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CityPal:
A service designed for
solo travelers
Project by
Wang Zhaoyu
Academic Tutor
Laura Galluzzo

Background Research Case Study Concept Touchpoints
The rise of the ‘Solo economy’
Among the many social demographics targeted by
retailers and service suppliers, the solo consumer is
one of the most powerful, yet overlooked.

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“It’s a huge and hugely lucrative market: the
number of people traveling solo has increased by
60% since 2009 and that number is growing.”
Andy Fairburn
Marketing Manager of Solos Holidays

24%15%
2013
Base:(8894)
2015
Base:(9997)
Solo travel is one of the key trends of 2017.
Background Research Case Study Concept Touchpoints
The Growing Market of the ‘Solo Traveler’

• A 15-minute online survey was conducted
among males and females, 18+, who have
taken at least one trip away from home, in the
past two years.
• The survey was in field from October 2-7, 2017
• A total of n=813 surveys were completed.
Background Research Case Study Concept Touchpoints
Questionnaire

Background Research Case Study Concept Touchpoints
YES.71.2%
NO.28.8%
81.3%
18.7%
Want to try.
Not interested.
Have you ever tried to travel alone? Do you want to try traveling alone?
Overview
18-25
26-3018-25 31-40 41-50 51-60 over 60
28.8% 21.5% 29.8%
7.9% 7.1%
4.8%
41.5%58.5%

Relax and escape.
Like the feeling of traveling alone.
Avoid the inconvenience of team travel.
Challenge yourself.
Make new friends.
It is difficult to find partners.
You can come and go as you please.
57.5%
56.3%
44.3%
56.3%
40.7%
35.7%
1.4%
Background Research Case Study Concept Touchpoints
Motivation Analysis
“I've had many nice encounters that I
probably wouldn't have had when I
travelled with somebody else!”
“It’s freeing, strengthening, enriching.”

Background Research Case Study Concept Touchpoints
Service Analysis
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Navigation
&Maps
Google Map
Map Quest
Maps.me
Rome2rio
Here We Go
73
6
3
2
1
18
2
1
33
2
2
2
1
1 19
19
13
10
5
14
2
2
1
1
1
4
2
2
1
1
1
1
3 3
1
1 1 4
2
1Facebook
Whatsapp
Reddit
Tripadvisor
Wikicamp
Lonely Planet
Journeywoman
Visitcity
Meetup Booking
Hostelworld
Courchsurfing
Airbnb
Agoda
Skyscanner
Jet Blue
Bravofly
Aerobilet
Cheapflight
Hopper
Sta Travel
Expedia
Traveloka
Kayak
Mapcity
Orbitz
Momondo
Google
Translation
Yelp
Happy Cow
Tripit Windyty Uber
Grab
Workaway
Travel
Website
Event Accommodation Flight Search Site Language Restaurant Tripplanner Weather Carsharing VolunteerCommunication

Expenses
Safety
Have someone else to
share experience with
Isolation after a while
No one to watch your things
when using bathroom
Get sick while travelling
Take pictures of myself
Itinerary
Some tours only take
bookings for 2 people.
Lack of conversation
Language barrier
Decision-making
What is the most difficult thing during the solo trip?
Background Research Case Study Concept Touchpoints
Painpoints Analysis
"Itinerary " "Decision-making"
"Have no one else to share
experience with"
"Lack of conversation"
“Isolation after a while"
"No one to watch your things when using
bathroom"
“Take pictures of myself"
"Language barrier"

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Social behavior in travel contributes to its purpose
in a good user experience, making it easier to
narrow the distance between people than social
networking sites.

Find A Travel Partner
- Value Proposition:
Using users’ information to match other travelers
and connect with those who have similar interests
or same destinations
- Information Flow:
From the solo travelers to the solo travelers
- Categories:
Gender/ Nationality/ Nearby/ Match
Background Research Case Study Concept Touchpoints
Tourlina
Backpackr

Get Connection With Locals
- Value Proposition:
Reusing unoccupied local tangible and intangible
resource and transfer their value to the travelers
- Information Flow:
From the locals to the solo travelers
- Categories:
Tour/ Accommodations/ Food/ Transportation
Background Research Case Study Concept Touchpoints
Couchsurfing Airbnb
EatWith Showaround

Lived Experience Sharing
- Value Proposition:
Highlighting the value of first-hand experience and
creating references based on their experience
- Information Flow:
From the experienced people to non-experienced ones
- Categories:
Events/ Vacation/ Rentals/ Restaurants/ Destinations
Background Research Case Study Concept Touchpoints
TripAdvisor
Yelp
Meet up

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Background Research Case Study Concept Touchpoints
Other Travelers
Online
Locals
Offline

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Background Research Case Study Concept Touchpoints
LOST IN THE STREAM OF THOUSANDS

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Each solo traveler is both a tourist
and a local for a city.

Background Research Case Study Concept Touchpoints
INFORMATION FLOWS
MATERIALS FLOWS
Want to travel
to Shanghai, China
Want to travel
to Milan, Italy
Living in Milan,
Italy
Living in
Shanghai, China
Citypal
GENERAL TOPIC:
Getting to know destinations through a cultural exchange.
SPECIFIC TOPIC:
Create a solo travelers’ network to see the world with a cultural
exchange between travelers and locals.
CityPal
Departure Like Locals, Return Like Visitors

Sharing the journey with strangers is a
potential safety hazard.
Personal preferences and travel planning
may be completely different, mutual
interaction takes time.
Most solo travelers do not like to use existing
matching services.
“I don’t want to connect with anyone, love
being solo.”
Background Research Case Study Concept Touchpoints
Timely and effectively targeted help in real
time.
Fully enjoy solo traveling while having the
opportunity to get a connection with locals.
Being connected to someone, ease loneliness.
Create more contacts and more unique
memories.
Build solo travelers community, together to
define the experience of solo trip.
The existing matching service CityPal