AN’S IDEA: Tubudd - A digital platform that connects travelers with carefully vetted local buddies
Looking for hotels, Airbnb hosts and travel booking sites.
+ What is your name?
Vu Thi Thai An
+ Are you submitting as a team or as an individual?
Individual submission
+ Where are you located?
Vietnam
+ In one sentence, tell us about your idea.
Tubudd is a digital platform connecting travellers and local buddies around the world. Tubudd is now available in nearly 10 countries and more than 20 cities in the world, especially in South East Asia and specifically Vietnam. Having nearly 1000 local buddies now, Tubudd is the solution for travellers to experience the local point of view and get closer to local culture with a human touch introduction. Tubudd is unique within the world of travel apps in that it does not help users book hotels or plan a trip. Instead, users can book a "guide" that will show them around the city and spend time with them. These guides live in the traveler's destination, and as such are deeply connected to the culture, locations, and history of the area.
+ Describe your ideal collaborative partner or partners.
My ideal collaborative partners would be hotels, Airbnb hosts and travel booking sites.
+ What is the most immediate or most pressing challenge you're facing right now?
Due to the covid-19, many of our partners are frozen to wait for Covid or gone bankcrupted so we are in research for new partnership again, start from the beginning after covid-19.
+ What is it about your idea that makes you feel good?
I will be able to help real local people to make money on their own terms, upgrade the hospitality of tourism industry in Vietnam and raise Vietnam's economic growth by that. I also create a more equal environment for males and females in the tourism industry.
+ What makes your idea innovative? Why has no one ever done it before?
We found the gap in the market where the travellers are being overcharged in Vietnam and South East Asia whilst being overloaded by information at the same time. On the other hand, there are many young Asian people who are great at foreign languages and understand their own culture and need a chance to work and express themselves, as well as meeting other people from other culture. This will create opportunities for young people to grow confident, gain work experience and also meet new people.
We are creating a digital platform to filter the best local buddy for the travellers. Every process and conversation will be carried out through the app. We found that booking a tour and meeting a tour guide didn't feel personal. We have created this app to change this.
The competitors do not usually use an app. Whilst some do, we feel that they haven't done this to a high enough standard. It is completely new trend, everyone is looking for a new experience but are struggling to sufficiently find an authentic experience. Also, they do not prioritise the traveller's safety and security as we do, we understand that this is a major issue with travelling therefore we have this down as our priority.
+ Who will benefit the most from your idea?
The local people, local community.
+ Ideally, when would you launch this idea?
I've already launched my idea
+ Indicate which UN goals your idea relates to?
Gender Equality Decent Work and Economic Growth Reduced Inequality
+ At Sigmund, we are interested in ideas at the intersection of People, Planet, and Profit. How does your idea relate to these three categories?
Gender Equality Decent Work and Economic Growth Reduced Inequality
+ Your website URL
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