Globe Explorer

Globe Explorer, an app providing users with an efficient and eco-friendly way to travel, to combat the ineffectiveness of current traveling apps and the environmental harm from the tourism industry. 

The specific problems we are trying to solve are the inefficiency of current travel apps/websites along with the environmental harm caused by the tourism industry. We realized that before traveling, people have to conduct extensive research on specific topics. For instance, prospective travelers have to individually search up specific details such as hotels, restaurants, flights, etc. Unfortunately, this takes up a lot of people’s time and makes researching before going on a vacation very tedious. Another problem we have identified is how damaging and detrimental the tourism industry is to the environment. For instance, emissions from air travel significantly pollute the air and tourists have been known to litter in other countries. The scale of both these problems is quite significant, since due to the boom in traveling as the COVID-19 pandemic is subsiding, more and more people are planning to travel. Our mobile app and website, the Globe Explorer, aims to solve both these problems.

Like we mentioned in the previous question, there are two problems we have identified: people have to conduct extensive research on their travel destinations and the second problem is how damaging the tourism industry is to the environment. Our solution to these problems, the mobile app and website, the Globe Explorer, aims to solve both these problems. The Globe Explorer is an all-in-one app/website that also promotes ecotourism.  The app/website offers features such as comparing flight options/prices by inserting your destination, booking hotels and find restaurants in a new city within your budget, scanning attractions and give information, finding places to stop at in road trips (rest areas, restaurants, hotels, attractions), sending notification at the right time to purchase tickets/when price drops, etc. The app is also centered around eco-friendly travel and recommends ecotourism friendly alternatives to its users. For instance, it promotes driving to destinations instead of flying, and offers activities like nature hikes or beach cleanups that people can do in their travel destinations. Our app will use mostly Machine Learning tactics and other technologies to do these actions.

The target population for our app is anyone who travels, which applies to countless people in today's society. Travelers can pertain to that be someone who takes a vacation every month or every 5 years, the average traveler can use our app to make their experience better. However, we would obviously focus on the avid traveler, since we are committed to promote ecotourism. Our target population is currently being under served due to travelers having to spend long amounts of time conducting extensive research due to traveling information being spread out in different apps/websites. Lucikly, our app Globe Explorer offers all the information they need in one place, making it incredibly efficient. Travelers are also being under served in the fact that they are unaware of how to stop their own carbon footprint when traveling. We have noticed that many people, specifically prospective travelers, are not aware of the harm they unknowingly cause to the natural world. With Globe Explorer, they are given ways to combat the pollution of commercial tourism through learning about environment friendly activities and alternatives when traveling. 

Firstly, all members of our team (Jenvi Patel, Tharika Madireddy, Shresta Damera) have firsthand experienced certain problems relating to traveling. We all have noticed how our parents have to spend lots of time individually searching up specific items, such as restaurants or booking flights. Moreover, we have also seen how tourists unknowingly ruin or trash the natural beauty of the countries they visit. We want to put an end to this, and promote eco-travel. Since we have all personally experienced these problems, we feel very passionate about our concept of the Globe Explorer. Additionally, the members of our team are involved in numerous extracurriculars that aid us in delivering our solution. One of the members of our team is involved in multiple clubs at our school that are centered around technology, specifically Computer Club and Technology Student Association. She has also taken computer science courses in our school. This gives her connections of teachers of students who have an expertise in technology, and knowledge about the field. All of our members are involved in our school’s Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) and DECA clubs, which gives us experience in business-related fields. We are all also involved in our school’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Association club which supplies us with knowledge about the entrepreneurship. A number of the teachers in our school also have backgrounds in the business, engineering, and STEM fields which can help us make our product a reality. 

Yes, we have conducted research with potential users. The research we have conducted began with us thinking about our own travel experiences and discussing what would have been improved upon. And when speaking about these problems with other our peers, classmates, teachers, parents, etc, we realized that everyone is running into the same problems. After that, we decided to make a Google Forms, and send it out. Our form was a poll and had a few questions relating to our problems, and whether people would be interested in an app like the Globe Explorer. The results of our form were incredibly helpful. Out of 80 responses, 66 people said that they experience problems of inefficiency when using current travel apps/websites, 62 said they noticed tourists to harm the environment, and 70 people said they would be interested in utilizing an app like the Globe Explorer. The positive results of our poll gave us important insight and explained the wants of potential users.

Our solution is incredibly innovative due to its unique incentive and all the features it offers. Most travel apps simply give users information about one, single aspect of the entire travel experience, such as booking flights. However, the Globe Explorer is different because it combines numerous  features of travel into a single place, making it very accessible and easy to use. Plus, it also focuses on ecotourism, which is a sustainable form of travel. Most traveling apps are about typical, commercial traveling and don’t necessarily support eco-friendly tourism. 

Our impact goal for next year is to spread awareness about ecotourism and to hopefully inspire our users to fight against it. With ecotourism being a major contributor to the greater issue of climate change and other environmental issues, we feel that through recommending eco-friendly travel activities and alternatives, travelers will be better educated on this issue and will start taking action in their own lives. A minor impact goal is to allow people to use their time more efficiently, with having their travel resources conveniently located in one area so that they can significantly cut back on their research time. 

The core technology that powers our solution is a software that makes it possible to have all the travel features in one place. Our solution relies on technology through the fact that it is an app and website, and that is how it is accessible to the public. Our app also greatly relies on Artificial Intelligence, specifically the Machine Learning aspect of it. For instance, our app would ask users to input the destination they are traveling to. Then, utilizing Machine Learning, our app would offer users ecotourism-related activities that are available in that specific area. Another example is that users can input the name of a specific attraction, such as the Statue of Liberty, into the Globe Explorer. Then, they would receive detailed information about it such as background/historical information, where it is location, when they can see it, etc. 

We have not launched our product yet, however we expect to serve at least 100 users in our first year. Through word of mouth and marketing, people will then be led to our app and website through simply looking it up or downloading it on the app store. 

Some barriers that currently exist for us to accomplish our goals in the next year is the difficulty of coding and creating our app. Our app utilizes numerous technological aspects, such as Machine Learning, and would take lots of time and effort to implement. 

We have not currently partnered with any organizations. However, we are planning to partner with organizations that focus on ecotourism, since we share similar interest. Such organizations include Global Sustainable Tourism Council and the The International Ecotourism Society. 

The basic economics of how our app will make money is by having a membership system with different tiers that have different price points. The base tier which is free will have the primary features, such as a map of your destination and different airline tickets. However, to unlock all the features, such as the scanner that provides specific information and more ML-oriented features, users will have to pay a monthly fee in order to access the full potential of the app. We will also run advertisements from other companies and brands that want to market their product on our app. Additionally, we will advertise ourselves on other social media platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook to reach a wider audience and to gain attention on our app, Globe Explorer.

Our path to financial sustainability is a combination of raising investment capital, selling in-app services, and sustained donations and grants.