DISSATISFACTION with how tour operators are presenting their itineraries to clients is what led travel entrepreneur Tim Russell to create Tineri, a B2B mobile communication, marketing and itinerary app for travel providers to engage with their customers in real time both in-destination and post-trip.
“Mobile is a logical place to put tour itineraries,” said Russell, Tineri’s founder and CEO. “Rather than issue pdfs or old-fashioned paper itineraries, which can be 40-60 pages long, Tineri presents itineraries in an interactive, mobile format.”
Besides trip itineraries, Tineri also provides pop-up destination details, guide and hotel information, messaging capabilities between office personnel, guides as well as travellers via text, email, chat, voice, plus video and document storage.
Tour operators are also able to solicit instant feedback from clients through the app, while a content management system enables the import of itineraries from back-office solutions as well as Word and Excel formats.
Currently in its beta stage, the app is expected to be officially launched by early October. The Bangkok-based Tineri team has engaged DMC Trails of Indochina as development partner, while adventure travel specialist Grasshopper Adventures and food walks startup Taste of Thailand are involved as beta testers.
“We have been getting good feedback and have conducted a lot of sales calls and demonstrations in the last couple of weeks,” Russell told TTG Asia e-Daily. “Our initial target will be tour operators in South-east Asia, but we have intentions to expand it globally within the next six months.
Russell aims to get 30 to 40 tour companies signed up for Tineri by 1Q2017 and diversify into other travel segments like business, education and wellness/medical tourism.
Travel providers will be charged a monthly subscription based on the number of passengers using the app, with additional fees for white-label integration.
Russell, who had previously worked at companies such as Remote Lands, Exo Travel and Open Destinations, is joined by advisor Greg Duffell, former CEO of PATA, and business development director Alan Lammin.
