[tomatocracy]

Depending on who's giving the tour, having the opportunity to interact with people actually working at a place (especially eg shift supervisors/foremen/etc - ie not senior management but experienced people who are still close enough to the "sharp end") and ask them questions is incredibly valuable in gaining an insight into how a business or industry works - site visits are a very important part of many investment decisions for this reason.

[helghardt]

Yes, I think the in-person experience helps you process the context of the work environment better. What type of people work there, what a typical day may look like, sheer scale required to do certain stuff. I remember vividly how enormous the wind terminal seemed up close. And realizing someone had to get the thing on the pole - and asking how they did that.