Development of Traveling Friends Search Service Through Mobile Application “Destinasi”

Abstract

Traveling is a moving activity with the aim of recreation. The purposes of traveling are usually to relax, explore, discover or learn at someplace. A solo traveler is someone who enjoys traveling alone, while a group traveler is someone who travels together with other fellow travelers. When people want to travel together but do not have a partner to go to, a travel agency is often an option to get a traveling partner. For some people, a travel agency is inflexible, making the trip unenjoyable. Moreover, the fees charged to agents and tour guides are not ideal for backpackers with a low budget. This research aims to develop an application-based traveling companion search service called "Destinasi". The research method is carried out by distributing questionnaires to the traveler communities in Indonesia using Google Forms to find out how the traveler's interest is in developing application-based services. All the responses will be contributed as the input for the application features. The results show that some of the essential application features for Indonesian travelers are a tour guide, information on traveling places, sharing stories, ratings, selection of partners based on gender, chat, news, nature lovers, and mystical tours.