices as a mobile translation set – they do not need to get help from technicians or to read through bulky manuals. Both the transmitters and receivers are intuitive, ridiculously easy to use, and even people having problems with learning how to operate their own smartphone – in the case of tour guide devices – have no problems whatsoever.
Tour guide systems in translation
Companies, especially those handling production, very often use system tour guide to show people around the production line. Tours of this kind are frequently translated to more than 1 language, which wouldn’t be possible without the use of the system, given that there is usually a lot of noise at production plants. In such conditions a tour guide system is convenient not only for guiding and interpreting, but also in conducting trainings or so-called study visits. You can watch an example of this type of use on the video here at this link.
Some of the tour guide system models can be extended to stationary sets used for big simultaneous interpretations during conferences.
If it’s not enough – the same tour guide systems are the base of conducting professional audio descriptions for blind or partially sighted people during spectacles, film shows or sports events.
Where system tour guide can be used:
- Tourism, museums
- Translations
- Trainings, workshops, seminars, study visits
- Events, trade fairs, business meetings
- Audio descriptions
- Sports (coach-student communication)
One of the leading producers of wireless audio transmission systems – tour guide systems – is the Taiwanese company Okayo Electronics. Through over 15 years of existence Okayo became known as a producer of most reliable devices. Every model of Okayo tour guide systems is carefully adapted for different target groups.
The official representative of Okayo is MEXPO (systemtourguide.com) company, which has been selling tour guide and audio guide systems in Europe for over 10 years.