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Foreign Language Tours

Polynesians Adventure Tours foreign language apps
23
February

Haleakala National Park Tour now available in 6 languages

February 23, 2018
In Case Studies, Foreign Language Tours, Tour Buddy Apps Plan, Tour Operators
By lydia
Polynesian Adventure Tours Gray Line has just celebrated their 40th anniversary in style by adding a new fleet of luxury mini coaches.  They are honored as one of four tour companies selected for concession contracts in Haleakala National Park located in Maui, Hawaii.  Polynesian Adventure Tours wanted international guests to be able to experience this unique and memorable experience in their native language.  Together with Tour Buddy Apps’ technology and translation services the English tour is now available in 6 languages including Korean, French, Spanish, German, Chinese and Japanese.  

More About the Tour App:

 
Foreign language passengers are given an iPad and earbuds so they can enjoy the tour with the rest of the passengers in their native language.  Not only are the views breathtaking but they will all learn about ancient Hawaiian legends, the history of Haleakala, and its significance to Hawaiian society and culture in their native language.  In addition, there is information about the unique plant and animal life, types of volcano’s and the ongoing conservation efforts to care for this mountain, its wildlife, and its natural resources.  Polynesian Adventure Tours mission is for passengers to return home with a new sense of Aloha and respect for this very special place.
Contact Tour Buddy for more information on how to make your tour available in multiple languages
Experience Historic Garland
03
November

Historic Walking Tour App for Garland, Texas

November 3, 2017
In Audio Tours, Branded App, Case Studies, Cities and Towns, Foreign Language Tours, Historic Tours, Walking Tours
By lydia

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytCsB67XNis[/embedyt]

Downtown Garland, Texas was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places.  To celebrate this great honor, the city held a “Rockin the Square” party complete with music, fireworks and fun.  This adventurous city is rich in history, urban appeal, natural resources and pure Texas charisma.  What better way to represent it than with a free walking tour app for all visitors and residents to enjoy!

 

THE APP

 

Currently, there are 3 walking tours in the Experience Historic Garland App: Historical Main Street, Henry’s Heritage Hike, Historical Downtown

 

Each of these tours contains black and white photos from years past of the same streets and corners, along with the history that happened there.  Users can learn how the second east-west transcontinental highway, now known as US Highway 67 was routed through Garland.  The app also includes a story about how  a Thanksgiving Day fire razed the downtown square, which caused the town to rebuild.  Garland’s location along railroads also formed the town, commerce and its people.

 

The city of Garland not only wanted to showcase all the historic places and events in their history, but also make it user friendly and lively.  The Tour Buddy platform provided the technology for a GPS triggered self-guided tour.  You can download Experience Historic Garland on the App Store and Google Play.

 

Interested in creating a walking tour in your city?  Contact Tour Buddy Apps to find out how you can build a better visitor experience!

 

 

30
August

Foreign Language Tour, St. Augustine, Florida

August 30, 2017
In Case Studies, Driving Tours, Foreign Language Tours, Tour Buddy Apps Plan, Tour Operators
By Sarah Pounders

The Red Train Tour trolley in St. Augustine, FL  wanted to provide foreign language guests with an equally amazing experience on their trolley tour, so they created 2 foreign language apps using the App Builder Website.  

The Red Train Tour is the best way to experience the beautiful and picturesque city of St. Augustine, FL.  Because the trolley is such a popular way to get around and learn about the city, the team at Red Train Tour created an app with the Tour Buddy App Builder Platform for both French and Spanish speakers so that their foreign language guests can experience the tour in their language.

 

After visitors pay for their trolley ticket, they receive instructions on how to download the French or Spanish App with using a specific download code.  Once downloaded with the settings adjusted, the foreign language visitor will hear the audio files as they trigger riding on the trolley tour.  The visitors get a tailored experience and the Red Train Tour can control who downloads the tour with the privacy of the download code.

 

30
August

Foreign Language Tours, Savannah, Georgia

August 30, 2017
In Audio Tours, Case Studies, Cities and Towns, Foreign Language Tours, Historic Tours, Walking Tours
By Sarah Pounders

Visit Savannah, Savannah’s business unit of the Chamber of Commerce, wanted to create foreign language tours for international visitors so that they could learn about and experience the wealth of history and stories that Savannah is known for.  Their 7 free foreign language tours were created using the App Builder Platform and they are available through the Savannah Experiences App on iOS and Android.  

What’s in the App?

Users can choose their own route, or follow the recommended tour route that leads them through Savannah’s beautiful historic district, in and around famous landmarks, museums, and shopping and dining options. Users can choose from seven languages including Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Chinese and Japanese.  Navigate the content through the detailed stop menu or tour map which links to a GPS tour map. The tour works offline, too, so users don’t have to worry about needing a network or wi-fi connection.

Local Impact

While the city of Savannah has such a diverse selection of tours to choose from, the foreign language tours in the Savannah Experiences App are set apart from all the others because they are GPS enabled tours in international guests’ native language.  Fox 28 in Savannah aired a story about this new exciting app and how it is tapping into a stronger engagement with international guests:

30
August

Civil Rights Tour, Little Rock, Arkansas

August 30, 2017
In Audio Tours, Branded App, Case Studies, Foreign Language Tours, Historic Tours, Historical Societies, Walking Tours
By Sarah Pounders

Little Rock, Arkansas played an important role in the Civil Rights movement that helped set the stage for a major national movement.  The Department of Arkansas Heritage along with several other organizations and institutions funded a grant to create the Arkansas Civil Rights History Mobile App.  Using the App Builder Platform, the Department of Arkansas Heritage was able to create a comprehensive tour of more than 30 locations, all available in English and Spanish.

 

This narrative tour guide will takes you through numerous sites in Little Rock that have played significant roles in the city’s civil rights history, covering both the more familiar and the less well-known people, places and events.  Multimedia and links to further resources will help you to delve even deeper into this history throughout and after your journey. This project is supported in part by a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

30
August

Big Cat Sanctuary Spanish Language App

August 30, 2017
In Branded App, Campus Tour, Case Studies, Foreign Language Tours, Virtual Tours, Walking Tours
By Sarah Pounders

Big Cat Sanctuary, Tampa, Florida

Big Cat Rescue, a sanctuary for big cats, wanted to communicate their mission of rescuing abused and abandoned big cats through a virtual tour app, not only in English, but also in Spanish so that they could reach even more hearts and minds.  Carole Baskin, CEO of Big Cat Rescue created the Big Cat Rescue App as well as the Spanish version, Grandes Felinos al Rescate using the App Builder Website.  Read about how this non-profit organization is spreading the word and awareness about its important mission through their app.

 

Interview with Big Cat Rescue

We caught up with Big Cat Rescue’s #1 cat lover and CEO Carole Baskin about her experience using our tourApp Builder Platform.  The app offers a tour of the Big Cat Rescue Sanctuary complete with photos and audio for over 100 Cats along with a GPS based and Campus map.  The app is updated as new cats are brought in to the sanctuary.  The app is available for iPhone and Android.

Tour Buddy: What made you decide to build an app for your organization?

Baskin: We had an app designed for us by a donor, but we didn’t have the ability to keep it current and didn’t want to keep asking him to update it, so the Tour Buddy app was a great way to get what we wanted, without bothering anyone else.

Tour Buddy: How long did it take to create the content and create the app using the Tour Buddy app builder website?

Baskin: It took me two days to build our tour, and that included 105 exotic cats (or stops, as would be the lingo on most tours). There was a photo of each cat, a written bio and an audio bio recording for each cat. We also plotted each cat out on a map in the app. I think it could have been done in a day, if I had all of the files ready ahead of time.

Tour Buddy: What is some of the feedback you have received from the app users?

Baskin: Big Cat Rescue app users love being able to see the cats and hear their stories. It is also a great training tool for our tour guides to learn the cats’ stories and facts about all of the cats at the sanctuary.

Tour Buddy: What is the best part about your app?

Baskin: My favorite thing about Tour Buddy is the ability to update it any time and that it is available in both the App Store and the Google Play Store.

Tour Buddy: What did you like about working with Tour Buddy to create your app?

Baskin: The interface was so user friendly that I didn’t need to schedule training and that means a lot to me since time is what I have the least of.

Tour Buddy: What advice would you give to other organizations that are looking to create an app?

Baskin: The Tour Buddy app is IT. No one knows your site like you do, so take the time to put it all in an app and you will benefit from the effort.

Tour Buddy: How often do you make updates to the app content?

Baskin: We update the content less than once a month and expect that we will maintain this same schedule.

Tour Buddy: What impact has your app had on your organization?

Baskin: The Tour Buddy app has enabled me to make sure that every tour guide gets the exact, “purrfect” story on each cat. In the past, our tour guides trained tour guides and, like the old game of telephone, the message gets changed the more it is handed down. We use a written guide, but people still repeat what they hear more than what they read. By having our audio stories all contained in the Big Cat Rescue app, every guide is hearing the accurate and relevant stories of the 105 exotic cats at the sanctuary.

More Big Cat Rescue Information

Find Big Cat Rescue on YouTube at BigCatTV.com (More than 63,000,000 views) or on

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/BigCatRescue (More than 95,000 Big Cat Rescue fans).

Tour Buddy helps its clients reach new audiences.  Create an app, update it on the fly, and build your own tour in less than a week (Baskin finished theirs in TWO DAYS!).  If you are interested in creating your own mobile app, or you have a question about our tour app builder, please feel free to sign up for your 14 day free trial! You can also check out our FAQ page for more information.

 

GPS Triggered Audio App Tour
30
August

GPS Triggered Trolley Tour App

August 30, 2017
In Branded App, Case Studies, Driving Tours, Foreign Language Tours, Tour Operators
By Sarah Pounders

International guests experience the Old Town Trolley Tour in Washington D.C. throughout the year. As a result, Old Town Trolley Tours wanted a GPS triggered audio app tour to provide a tour in guests’ native language.  The app tour tells the story of Washington D.C. stop by stop.  Read about how Old Town Trolley used the App Builder Website to create their GPS triggered foreign language audio tour. 

About the GPS Triggered Audio App Tour

Old Town Trolley Tours is one of the most well-known and highly rated trolley tour companies in the United States. As leaders in tourism, they have created a GPS triggered audio app tour for foreign language guests.  They envisioned a user friendly and practical app that would tell visitors in their native language about what they were seeing.   This stop by stop narration gives visitors a personal tour at their fingertips.

After purchasing a ticket, guests are given sign in access to their tour.  The app is accessed through the Old Town Trolley Tours App on the App Store and Google Play.  Guests will experience the following:

  • A choice of 7 languages including: French, Spanish, Italian, German, Portuguese, Chinese (Mandarin) and Japanese.
  • GPS triggered audio for every point of interest.
  • GPS enabled map with clickable pins.
  • App shows all of the stops with the option to get directions from their current location.
  • Slideshow of images that rotate as guests listen to audio.
  • Once downloaded, app  works offline.

 

More than ever, Old Town Trolley Tours knows they are providing a relaxing and meaningful experience for every guest.  With their app, Old Town Trolley can make any changes to their tour in real time.  The App Builder offers the ability to update stops or content automatically.  It’s just that easy.

Contact us to learn how to get started using the App Builder Website for your tour, click here.

Sightseeing Manchester trolley tour
20
July

City Trolley Foreign Language App Tour

July 20, 2017
In Branded App, Case Studies, Driving Tours, Foreign Language Tours, GPS Tours
By Sarah Pounders

Sightseeing Manchester launched a year round hop-on-hop-off trolley tour of the iconic city of Manchester, England this year.  They wanted to offer the tour in several foreign languages as well as English.  The Tour Buddy App Builder Platform allowed them to create and launch an app that includes the entire trolley tour in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, German and Chinese.   Learn about how Sightseeing Manchester’s new trolley service and foreign language app tour are engaging locals and tourists in Manchester, England.    

 

About the Bus Tour

Sightseeing Manchester has carefully planned 23 hop-on hop-off stops, so that visitors can choose how much time to spend at each stop.   Visitors can view this timetable to catch the next bus to the next stop.  Some of Manchester’s key sights included are Town Hall Manchester, National Football Museum, Museum of Science and Industry and Manchester United Football Club.  The English commentary on the bus tour is Dominic Monaghan, actor from Lord of the Rings and Lost.

 

About the Foreign Language App

Manchester is a hot spot for tourists from all over the world.  Sightseeing Manchester wanted each of their visitors to experience this exceptional tour in their own language.  Tour Buddy had the perfect app platform to make this possible for them.  With features like the GPS enabled map, offline audio, hands free GPS triggers and the ability to make automatic changes to the app, the Sightseeing Manchester App has helped visitors gets the information they want to know on their own language on their own smartphone or tablet. The languages in the app include German, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Chinese.   Download the iOS or Android at the App Store and Google Play.

You don’t want to miss this! Follow link to purchase your bus ticket.

Contact Tour Buddy to learn how you can make a Multi-Language App Tour.

Foreign Language App Tour at Stone Mountain Park, Georgia
22
July

Stone Mountain Park App | Foreign Language App Tour

July 22, 2016
In Branded App, Case Studies, Foreign Language Tours, Historic Tours
By Sarah Pounders

Stone Mountain Park’s recent app launch using the Tour Buddy App Builder features a multi-guide app.  The app showcases 6 foreign language self-guided app tours and enhances engagement.  A self guided tour app creates a better experience for both the park employees and visitors. Caroline Figiel of Creative Digital Productions shares more about the experience using the Tour Buddy App Builder.  To learn more about using Tour Buddy to create a foreign language app tour for your destination, click here. 

Creative Digital Production’s  Mission:

Our Mission…to interpret Stone Mountain’s and Georgia’s history using engaging audio spots on an affordable and easy to navigate delivery platform in multiple languages.

The Results: A Foreign Language App Tour Featuring 6 Languages

A beautifully crafted 6 language mobile app where visitors can imagine another time and place; designed so that each user can take a self-guided tour of each site and know exactly where they are on the GPS enabled map without the attention of a tour guide or fumbling with a paper map.

The Buzz: Visitor Engagement & Experience

Do park employees on the front lines of tourist engagement feel proud to offer a quality product? Yes! Is visitor feedback overwhelming for both the content and the delivery platform? You betcha!

The Story: 

As interpretation specialists, we knew that we had been given.  We did not receive mounds of boring information for a report, but instead… the seeds for some really good storytelling about Georgia and the mountain which would “edu-tain” every person who downloads the app.  Stone Mountain itself is not only the largest exposed granite mass in the world, but is also the site of the largest bas-relief carving in the world. Did you know because of political events, temperamental artists, and financial struggles, the carving took 55 years to complete? That in itself is a sweeping saga worthy of a summer blockbuster!

From the beginning, my partner Danny and I knew we would uncover many fascinating events and amusing legends. So, we decided in partnership with Stone Mountain Park, to let many of the stories tell themselves through fictionalized characters based on the time period of the subject matter. As the scripts began to unfold, our characters came to represent a cross section of Georgia’s population in the 1700-1900s.  These characters include  a frontier doctor, farmer’s wife, field slave, rich planter, and real life super hero.  Some of their stories would tickle your funny bone while others would tug at your heart.

We began script writing and production of  the initial 22 “edu-taining” audio spots.   In phase two, we began implementation.  In order for media interpretation to be successful, the production can’t stand alone.  If technology fails, the carefully crafted content won’t be heard and users will become frustrated.  Therefore, we made it a priority to offer a delivery platform that allowed visitors the best user experience. With 132 media files, Tour Buddy’s Multi-Guide App was our best choice.

Launching the Foreign Language App Tour:

The app was very easy to load and could handle a lot of media because it was a Multi-Guide App. We were able to create one tour and then copy it so that we did not have to enter data multiple times. Once downloaded, visitors enter in a special passcode for their specific language to find the GPS guided tours.  The tours include insightful video links, picture galleries and social media links.

Stone Mountain Park can now reach each visitor to inform, engage and entertain.  These experiences create lifelong memories and a unique understanding of Stone Mountain Park and its history.

That in itself is worthy of a tale!