Travel guide books

Page history last edited by brian 1 yr ago

 

The travel guide book industry actually now includes many internet based delivery mechanisms for sending out travel information and telling you were you should go.   While Lonely Planet might be the undisputed king of travel advice, they face stiff competition in the new web-enabled world. 

 

Some famous examples are:

Lonely Planet and Let's Go.

 

  • A guide book is a book for tourists or travelers that provides details about a geographic location, tourist destination, or itinerary. It is the written equivalent of a tour guide. It will usually include details, such as phone numbers, addresses, prices, and reviews of hotels and other lodgings, restaurants, and activities. Maps of varying detail are often included.

 

 

 

innovative travel business plans (tour guides)

 

User-generated pod-tours »

What could be better than having an insider walk you through his or her favourite spots in a new city or travel destination? How about having access to a whole library of such tours that can be downloaded right to your iPod or MP3 player? That's what Chicago-based AudioSnacks is offering consumers. Users can download audio tours of select destinations and can put up their own tours for purchase.

 

“AudioSnack is a place to find, purchase, download, listen to and appreciate audio tours that people just like you have created to share, and a place where you can do the same for others.” Tours are modestly priced—some are even free. Many feature downloadable maps to accompany the audio footage, and customers can listen to a sample snippet of a tour before deciding to purchase.

 

Already there are tours available for destinations in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, South Africa and more. Customers get a unique perspective and insights: they can take an audio tour through Chicago with a Jewish hip-hop poet, for instance, or see the sights in Seattle with a hot DJ. Since members are encouraged to create and upload their own tours, the library is likely to grow quickly. The company is also building a new section, offering campus tours for (upcoming) freshmen "who look lost no matter how many times they've looked at their maps."

While AudioSnacks isn't the only company offering MP3 tours (see Soundwalk, TourCaster, Tourist Tracks and others), letting users upload and sell their own tours makes for an interesting twist. It's a great example of Generation C(ash): consumers are producing valuable content, and expect to be rewarded accordingly. Definitely one to set up in your own country or language.

Website: www.audiosnacks.com

Contact: audiosnacks@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

Downloading guidebooks on the go

 

Digital fuel for travel »

Launched yesterday at Schiphol Airport, Fuel for Travel lets consumers download travel guides, music, audio books, tv shows and movies to their MP3 players and other digital devices.

Located in Schiphol's Departure Lounges 1 and 2, the Fuel for Travel features listening and viewing stations for travellers to browse digital content. Once they've found what they want, they can dock their device, pay by credit or debit card, and download the material. Pricing is similar to that of online music and video downloads.

A wide range of devices is supported, including MP3 and MP4 players, phones, and PDAs. Unfortunately, iPod owners are out of luck: due to Apple's DRM protection, video content can't be downloaded to the ubiquitous players.

Fuel for Travel is a partnership between Talpa (a Dutch multimedia content provider), Samsung Electronics, and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Samsung provided technological know-how, and also sells players and phones at the Fuel for Travel shop. Content providers include Red Bull, MTV/Nickelodeon, Radio 538, Audiocitytours, and Commodore. According to an airport spokesperson, members of test groups were especially interested in destination travel guides. Schiphol, which is managing the project, hopes that offering digital content will add to a more enjoyable travel experience for passengers.

Letting customers create their own in-flight entertainment package makes perfect sense for travel hubs. One to partner with and set up at an airport or train station near you? Just try and get Apple on board ;-)

Website: http://www.fuelfortravel.comContact: development@fuelfortravel.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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