The Robots Are Coming! AI, Mobile and the Future of Tour Guiding

Talk Description

As in-person tourism is at its lowest point in a generation, this has been a fruitful time in the world of mobile and AI tech innovation in tourism. From self-guided cars and robots to the flourishing of smartphone apps offering guided tour experiences, we’ll discuss and debate the future of travel, and what the place will be for human tour guides.

Panelists

John Boulding is Chief Marketing Officer of Vox S.p.A.. He is an expert in innovation, branding and change management. John is an inspiring communicator and business strategist, with extensive tourism product and operations knowledge and a robust background of business administration in both private and public companies.

Alex Bainbridge is the founder and CEO of Autoura. Alex previously has founded TourCMS, the original leader in tours & activities online travel agent distribution providing reservation system and distribution technology to hundreds of local tour operators, and ran that business for 10 years until its successful sale in October 2015. In 2016, Alex launched Uptaste – a local food tour & experience aggregator, and in 2018, Alex launched Autoura – an autonomous vehicle sightseeing platform – another industry first.

Iain Manley is the founder and CEO of VoiceMap, a publishing platform and marketplace for immersive audio guides. He has previously been a travel news journalist for the Daily Telegraph, and founder of the travel blog Old World Wandering, carving out a niche with long-form dispatches that were regularly shared by top curators.

Adam Connolly and Von Harden are the co-founders of Group Tour Professionals, and Von is the President of the International Association of Tour Directors and Guides.

Emma Guest-Consales, Ph.D. is President of the Guides Association of New York City. She’s also the founder and principal guide of My New York City Tours, is an experienced guide and lecturer who has taught art and architectural history in New York City for fifteen years. She is a volunteer at the Thomas J. Watson Library in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Tour Ambassador Captain at the One World Observatory at One World Trade Center. She has a doctorate degree in Italian Renaissance art, and has also taught classes on the history, art, and architecture of New York City.