Dreaming of a winter getaway? Are the sands of the Caribbean calling or the cities of Europe? Not sure? You’re not alone, at least according to statistics cited by travel website entrepreneurs. They’re ready to recommend the perfect destination.
“Six months before traveling, 60 percent of people are unsure of their destination,’’ said Reuven Levitt, Tripbase.com cofounder. “Three to four months before, 30 percent are unsure of where they want to go. There’s a lot of wondering or not knowing.’’
Seeing opportunity, Levitt helped develop the three-year-old website. “Tell us what you like. We’ll tell you where to travel,’’ Tripbase.com proclaims, then introduces a matchmaking approach similar to dating websites. Travelers put in their departure city and trip length, then rank the relative importance of night life, dining, shopping, nature, and attractions. Drawing from thousands of information sources, the site’s recommendation engine at spits out a list of potential destinations.
Tripbase.com operates in the growing field of “travel inspiration’’ sites, though Levitt views his product as providing more answers than inspiration. Wanderfly.com entered the fray in mid-October with its catchy “Spark your journey’’ tagline and cheery graphics.
Such sites hope to make destination searches more fun than tedious, taking on a challenge in the age of information overload. With seven continents offering every destination imaginable and aggressive marketing touting every deal imaginable, on-line searches can easily overwhelm and frustrate would-be travelers. Sites like Tripbase and Wanderfly aim to cut through the clutter.
“We built this site to help people narrow down their choices and get a better sense of what they can do,’’ said Cezary Pietrzak, Wanderfly.com cofounder. “And we built it with simplicity in mind. It’s meant to be very visual and exciting and to get people thinking about the places they want to go.’’
So, do travel inspiration sites represent the future of vacation planning? Can they be easy to use, yet gather enough personal preferences for good recommendations? Trying out Tripbase.com and Wanderfly.com, I found they provided interesting options, though nothing I rushed to book, and they can point travelers in the right direction.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been adding to a list of places I’d like to visit, some feasible, some fanciful. Galápagos, Morocco, Spain, Australia, Argentina, Antarctica, Bali, Wyoming, Hawaii, Alaska, for starters.
Mapped out, my wish list is the definition of scattershot. I was skeptical an online site could make sense of my preferences and find a place I would enjoy but hadn’t considered.
