CityTourPlayer offers audioguides accessible without installation, synchronized with the vehicle’s route, and is developing a second solution, StreetPhonia, designed for hotels and hospitality providers.
Turning journeys into tours
CityTourPlayer, launched as part of EHL’s My Own Startup program, offers smartphone-accessible audioguides with no download required, synchronized by GPS to a vehicle’s route. According to the presentation provided, the startup says it is operating on several public transport lines in Switzerland and France and has seven clients, six of whom have one or more audioguides in service.
Two complementary solutions
The startup is developing two offers:
- CityTourPlayer: an audioguide that turns a public transport journey into an interactive guided tour, accessible via QR code and synchronized with the vehicle’s route.
- StreetPhonia: a mobile application being finalized that can automatically generate audioguides from nearby points of interest using artificial intelligence, and offer an enriched interactive map intended notably for hotels, museums, and tourist offices.
Features and monetization
According to the source, StreetPhonia would allow integrating tips and recommendations on a map richer than Google Maps, customizing content for establishments, and monetizing usage through the sale of listening credits or a concierge-style model.
Origin and development
The initial idea reportedly came during a stay in London, observing that a bus passing iconic sites offered no tourist information to passengers. The startup NexSwiss (CityTourPlayer by NexSwiss) was founded in 2018, with the first CityTourPlayer project launched in 2020. The team comprises three people and has been incubated at the EHL Innovation Hub since 2021. The project is self-financed and has relied on wins in certain competitions; no fundraising has been reported, but the company says it is open to partnerships or potential investments.
CityTourPlayer brilliantly reinvents travel. Its intuitive audioguides turn every public transport journey into an inspiring and memorable adventure
Andreas Monti, CEO of EHL Next, Innovation Hub of EHL
Deployments and objectives
Among concrete cases mentioned is line 201 between Vevey, Montreux and Villeneuve, where travelers can scan a QR code to activate an audioguide enriched with anecdotes, photos and subtitles. The startup also reports interest in France, with participation in the 2023 Rencontres nationales du transport public that reportedly drew the attention of the Keolis group and an implementation announced for line 620 between Nice and Cannes “as early as 2025”. Several projects are said to be under discussion in France.
Challenges and call to hotels
The main identified challenge is the perception of CityTourPlayer as a ‘nice to have’, requiring integration into clients’ marketing and tourism strategies. The next stated objective is to find hotels willing to test StreetPhonia and to replace, partially or entirely, Google Maps with the proposed interactive map.
Source: htr.ch