AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands – The World Youth Student & Educational Travel Confederation (WYSE), the world’s most powerful network of youth and student travel professionals, is pleased to announce Triposo won its App Yap contest for best app in the youth and student travel industry.
The App Yap competition challenges technology and travel companies to develop the best app in the youth travel industry, a global market currently worth US$173 billion a year. Triposo’s success was announced at the World Youth Student Travel Conference in San Diego, California, where Keval Desai, former Google Director of Product Management and on Triposo’s Board, accepted the award on Triposo’s behalf.
“At Triposo, we’re continuously developing our app to keep exploration and spontaneity – what we consider the essence of travel – in the picture. We are honored to have won this award. The contest was an excellent opportunity to connect with industry partners, as well as young travelers,” said Richard Osinga, who founded Triposo along with ex-Googlers Jon Tirsen and Douwe Osinga.
Triposo’s mobile travel app provides relevant, personalized travel recommendations to consumers – think of an online travel guide that responds to the user’s location and which can also be accessed offline.
The App Yap contest was created to be in line with young traveler’s heavy use of social media. The online travel app market is huge and vital and statistics bear this out. A May 2012 Nielsen study, “Courting Today’s Mobile Consumer,” shows that in the US, travel apps lead the mobile app industry in usage, growing at 116% (versus 84% for overall app use.) And according to the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, 45% of American adults own a smartphone – but the figure rises to 66% for young adults aged 18 to 29.
“These trends underline the fundamental ‘mobile’ nature of travel. Young people are enthusiastically embracing technology and using travel mobile apps as a resource while in transit. We congratulate Triposo on winning with such a quality app, and are excited to see what they will produce next,” said Espen Falkenhaug, Director General of WYSE Travel Confederation.
