2008-11-18

PhoCusWright Travel Innovator: Triporati

Triportati is a combination of a trip planning tool and a recommendation engine. Triporati uses professional authors to set 62 attributes to over 1200 destinations world wide. The idea is that these 62 attributes become the DNA for vacations. Along with these attributes, Triporati combines the destinations with appropriate attractions and activities. The effect being that when a traveler does a search for a specific type of activity, the system can make recommendations on destinations that match their criteria as opposed to forcing the traveler to choose a destination from a list.

The site has a combination of mapping as well as ajax and other features that combine to narrow down the search results to a top 5 type list. This means that if a traveler likes a particular destination, the system can actually recommend similar destinations based on the DNA and how closely the destination matches the traveler’s profile as far as desired activity choices.

At the time of posting, Triporati was one the top 6 demonstrators and will be presenting their 5 minutes of fame at the center stage on Wednesday.

Questions:

1. There are thousands of tours, activities, and attractions at destinations that are not represented in systems but can have a significant influence on the DNA of a destination. Has Triporati thought about how they might get this data into the mix in order to provide a richer selection for travelers?

2. I like the idea of choosing a destination based on activity choices. Are there plans to integrate booking into the mix and thereby move the purchase further forward in the seach, shop, buy cycle.

This post was originally posted by Stephen Joyce @ Travel & Tourism Technology Trends.
> Read the original post here