Pros and cons of tour group audio systems

I suspect that many ITN subscribers have had some experience with the relatively new audio systems used by tour groups to allow better communication between guides and group members. I believe it might be worthwhile to exchange some thoughts on this subject.

These systems are essentially one-way, low-power radio links, with the guide having a small transmitter and microphone and each of the group members “wearing” a small receiver and headphones. My wife, Janet, and I have had both good and bad experiences with these devices over the past few years.

The advantages of such systems are obvious.

• The guide does not have to shout and strain his/her voice to overcome ambient sound levels while explaining the attractions.

• The group members do not have to crowd together and strain to hear the guide while viewing the point of interest being discussed or described.

• Group members can continue to hear the commentary while spending more time looking at certain features as the guide moves on to the next.

However, we have found that there are a number of disadvantages to these systems as well.

• As the guides are no longer obligated to stay close to all of the group members, the system seems to encourage them to move more quickly than if they had to be heard in person. If a guide moves on and some of the group lags behind for a better look at something or because they cannot keep the pace, the guide can easily lose those people.

This happened to us in the Bulgarian village of Arbanassi on a Danube cruise with Uniworld in June-July ’07. We were at the rear of our group when we emerged from a house, and although we could hear the guide speaking for a few minutes, we had no idea where she and everyone else had gone.

We had more than enough time to become quite distressed (if not panic stricken), having been left alone in the middle of a nearly deserted street, unable to speak the native language. We eventually found the rest of our group having lunch in a remote garden behind a tall fence. We had not been missed!

• Even if the guide remains within visual contact, one can easily become mixed in with another group if the guide does not carry some sort of visual marker to identify his/her specific group.

• As the guides have a tendency to move more quickly, group members at the rear often are left unable to see or understand the subject of the dialogue.

And since the system works only to transmit from the guide to the group, there is much less opportunity to ask for clarification or question the guide.

Sometimes someone near to the guide will ask him/her a question directly, of course out of range of the transmitter. The guide’s response has no point of reference to the rest of us.

• At times, we have experienced interference, static or some other disturbing noise on the system. Perhaps it was just the tour guide’s clothing rustling or maybe some ambient sound near to the transmitter.

There also can be a lot of indistinct mumbling by people near to the guide and the transmitter.

• There have been dead spots where either the transmitter or the receivers were not able to function, but since we could not see the guide, we had no idea whether or not the guide was speaking or had just turned off the transmitter to take a break.

In addition, individual receiver failures (dead batteries, etc.) have left some people completely out of touch with the tour.

• Many (most?) group travelers of our age have lost their hearing acuity and wear some sort of hearing aid(s) as I do. The earphones for these audio systems come in many varieties, but none that we have used were able to function properly with hearing aids.

The “ear bud” type is completely useless in these cases. I have tried merely draping the ear bud’s flimsy wires over my ears to hear a little of the dialog without getting feedback from my hearing aids but to no avail.

The headphones with soft padding and hooks that fit over the ears are better but still leave much to be desired. There can be feedback between any types of headphones and hearing aids, so I usually try to put some distance between the two, but since there is no volume control on the earphones, I end up just trying to stay close enough to the guide to hear the commentary in person.

• Finally, the use of these devices can tend to make one less aware of the physical characteristics of, as well as activities in, one’s immediate area. In short, they can be a serious distraction, making one less aware of tripping hazards and crowd activity.

While attempting to hear the guide’s commentary in St. Peter’s Basilica while on a Rome-Istanbul cruise with Carnival in May ’08, I was roughed up by a thief who sensed my distraction and tried (unsuccessfully) to lift my wallet.

• In our past experience, we were not told of the audio system until after the land tour group had assembled or even after the bus had started to move. Would I sign up for a tour that used the audio devices? Yes, if it included an area or exhibit that we wanted to see. But I would hope that the earphones would be compatible with my hearing aids and that the tour guide would pay attention to the group as though all of the devices were inoperable.

Hopefully, some people will benefit from knowing of the shortcomings we have encountered with these systems. Perhaps others have found ways to overcome the difficulties and will write to ITN. (Write to Tour Group Audio Systems, c/o ITN, 2116 28th St., Sacramento, CA 95818, or e-mail editor@intltravel news.com.)

ROBERT B. WATSON

Devon, PA