Visual Travel Tours (VTT) and Magellan’s Catalog have announced their partnership, making Magellan’s the largest retail outlet to provide multimedia tours for viewing on cell phones and other mobile devices.
“Many of our travelers like to get a feel for where they are headed before they leave home and, when they are on location, they want the freedom to explore at their own pace,” says Gloria McManus, Magellan’s co-founder. “Most people travel with a cell phone or a mobile device these days. VTT’s guided tours offer professional content and local stories that enhance the enjoyment of any location.”
VTT is reinventing the way travelers explore destinations, with the first and only multimedia tours that are simple to play on BlackBerrys, iPhones, cell phones, iPods, PDAs, and mini DVD players. This means that an entire family can take a tour at the same time, for one fee, using all their assorted mobile devices.
VTT tours are created by travel writers and local guides, and professionally produced for mobile viewing. “They are fun to watch before a trip, easy to use while on the go, with great tips and “turn-the-corner-her”directions, and provide fade-proof memories when the adventure is over,” explains VTT Executive Editor, Gordon Burgett.
“VTT’s audio/video tours will entertain any traveler. You can have your own personal tour guides, right in your hand, sharing their personal anecdotes and photos with you. This is a great way to learn as you wile away the airport hours!” said Marie Profant, CEO, Visual Travel Tours. “The simple Play or Pause features make our tours easy for everyone to operate. We are very proud that Magellan’s has elected to offer our unique tours to travelers all over the world.”
Magellan’s VTT tour inventory
Currently sixteen VTT tours are being offered through Magellan’s, with destinations in Africa, Brazil, China, Egypt, England, France, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and the US. The titles are:
- America’s Largest Chinatown: San Francisco
- Santa Barbara: From the Mission to the Wharf
- Los Angeles: Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, & Venice
- Wine and More: San Simeon to Morro Bay, California
- The Art Deco Historical District of Florida’s South Beach
- Take a Tasty Trip to New York’s Little Italy
- Egypt’s Giza Pyramids and the Sphinx
- A Champagne Tour on a Beer Budget: Reims, France
- Medieval Dublin
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Copacabana and Ipanema
- Safaris in Botswana: Okavango and Chobe
- China’s Great Wall: Walking on History
- Imperial Beijing: Tian’anmen, Forbidden City, Jingshan
- Venice: Incomparable Canals and Calli
- Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter
- From London to Oxford, on the Thames (by boat)
Many additional tours will be available through Magellan’s in the near future.
Availability and cost
In January 2010, VTT’s full-length tours will be available for $19.95 through the Magellan’s catalog and website. They will also be stocked in their Los Angeles-area retail store at 1006 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, and in their Santa Barbara flagship store at 110 West Sola Street. Each adventure comes on a CD, which includes formats for all mobile devices and computers as well as printable PDFs and maps.
