Key Takeaways:
- SmartGuide is a Prague-based augmented reality tourism startup that reconceptualises the tourism industry in the post-Covid era.
- Developed a unique platform for creating digital tour guides fast and affordably.
- SmartGuide app provides an immersive and safe tourism experience using audio, geolocation and augmented reality.
- Offers both a basic free package and premium upsold services to tour operators and destinations.
- Fastest growing guiding app with over 250,000 users and coverage of 400 destinations.
- Despite the pandemic, SmartGuide managed to rapidly increase its revenues with a strategy that hinges on selling premium content and affiliate booking commissions.
In an era dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic, traditional tourism has suffered critically but, a Czech Republic based startup, SmartGuide, has reimagined the industry by creating a B2B2C platform that transforms every phone into a personal tour guide. This idea not only offers a novel way for tourist destinations and operators to model their services, it also promises a safe tourism recovery post-Covid.
SmartGuide’s mission to revive the tourism industry involves replacing the traditional guide with a digital one. The company recognized that as a result of the pandemic, tourists were finding it increasingly difficult to trust and utilize conventional guide methods and destinations. In response, they developed a platform that allows tourism businesses to digitize their existing guides 20 times faster and cheaper than before.
What differentiates SmartGuide from other platforms is its comprehensive and seamless approach to travel. It combines the immersive experience of local guides with the safety and accessibility of digital technology. Through audio, geolocation, and Augmented Reality services, the SmartGuide app guides travelers just like a live guide would, but at a safe distance from the crowds – an essential feature in these pandemic-stricken times. It not only ensures the safety and convenience of travelers but also provides a multitude of services to tourist destinations and operators. It includes content creation, offline download, visitor analytics, guide promotion, and the ability to message users.
In a world where many travel startups are struggling, SmartGuide thrives. This startup has quickly become the fastest-growing guiding app with an impressive user base of over 250,000 and covering over 400 destinations. Their unique business model revolves around providing their basic package free of cost and then upselling premium services. They also monetize end users via premium content and affiliated booking commissions which has contributed to their rapidly increasing revenues during the pandemic.
Looking to the future, we can expect to see SmartGuide playing a key role not only in rejuvenating tourism but also in redefining it. With an ambitious team, including Harvard and McKinsey alumni, they raised €700,000 and are looking for an additional £1.4M to strategically capitalize on having the right product at the right time. The global partnerships that SmartGuide nurtures and the value-added services that it offers make it a game-changer in the truest sense for the tourism industry.
Learn more about their pioneering approach at their website, or get connected through their social media platforms: Facebook and LinkedIn.
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