When will the travel industry recover after the pandemic? Which places will be the most attractive destinations? What are travel trends to watch in the near future and how the new tech will shape them?
I had a chance to discuss those questions with Ilya Rouss, a long-time traveler, entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Teleporting, a marketplace for non-mainstream traveling experiences.
Before we dive into the work you do for modern experience seekers, let’s talk about your background.
Sure. I studied marketing at the University of Palermo and sports communications at the University of Buenos Aires. My first attempts at starting a business happened while I was still a student. At some point in life I combined the passion for business with my love for sports and communications and founded a media agency in 2013. The list of our clients included the Moto GP superstar Jorge Lorenzo and other pro-athletes, Formula 1, Red Bull, Yamaha, and Mercedes-Benz.
As an entrepreneur, I tried my hand at different things, like opening a restaurant and starting a bike shop. All in all, I have over 15 years of experience in tech, sports marketing, computer production, and the automotive industry. At the moment I'm a partner at Xplusone APP, a company that develops mobile applications for curated marketplaces in various verticals, and a co-founder of the automotive corporation EBRO. Teleporting, a marketplace for non-mainstream traveling experiences, is the latest addition to my credentials.
Where did you get the idea of Teleporting? What inspired you to create an app that connects people with travel companies and amusement and travel providers?
Well, there are a few things that inspired me to create Teleporting. First of all, as a devoted traveler, I see how the traveling sector is slowly but surely recovering after the COVID-19 pandemic. I see how I can assist this growth. After the long months of lockdowns, people are now hungry to experience the outside world, and I can relate to this.
Secondly, I can tell that modern travelers, mostly Millennials and Gen Zs, have changed their views on what they expect from a proper trip. They are used to organizing their lives with the help of technology but they want to have real-life experiences which they now appreciate much more than before the pandemic. Actually, there's a study proving that experiences – good memories about them, to be more exact – bring more long-term satisfaction than acquiring new material possessions.
Besides, it's impossible to impress these travelers with, let's say, just a view of the Eiffel Tower because it's very likely that they've already seen it either in real life or on the internet. They want something deeper and more exclusive.
To conclude, I want to mention my strong belief that people thrive from offline communication with each other. We are still looking for meaningful connections and interesting people. Recently there was research showing that the best way for people to socialize is to do it in-person because it brings more joy than socializing online. In addition, a few years ago there was a study saying we become happier from experiences exactly because they let us connect with others.
The app allows like-minded people to connect online and share their adventures offline using the "Experience Sharing" concept. Can you explain how it works?
Teleporting allows travelers to both invite friends to share experiences and create new connections by joining group experiences with other users of the app. When you decide to book an experience, you get access to the chat with other participants, so that you can communicate before the shared adventure and exchange photographs and videos in the process and after it.
Who’s your target audience? How does your app protect users' personal data?
We see modern travelers as our target audience. They are mostly Millenials and Gen Zs, often they are digital nomads with a remote job. They are on good terms with technology and use it on a daily basis. They appreciate the opportunity to get immersed into experiences and are eager to meet like-minded people.
On Teleporting, users decide themselves what data they share with others. We don't give their data away to third parties, except the necessary minimum we need to share with the experience providers on the platform. Teleporting is fully compliant with GDPR and other local regulations on data protection.
What makes Teleporting different from other popular solutions?
We focus on exclusive tours, unique experiences, and non-mainstream venues. Moreover, we manually moderate offers which get on the platform to make sure that everything is up to our quite high standards. It's not that Teleporting simply connects experience providers with experience seekers, we want our travelers to enjoy the process right from the moment they join the app. And, of course, we promote socializing and help people find new buddies and strengthen the existing relationships through traveling.
How can digital nomads, travelers, and local economies benefit from your marketplace?
Let's skip the benefits that I already mentioned and focus on local economies. Our main aim is to provide travelers with unique and exclusive experiences that are almost never included in an average package tour. Access to non-mainstream locations, rare excursions, and deep cultural knowledge of any given country or a region can be granted only by turning to its natives and small local businesses. So, by this, we also promote sustainable traveling.
Why does empathy matter so much in the travel industry?
Empathy matters everywhere. However, if we talk about the travel industry, it's all about people connecting and communicating with each other. Moreover, these people belong to different cultures and traditions which makes empathy even more crucial.
Even if you are highly introverted and travel solo, you have to contact those who help you along the way – airport and hotel staff, sellers on a local market, tour guides, etc. If you are on the side of those who provide services for travelers, you also need empathy because, actually, travelers are in a vulnerable position because they immerse themselves into unfamiliar circumstances and depend on you.
What are the most powerful current travel tech trends that will also affect offline tourism?
Well, many experts are talking about airports and hotels becoming better technologically equipped in the nearest future. It will make traveling more convenient and comfortable. I especially like the fact that there are tech companies, like SITA and Roadie, aiming to improve the experience with lost luggage. Probably, at some point this issue will be gone completely due to technological solutions. I'm also quite enthusiastic about VR and AR. Just imagine that you can explore hotel rooms in VR before booking or try on some medieval jewelry from a museum's exposition with the help of AR.
What are the next goals for Teleporting? Are you planning to add new features?
We are quite ambitious regarding our plans for this year and I will be glad to share the results with you once all Teleporting features are fully active. Every start-up has its own milestones to cross and challenges to overcome. As for now I am happy with the direction we are talking and with the team of professionals involved in the project.