At a glance

Elio Epifani, founder of Vox Group, celebrates 25 years since he introduced a radio device for tour guides, which has now evolved into a global guiding infrastructure used in over 150 countries. Vox Group has launched a major update to its AI-powered guiding platform, Aura, which now supports 200 languages and offers features like live translation and subtitles for diverse audiences. This development highlights the company's commitment to enhancing the travel experience through technology while maintaining a human touch.

As founder Elio Epifani marks a quarter-century since building the device the tourism industry laughed at, Vox Group marks 25 years of changing how groups travel, alongside a major update to its AI-powered guiding platform, Aura, now live in 200 languages.

It Started with a Laugh In 2001, Elio Epifani was a tour director earning a thousand euros a day, the kind of money most people in the industry didn’t walk away from. He walked away from it anyway, with a van and a box of radios, to solve a problem nobody had asked him to solve.

“They laughed,” Epifani recalls.

“Tour operators told me I was crazy, why would anyone pay for a radio when the guide can just speak louder?” The idea was simple: one guide, speaking once, heard clearly by an entire group.

It took a booking at the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, where guides are not permitted to raise their voice at all, to prove the point.

“Suddenly nobody was laughing,” he says.

“You don’t convince people with arguments; you convince them with a problem they can’t solve any other way.” Twenty-five years on, that same radio link now operates in more than 150 countries, underpinning tours for cruise lines, tour operators, DMCs and destination experience partners around the world. What began as one man’s answer to a problem the industry had simply learned to live with has grown into the guiding infrastructure much of the global travel industry now runs on.

A Family Business That Went Global Without Losing Its Shape Vox has done something most family businesses never manage: brought a second generation in without losing the culture the first generation built.

“I choose who comes into this business very carefully, and family is no exception,” Epifani says. “The family members here started on the ground floor, packing boxes and radio sets, and worked their way up like everybody else. What they have that a new hire does not is time. You cannot teach that in a boardroom, you absorb it.”

That same instinct for culture over process has shaped how Vox has grown internationally.

“You cannot send culture to another country in a document,” Epifani explains. “It arrives with people. Culture is what happens when the boss leaves the room. If the standard does not drop a single inch when I am not there, we have done our job.”

A New Chapter, The “Game-Changer” Vox’s 25th year has brought its most significant product evolution yet.

Aura, first introduced as a live translation device, now runs simultaneous translation in up to four languages at once from a library that has grown from 50 to 200, alongside live subtitles for guests who are deaf or hard of hearing and multiple parallel commentary channels for a single mixed group. Its AI companion gives guides verified answers to guests’ questions in real time, drawing on operator-approved content rather than the open internet.

It sits alongside Vox BT, a new Bluetooth accessory letting guests connect their own earbuds or hearing aids directly to a tour.

For Epifani, the technology is judged by the same standard he applied to that first radio. “If the guest notices the technology, you’ve failed,” he says. “It should be like oxygen: essential, but invisible.” Asked how that philosophy applies to AI, he is direct: “The point is not what the technology can do, it is what it should do for the business you are in. So we asked what gives a guide more, never what replaces them. A guide knows the subject better than any machine. What a guide cannot be is in four places at once.”

What Comes Next Epifani is candid about what has changed most since 2001.

“Back then it was me, a van, and a box of radios,” he says. “Now there are people in many countries who wake up every morning and care about this company like it’s theirs. That’s the part I could never have imagined.”

Looking ahead, his prediction for the wider industry is blunt.

“In five years, the companies that survive in travel won’t be the ones with the best prices. They’ll be the ones that own the guest experience end to end. Technology will decide who leads and who follows.” Asked what he wants Vox to be known for in another 25 years, his answer is simple: “The company that proved technology and humanity aren’t opposites. That you can build something global, innovative, and profitable, without losing your soul.”

Vox Group is available now for cruise lines, tour operators, DMCs and destination experience partners.

Vox technology is used across the travel industry, by tour operators, DMCs, cruise lines, museums, galleries, heritage sites, destination experience partners and many more.

Editorial insight

Vox Group’s milestone anniversary arrives as technology continues to shape how travellers engage with destinations and guides worldwide. The company’s evolution from a single, often-dismissed idea to a global presence highlights the growing importance of seamless communication and accessibility in the tourism sector, particularly as travel providers look for ways to enhance guest experiences without adding friction. The latest updates to Vox’s AI-powered platform, including expanded language support and accessibility features, reflect ongoing industry efforts to cater to increasingly diverse and international audiences.

For operators and partners, the focus on tools that empower guides rather than replace them speaks to a broader industry recognition that technology’s value lies in supporting human expertise and delivering personalised experiences. As travel demand rebounds and competition intensifies, solutions that combine operational efficiency with cultural sensitivity are likely to remain in demand, especially among businesses seeking to differentiate on service quality rather than price alone.

Story ideas and journalist angles

Technology

The Evolution of Tour Technology: From Radios to AI

Explore how tour guiding technology has evolved over 25 years, focusing on Vox Group's journey from simple radios to AI-powered platforms, and its implications for the travel industry.

Target audience technology, trade-industry Story potential 8/10 Business growth

Family Business Dynamics in Global Expansion: The Vox Group Experience

Investigate how Vox Group has successfully maintained its family business ethos while scaling globally, a rare feat in the business world, and its strategies for cultural consistency.

Target audience business-finance, trade-industry Story potential 7/10