No products in the cart.
TouringBee Wins Arival Innovation Award for Smartphone-Based Tour Guide System
TouringBee has won the Industry Innovation Award at the 2026 Arival Spotlight Awards for TouringBee Buzz, its smartphone-based tour guide system — and was also named a finalist in the Tech Trailblazer category.
The independent travel-tech company also reached the finals with its self-guided tasting experiences.
PARIS, October 20, 2026 — TouringBee has won the Industry Innovation Award at the 2026 Arival Spotlight Awards for TouringBee Buzz, a new system that allows professional tour guides to communicate with their groups using smartphones instead of traditional radio receivers.
The award was presented on October 14 at Arival 360 in Spokane, Washington.
Traditionally, tour guides have had two options: use radio equipment or rely on the strength of their own voice.
Radio systems work well, but come with their own logistics. Receivers need to be rented or purchased, charged, handed out before each tour and collected afterwards. Without them, guides have to speak loudly enough for everyone to hear, which isn’t always easy in crowded or noisy places.
TouringBee Buzz offers a third option.
Guides speak into their own smartphones, while travellers listen through their own phones and headphones. Participants join by scanning a QR code, and the system can work without an internet connection using a local wireless network.
TouringBee plans to keep the core functionality free for professional guides.
“We started TouringBee by making audio guides for people who prefer exploring cities on their own,” said Eugène Tassart, Co-founder and CEO of TouringBee. “Now we’ve won an award for a product that helps live guides. I like that. We’re not trying to change how people travel — just make some parts of it easier.”
Buzz is currently being tested with selected users, and TouringBee is building a waitlist for guides and tour operators interested in early access. The company is also working on real-time translation, with the longer-term goal of allowing guides to speak in one language while travellers listen in another.
TouringBee received a second recognition at the awards. Its self-guided tasting experiences were named a finalist in the Tech Trailblazer category. These tours combine independent city exploration with tastings at local partner businesses.
TouringBee is an independent travel-tech company with a team of 15 and no external investors. Originally focused on multilingual self-guided audio tours, it is now developing a wider range of technology for local travel experiences.
About TouringBee
TouringBee develops digital tools for travellers, professional guides and tour operators. Its products include multilingual self-guided audio tours, self-guided tasting experiences and TouringBee Buzz, a smartphone-based audio system for live guided tours.
Official award announcement: Arival Spotlight Awards 2026 — Winners
Media & partnerships: info@touringbee.com