Planning for a trip is getting better and better with many new innovative applications flowing in. Some applications target to inspire travellers, some offer reviews, some offer things to do in a place, some offer budget / homestay accommodation etc. If you are looking for a pre-defined itinerary or create your own itinerary for your trip by looking at maps that have attractions / accommodations pinned in it, then you should be looking at Tripomatic, Czech Republic based startup.

We interviewed Jiri Parimucha, Project Manager, Tripomatic about the core problem the company is trying to solve, their past challenges and how they overcame it, future plans for Tripomatic that Jiri shared exclusively with Travopia.

Read the interview below.

What is Tripomatic into and what problem are you trying to solve?

Tripomatic is the answer to a traveler’s plea for inspiration and planning. Taking the tension out of organizing a trip, Tripomatic offers users a wealth of ideas, from things to do, places to go, sights to see and much more.

Not only users can checkout the sights and attractions in their chosen destination, they can also add them to their own itinerary. As they do, Tripomatic helps them build their perfect trip; scheduling attractions, transportation and hotel bookings into their day and offering valuable information and a personalized itinerary. And with the mobile app, designed to work even offline, it’s easy to use on the go as well.

This stress-free planning tool not only saves a lot of time (and nerves) but also helps travelers make informed decisions about their trip, making the whole planning process pleasant and enjoyable.

When Tripomatic was founded and tell us about the founders.

Husband and wife team, Lukas and Barbora Nevosad, co-founded Tripomatic in the fall of 2010, when the stress of organizing a trip to Switzerland gave birth to the idea. The couple met on a Business Studies course in Jyvaskyla, Finland in 2005 before moving to Lulea, Sweden to study e-commerce.

They launched Tripomatic in July 2011 and now run a team of twenty enthusiasts from their offices in Brno, Czech Republic.

Who all are your competitors?

Generally, we compete with those who make trip planning and guidance of travelers during a trip easier.

How is your service different from your competitors?

Our Unique Selling Point is ‘convenient freedom’. Tripomatic offers users the freedom to design their own perfect holiday. We simply guide with inspiration & information. We also offer complete trips, pre-planned for users based on a couple of questions. Users can then modify every segment of their trip.

When there are hundreds of trip planning apps and websites in the market, why do you think travelers will use Tripomatic?

Because Tripomatic is the most convenient way of creating travel itineraries deployed to particular days and visualized on the map.

Any information you can share with us on funding?

So far, Tripomatic has been supported by revenue from our other projects.

What’s your revenue model?

Although monetization of users is not our primary goal, our source of revenue is affiliate marketing. We enable our users to connect with subjects offering services they might consider useful and relevant to their trip; hotels, travel agents, car rentals, tours etc. We also sell offline data packages and city guides in our mobile application.

What were the challenges you faced in the past and how did you overcome them?

When we started in June 2011, we offered a website based travel planner only. In the first year, we struggled a bit to get traction. We underestimated the importance of mobile devices in the travel industry, which set us back a few months. However, since the launch of the Tripomatic iPhone app in May 2012, our user base has grown significantly and we are back on track.

How are customers reacting to Tripomatic so far?

We receive a lot of feedbacks from our users and so far the response has been very positive. We even ask selected users personally about their experience using Tripomatic, mainly about the areas we can improve in, and that’s what helps us shaping the future development.

What’s the plan for Tripomatic for next 18-24 months?

Based on numerous feedbacks, we have been preparing a whole new web planner (and you are the first to know!). It is going to be simpler as to UI, but yet offering much more possibilities and functions. We have also been working on an Android app, which is going to be launched in March.