Travel along with friends

SOCIAL MEDIUM

It’s red wine along with grilled chicken’ or ‘It’s a Gucci bag’...these are few of the status updates on Facebook or on BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) while travelling.

The concept of social travel is one of the hottest topics in the industry at the moment which makes it both useful and desirable to consumers.

According to a survey by Mobile Device Travel Survey by TripAdvisor, smart phones and tablets have become essential travel accessories as more and more Indians throw their ‘plain’ mobile phones for smarter devices. While 65% people said they possess a smart phone, 22% confess to being proud owners of a tablet.

According to Nikhil Ganju, Country Manager, TripAdvisor India, “For tech savvy Indians, mobile devices have become an integral part of their holidays. Starting from pre–trip research on destinations, attractions, hotels to actual booking accommodation or flights for the trip, to location based services at the holiday destination; the mobile fits all in the palm of your hand. Further, the ‘have-it-all’ mobiles today also serve as a navigation tool, camera, gaming device, local directory, the list is exhaustive.”

According to the survey the six most downloaded Travel Apps are TripAdvisor, Google Maps, MakeMyTrip, Blackberry travel, IRCTC and Cleartrip. It also revealed that Bangalore leads among metros with the highest number of smart phone users (74%) followed by Delhi (72%) and Mumbai (70%). Despite being an IT haven, Hyderabad finished last with 57% respondents claiming to own a smart mobile device.

Kshipra Simon, a professional photographer is a BBM addict, “I keep posting things frequently on BBM. I even shop for my friends when I go abroad. I click pictures and send them to friends immediately for their concent and purchase the product immediately. It’s a matter of seconds now.”

To add to the social travelling industry MakeMyTrip, announced the launch of Tripalong, a revolutionary social application developed exclusively for travellers. Tripalong integrates with your favourite social networks and maps your travel itinerary to help connect with friends while travelling.

Users enter the details of their flights on Tripalong and are notified if they are ‘intersecting’ with members from their social network (who are also Tripalong members). Once users share their flight details they can catch up with their friends who may be on the same flight, at the airport and even in the city they are visiting.

Keyur Joshi, COO and Co-Founder, MakeMyTrip, said, “We are extremely delighted to introduce Tripalong to India. This is a social application that will enhance the ‘fun’ quotient of your travel experiences. 

A unique platform to engage with old friends and meet new people, Tripalong extends our brand promise of creating memories unlimited!” The survey found that taking/sharing photos, navigation and games were the top three things travellers use their mobile while travelling other than calls & texting.

Ramesh Srivats, MD and CEO of TenTenTen Digital Products, adds, “Social networks are more than just new ‘media’. They have changed the very way in which people interact with each other. So there’s no point in using them as yet another channel to pump brand messages. Tripalong is useful and cool and leverages the customer’s own networks to make his or her travel a lot more fun.”