Govt Launches Official India Trip Discovery & Planner App. And, It Works Great!

When a traveler (either from India or outside) visits a new place in India, either he needs to rely on his own research about the place or take help from tour operators who can misguide him for their personal profits. Often the traveler is left in the lurch, forced to spend way more than he initially estimated, making the whole idea of tourism seem bad.

But traveling is fun, and it needs encouragement from the Government.

Taking in the cues from practical problems faced by tourists in India, Ministry of Tourism has launched the official Android application for Incredible India’s unique tour planning and destination discovery platform: Tripigator.com. The app is currently available in the Google Playstore, and out of 65 reviews, average of 4.7 stars out of 5 is presently visible.

This mobile app is an extension of Tripigator.com, which was launched in May this year by Ministry of Tourism as an online platform for trip planning and destination discovery.

The developers of this app have taken into consideration the aesthetic aspects, as designing and UX is impeccable to say the least. The color combinations and user interface has been optimally chosen to support the Incredible India’s branding exercise and marketing objectives. The overall look and feel of the mobile app, along with usability is consistent with the official website: Tripigator.com, and the users who are used to this online platform will not feel out of place while using the mobile app.

How Will It Work?

After signing up, the user can choose from two options: Plan a Trip or Discover Places.

If we chose ‘Plan a Trip’ to start with, the app will ask the following information: Starting location, Destination, Interests, Date of Journey and Budget expectations. Based on the preference, the app’s algorithm will showcase the suggested trips, with costs involved (airfare/taxi+hotel) and the time required.

Once the trip has been planned, you can save it and collaborate with your friends by sharing it on Facebook or via emails. Users can also invite their friends from the app itself, and then edit the tour planning at the same time thereby creating a small eco-system of those who love traveling and venturing out.

What is really heartening to see is – the app does not come across as a Government app, but something that has been designed and developed by a private firm with lot of thought to user experience and functionality.

Now the platform is developed and mobile app launched as well, the success of this initiative by Ministry of Tourism shall depend on how updated and relevant is the information present in their servers.

Considering that tourism industry is ever dynamic, and always changing, tourists will expect that Government inputs information based on real human reviews, without any bias or prejudice, and keep on adding informative articles, opinions and insights from other travelers.