Travel-Tribe
A social network app that acts as a travel diary to explore where your friends have travelled and to share your own travel content
Overview
Millions of people travel on a daily basis, for a variety of reasons. Year after year, there has been an increase in international travel and particularly in travel for leisure, self-exploration, etc. Millennials are reported to travel the most out of any age group, with an average of 35 days per year, followed by 29 days per year for Generation Z. Travelers have relied on social media when researching destinations, hotels, vacation activities, attractions, and restaurants. 86% of people have said they’ve become interested in a specific location after seeing user-generated content, most of whom saying that user-generated content is the most influential. More than half of travelers check into or tag a location while on vacation, and the majority will post photos and videos on social media while still on vacation, or upon returning. Though many people trust general reviews, there is more of a sense of trust with word-of-mouth recommendations and particularly those coming from people you personally know.
I am
an avid traveler
I am trying to
see where people in my network have traveled to for inspiration and advice regarding future travel, while also sharing my own travel content and tips
But
I have to manually ask around to see if anyone has been to a city I’m planning to travel to so I could ask for any helpful tips on what to do/where to stay etc.
Because
social media platforms are filled with content that covers a multitude of interests - food, beauty, travel, fashion etc - that I would have to do my own filtering to see content related to travel and more specially travel from those in my network
Which makes me feel
overwhelmed with general reviews/articles when I would really trust word-of-mouth recommendations and suggestions
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Proposed Solution
Seeing as apps such as Instagram and Tiktok cover a multitude of interests - food, fashion, travel, e-commerce, etc - I am proposing an app that would filter all this to display travel content only. Moreover, rather than wondering which of your friends/family have been somewhere, or relying on strangers for recommendations, this app that would connect to your social network and show you those in your network who have visited your proposed destination and what they did/what they recommend, while offering the opportunity to ask for input and advice. The app would act as a digital travel diary for each user while also offering a means to connect with those in your network regarding must-see destinations and activities, as well as tips on best times and ways to navigate certain locations.
Research
My research began with a competitive analysis to understand what works well and what doesn’t across different social, photo-sharing apps. I then conducted user surveys and one-on-one interviews to gain more qualitative data people’s pain points and needs when it comes to navigating apps such as this.
Findings
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Most apps included several interests in addition to travel, such as food, beauty, and fashion, which led to more effort from users to find and filter travel content.
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Most users expressed more appreciation for user-generated content and that significantly impacted their interest in that destination/location.
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Users wanted the chance to categorize their travel photos on a platform instead of them getting lost among all the other photos in their photo album.
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Users expressed interest in still getting to see stranger’s feeds and posts, not just those in their close network.
Key Pain Points:
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Social apps being too overwhelming covering multiple interests and categories
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Having to do too much online research to look into specific trips and destinations
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Not trusting strangers’ opinions or being conflicted by very mixed reviews
User Personas
Based on the qualitative data gathered from the surveys and interviews, I could further segment them into two user personas and break down their attributes, goals, needs, and pain points. It was important to cover both millennials and Gen Z in this particular case since they are the main target audience and each generation may look for different things on the app.
Creating Structure
User Flow
Low-Fidelity Prototype
Low-Fidelity testing helped visualize what the interface would look like and how different components would be placed in relation to one another. I took inspiration from successful interfaces with the goal to create a seamless flow for the user and to mitigate any points of hesitation or confusion.
High-Fidelity Prototype
Travel-Tribe's high-fidelity prototype provides a platform for users to share their travel content and view travel content from their close network. Users can ask for recommendations and suggestions from those they trust the most — family and friends — regarding trips they plan to take or destinations and cultural landmarks they plan to visit. Moreover, fellow users’ digital travel diaries may act as a source of inspiration with the rising popularity of user generated content on social media apps.
Users found the app to be very intuitive and easy to use. They liked being able to see users’ travel statistics and that posts could be grouped into “trips” which make it easier for a user looking for content at a specific destination. A few users were curious about what the profile set up process would be like for an app like this, which then led me to expand further into the set up flow for a user signing up for the first time.
