This app aims at bringing local culture and local cuisine offered by local entrepreneurs straight into the smartphones of tourists. People-First Tourism links entrepreneurs trying to pursue dignified and sustainable livelihoods through tourism with adventurous tourists who are interested in unique off beat experiences. This projects provides tourists with an opportunity to experience activities such as beekeeping, overnight farm stay, honey making etc . Our app provides a way in which tourists can locate and schedule services using their smartphones. Although as of now this app does not provide a payment feature, it is an option that People-First Tourism may consider implementing in the future. This app has been developed to complement the web app of People-First Tourism.
How does the app work?
Each tourist is required to register with People-First Tourism before being able to use the services of the app. The app also provides a "Register Now" option.
Once the user is logged in, he will be able to view three tabs-Dashboard, Near Me and Feedback.
The Dashboard
This is the tab that the user will see when he launches the app. The Dashboard provides three features-My Offers, My Schedule and My History. These three features are provided in the form of an expandable list. Selecting one of the features would open up a list of services in each category.
- My Offers-This feature will show the user the list of services he has requested for along with the requested date and the offer status. The offer status can be Pending-the service provider has not yet approved(or rejected) the user's request to avail the offer, Accepted-the service provides has accepted the user's request, Denied-the service provider has denied the user's request, Cancelled-the user has cancelled his request. Once the status becomes Accepted, the user will have to go the People-First Tourism website and pay for the service after which that service will automatically be moved from the My offers list to the My Schedule list.
- My Schedule-This feature will show the user all the services which he has scheduled and paid for along with their date and time. Clicking on a service will open up a map which would display the route from the user's current location to the service.
- My History-This feature will show the user all the services he has availed in the past.
Near Me
Switching to this tab will provide a list of experiences that are available in the area of the user. The user's GPS co-ordinates are obtained based on which a list of services within a 50 mile radius will be displayed. This tab also provides a toggle between list view and map view of the services that appear in the list. Clicking on an individual service will plot the route from the user's current position to the service.
Feedback
This tab enables the user to upload their suggestions and experience with the service to the People-First Tourism database. For now, the comments and experiences will simple be entered into the database. This feedback will be communicated to the entrepreneurs by People-First Tourism and in the future, may be displayed along with the service description in the web app.