In the eternal city of Rome, surrounded by the countless treasures of the Galleria Borghese, I recently had an experience that not only changed my perspective on art and culture, but also on the role of technology in our access to these treasures. Imagine you are strolling through the halls of a museum and your gaze falls on a sculpture or a painting that captures your attention. But instead of just reading a written guide or waiting for a group tour, start a direct dialog with a digital assistant – with ChatGPT.

This is not a distant dream of the future, but a reality that has the potential to radically change the way we learn, discover and engage with art and culture. Thanks to advances in AI technology, it is possible to interact with a machine in real time, ask questions, discuss interpretations and gain personal insights into the artworks in front of you.

A dialog with art

In Rome, my dialog with ChatGPT allowed me to dive deep into the stories and meaning behind the statues and paintings of the Galleria Borghese. This form of interaction enabled me to express my thoughts and feelings and receive immediate, well-founded feedback. It was as if I had a personal guide at my side who not only enriched my knowledge, but also deepened my perception and understanding of art.

The power of 150 languages

Another revolutionary aspect of this technology is its linguistic diversity. Imagine being able to communicate with the AI in your native language or in one of 150 different languages. This opens the door to a more inclusive and accessible cultural experience for people from all over the world, regardless of their language skills.

The project and the way forward

Inspired by this experience, I am currently developing a project that aims to explore AI-guided tours and museum visits and develop concrete ways of using them. A lecture for museums and tourism associations is being planned, and a series of workshops will soon follow.

We are on the cusp of a new era of cultural experience, where technology is bringing us closer to art and history than we could ever have imagined. By using AI like ChatGPT, we can not only expand our knowledge, but also create a deeper, more personal connection to art that goes beyond traditional guided tours.

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Dear Guide colleagues,

I hope you are as excited as I am as we look back on a successful 2023 that has almost brought us back to our normal level of leadership! Let us now look forward to 2024 with anticipation, because exciting events await us. One of the absolute highlights will be the WFTGA Convention in Sicily.

It’s more than just a meeting – it’s a real family festival for guides from over 60 countries! Just imagine: Around 250 colleagues from all over the world in one place. And if you can’t be there in person in Sicily, you can take part online.

Registration is still possible until January 18, 2024.

What we have in store for you:

Live streams of the opening event: Experience the festive kick-off from afar.
Keynotes from international experts: Be inspired by leading personalities.
Exchange with international guides: Network with like-minded people from all over the world.
Live streams of city tours in Siracusa: discover the beauty of Siracusa virtually.
Presentation of the host country candidates for the next meeting: Be there when the future is planned.
Live stream of the Gala Ball: Celebrate with us, even from afar.
Live stream of the closing event: A fitting farewell until next time.

I am also allowed to participate again with lectures and workshops, which you can also book via Guide-Training or Tourism-Training:

Workshop: Storytelling with improvisational theater elements – Immerse yourself in the art of storytelling and learn how to bring stories to life.
Keynote: ChatGPT for Guides – A deep dive into the world of AI and its practical applications in our profession.

Interested? You can find more information and register on the convention website.

I look forward to seeing you either in Sicily or online!

Best regards,

Sebastian Frankenberger
(Co-opted Vice President of the WFTGA)

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As part of the anniversary year “50 years JLL Germany”, there is an extraordinary opportunity to experience Frankfurt am Main from a completely different perspective. As a leading real estate company, JLL, together with myself, Sebastian Frankenberger, and city guide Mikael Horstmann, invites you to an exclusive, discursive city tour through fascinating Frankfurt, focusing on the real estate sector and its importance for urban planning.
Impressive architectural masterpieces are as much the main focus as the latest developments in Frankfurt’s real estate sector.
As an experienced city guide and specialist, Mikael Horstmann, as well as other speakers, will provide exclusive insights into the dynamic development of Frankfurt’s real estate market. You will learn more about the latest construction projects, sustainable urban development initiatives and the plans for the Frankfurt of the future. We show you how Frankfurt has become a hotspot for real estate investment and innovation.
A discursive tour with exciting insights into the architecture of high-rise projects and urban development in the 21st century!

For more info and booking go to: real-estate.tours

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On Friday I had again a bike tour through the beautiful Kamptal with Weiermair Reisen. This is really, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful bike tours in all of Austria. Past the Kamptal reservoirs, the ruins of Dorba Castle and the Renaissance Greilenstein Castle. We spent our lunch break at the Altenburg Abbey with the delicious, famous meat dumplings and the ingenious Paul Troger Freksen. My personal insider tip for the guests was the crypt, which we visited after lunch. We ended our bike tour with a visit to Gars am Kamp to Falco and the best Austrian poppy seed sizzlers.

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14 different Linz institutions invited visitors to unusual and very special city tours on Friday, July 14, 2023.
Sebastian Frankenberger was also present with a guided tour of the city in the course of an improv theater in costume!
From 6 p.m. to midnight, he amazed onlookers young and old, while the public learned more about the history of the city of Linz.
Sebastian Frankenberger also offers such tours outside the event.

The post Night of Families – Guided Tours for Children in Linz appeared first on Sebastian Frankenberger.

The World Federation of Tourist Guides Associations organizes a worldwide meeting every 2 years. In 2024 the next one will take place in Sicily.
When guest guides / tour guides / certified guides meet, it always feels like a family reunion and even newcomers are integrated immediately.

In addition to many interesting visits throughout Sicily with an exciting pre- and post-program, there will be lectures, workshops and many opportunities for networking and professionalization.

The excursions to UNESCO World Heritage Sites are mainly about best practice guiding experiences and Italian food.

Together with the WFTGA Area-Reps Sarah and Marian we have planned this meeting especially for the German speaking tour guides from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

The program will be presented in German and the Italian organizers Valeria and Nicoletta will then be available to answer questions.

Wednesday 31 May 2023
19:00 – 20:30

Register now for the Zoom Meeting and network with other participants. Get tips on the best and cheapest hotels and plan trips together.

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This week I am myself as a tour guide with a tour group of @Weiermair Reisen on Dolce Vita Tour in beautiful Italy.
Rome in particular is simply always worth a trip. Unfortunately for us, the famous Trevi Fountain was being cleaned, so we couldn’t throw any coins in at all. Hopefully I may still return to Rome once again
Because every now and then, especially in such beautiful cities and with such dear guests, I still personally take over the tour guide. Even though my employees always do an excellent job, I didn’t want to miss this trip to my favorite city.
For us, it continued with the next highlight; Pope Francis was in high spirits during the audience. In addition to the most important churches, however, culinary delicacies were of course also on the agenda for my guests. Finally, we will be heading to Assisi tomorrow.

The post Rome and Assisi – Dolce Vita Tour in Italy appeared first on Sebastian Frankenberger.

This week I am myself as a tour guide with a tour group of @Weiermair Reisen on Dolce Vita Tour in beautiful Italy.
Rome in particular is simply always worth a trip. Unfortunately for us, the famous Trevi Fountain was being cleaned, so we couldn’t throw any coins in at all. Hopefully I will still be allowed to return to Rome once again
Because every now and then, especially in such beautiful cities and with such dear guests, I still personally take over the tour guide. Even though my employees always do an excellent job, I didn’t want to miss out on this trip to my favorite city.
For us, it continued with the next highlight; Pope Francis was in high spirits during the audience. In addition to the most important churches, culinary delights were of course also on the program for my guests. Finally, tomorrow we will go to Assisi.

The post Rome and Assisi – Dolce Vita Tour in Italy appeared first on Sebastian Frankenberger.

I just packed my suitcase – off to Germany for several exciting lectures and workshops! Among other things, on the topic of “current trends in guided tours”.
For our “Linz changes” example, I have virtual reality glasses, battery-powered beamers and augmented reality headsets, as well as a Linz cake in the shape of a map in my luggage.

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Right now I’m in Tel Aviv gathering ideas for an augmented reality city tour project. In Israel, they are technologically ahead of us in this respect. The Graffiti Tour from https://tlvnights.com is just awesome! Through extraordinary graffiti with AR, the exciting history of the city is brought to life. In addition, there is really great storytelling with finely tuned animations, videos and fitting music. I would like to thank Henry Jakubowicz for organizing the experience. He himself has developed a Holy Tel Aviv Tour and brings forgotten synagogues back to life with AR. Augmented reality is definitely an exciting technology for city tours and also has more added value than our previous gold standard, virtual reality tours. I am already looking forward to being able to implement the impressions I have gained and the new knowledge I have gained in German-speaking countries for international and local guests!

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