ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the use of audio-tours to interpret heritage sites in the early 1990s, briefly looks at how auditory stimuli link with other communication channels. It provides some basic rules of tour development, and explores the technology available and the ways in which it has been applied to interpretive strategies at a number of English Heritage sites. Visitors to heritage sites now expect high standards of interpretation comparable to those now in place in many museums and heritage attractions across the country. However, most heritage sites pose significant problems in fulfilling these expectations due to the sensitivity of either their landscape setting or the necessary restrictions imposed by the conservation of their historic fabric. Audio-tours are widely used as a cost effective, informative and entertaining method of interpreting heritage sites. At present, 1996, there are three main choices available in audio-tour technology: the personal stereo tape tour, the solid state wand, and the personal stereo CD tour.
