HERALD: What is your company all about?
TEAM TRIPERA: We make apps for taxi drivers to sell excursion activities in tourist state of Goa. Tripera aggregates tourist excursion activities on to one single platform. We have tie ups with spas, restaurants, casinos, night-life outlets, water sports and other activities of interest to tourists. Entry tickets can be purchased online and redeemed at the counter of the service provider. The app is designed to be used by taxi driver to sell the tickets and earn a part of the referral commission thereby generating revenues to the State and also extra income for local taxi drivers.
HERALD: How is it different from other apps?
TT: This is one of a kind application that aggregates all the excursion activities and gets them onto one single platform. The app is made available to the taxi drivers. A taxi driver is a trusted source of connect and guide to the tourists and he becomes the ambassador. Taxi driver can suggest activities and purchase tickets on behalf of the tourists thereby earning a commission to the taxi drivers.
HERALD: How does your company help Goans?
TT: Since the taxi driver has an app with all activities, he can showcase all to the tourists. He makes the booking thereby generating more revenues to the State and helps himself to supplement his own income. Since it is open to all taxi drivers, it helps Goans in a big way.
HERALD: Who are your major customers?
TT: Our major customer base is tourists travelling with taxi drivers. We consider both domestic and foreign tourists to be our potential customers. When tourists arrive in the State, their first point of contact is the taxi driver who also happens to be their first guide. Normally tourists end up purchasing as per the recommendations of the taxi driver and also gets additional discounts when the tourist books through the taxi driver.
HERALD: What innovation have you added in your product?
TT: Our USP is our business to business sales strategy. People buy through references and that is the key to our sales. We do not want to bypass the existing system, rather add to the benefit of all with the touch of information technology.
HERALD: How is the Goa market?
TT: Goa is a wonderful test market for us. Our team is strong and is helping us get connected to every taxi driver as we genuinely intend to add to their revenues. Tourists come to Goa from various cultures and across the globe. That is helping us understand the buying patterns and interests of various people. Tourists of various age groups come to the State. That is a lot of data for us to track usage patterns. After successful launch in Goa we intend to expand our services to other States starting next year.
HERALD: Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
TT: We are currently focusing on gathering people in the ecosystem together and establish a system that facilitates the tourism activities. After successful launch this year in Goa, we intend to explore tourist destinations and metros in India and establish sign ups with maximum businesses. While the future course in unclear, we would be open to acquisition if there is a good proposal. However we are currently focusing on establishing a standard in the industry.
