Role
UI/UX Designer
Timeline
2024 - 2 months
Overview
Tour Mate is a dynamic tourism platform designed specifically for the Saudi market, offering a seamless gateway to explore, book, and enjoy a diverse range of experiences. From housing and transportation to unique adventures like water activities and festivals, Tour Mate provides a personalized and intuitive user experience.
Powered by a robust cloud infrastructure, the app ensures fast, reliable, and secure bookings, empowering users to craft memorable journeys with ease.
Problem
Travelers in Saudi Arabia face difficulty finding a unified platform to explore and book diverse experiences. Existing solutions are fragmented, causing frustration and missed opportunities for both travelers and local businesses.
Tour Mate was designed to solve this by providing a seamless, user-friendly platform that simplifies discovering and booking experiences, ensuring a personalized and effortless journey.
The Data Speaks
Understanding User Needs for Tourism in Saudi Arabia
The goal was to uncover the key challenges travelers face when booking experiences and how the app can enhance their journey.
85% of users
expressed difficulty finding comprehensive platforms that combine all types of experiences in one place.
70% of users
want personalized recommendations based on their interests and previous activities.
90% of service providers
report struggling to attract new customers due to fragmented platforms and limited visibility.
face challenges booking local events, tours, and attractions, especially in less popular regions.
"It's difficult to find all types of activities in one place—I'm always jumping between apps."
"I want recommendations that match my interests, not just general suggestions."
"Finding unique local experiences is a challenge, especially outside the big cities."
"The booking process is often too complicated and confusing for small events and tours."
Research Synopsis
During research, I discovered that travelers often face challenges when planning and booking experiences across Saudi Arabia. Users struggled to find comprehensive platforms that offer personalized recommendations, intuitive booking systems, and a variety of experiences in one place. It became clear that a centralized, user-friendly app could simplify the process, providing curated suggestions and seamless booking tailored to individual preferences.
Pivot
Based on these insights, the focus shifted to enhancing the app's usability and personalization features. The goal became clear: simplify the user journey by integrating key functionalities like personalized recommendations, easier navigation, and real-time bookings. By prioritizing user experience and customization, the platform positions itself as a leading solution for exploring and booking Saudi Arabia’s diverse offerings.
After I compiled the outtakes from the research into the affinity map, I was able to create personas that represent the main user group.
User Scenario
I developed use cases for both user types—providers and tourists—to illustrate how each can benefit from the app. The app was designed to address the needs of experience providers listing their activities and tourists seeking unique experiences across Saudi Arabia.
The MVP simplifies the listing process for providers and the booking process for tourists, ensuring a seamless interaction between both. The platform offers real-time availability, personalized recommendations, and an easy-to-navigate interface for all users.
Epic
As a tourist, I need to explore and book experiences tailored to my interests in Saudi Arabia, while having a smooth and intuitive booking process.
As a provider, I need a platform to easily list, manage, and promote my experiences to a wide audience, ensuring visibility and streamlined bookings.
User Story
As a tourist, I need to input my preferences for activities and locations so the app can recommend experiences that match my interests.
As a provider, I need to list my experiences, manage availability, and track bookings in a simple, user-friendly interface to engage potential customers.
Acceptance Criteria
Ensure that the Tourist is able to:
Discover personalized experiences based on location, category, and preferences.
Book experiences with real-time availability and receive immediate confirmation.
Access all relevant details like maps, activity schedules, and reviews.
Ensure that the Provider is able to:
Easily list new experiences with detailed descriptions, media, and pricing.
Manage bookings and availability in real-time.
Track user reviews and update listings based on feedback.
Purchase Trigger
Sarah, an adventure enthusiast visiting Saudi Arabia, is looking for a desert safari. She sees a curated list of available experiences in her area that match her preferences, prompting her to book.
Second Thoughts
Sarah recalls how difficult it was to book activities during his last trip. She hesitates, but the app’s integrated booking and streamlined confirmation system assures her this experience will be different.
Is This a Match?
Sarah books an outdoor safari experience. The app suggests additional activities nearby, and the real-time availability and smooth booking process make her confident she’s chosen the right platform.
I led workshops with key stakeholders to define user stories for both providers and tourists, focusing on core interactions like managing listings and planning bookings. These sessions helped prioritize essential features, shaping the platform’s functionality to meet user needs efficiently and enhance the overall experience and usability of the TourMate app.
I identified and prioritized key features based on user feedback and development effort. This ensured a balance between delivering high-value experiences and efficient resource allocation.
TourMate's task flows were designed to enhance the experience for both tourists and providers, streamlining the entire journey from discovery to booking. Here are the main flows that highlight key interactions:
Design System
Defined the core visual and functional elements of the TourMate App. It serves as a foundation for creating a consistent and intuitive user experience, ensuring cohesion across all interfaces and interactions within the platform.
Components Library
This UI components library demonstrates the building blocks of the TourMate platform, ensuring consistency and usability. Each element, from customer management to events management, is designed for seamless integration, providing a cohesive user experience across the platform.
High-Fidelity Key Screens
These screens highlight the refined visual and functional elements of the TourMate platform.
TourMate’s dashboard offers users a quick view of experiences, saved activities, and categories. Providers can track bookings, sales, and reviews, while customizing widgets for an efficient workspace. Perfectly tailored for both users and providers to manage and explore with ease.
Discover nearby experiences in a visually engaging, swipe-up format. Moments offer an Instagram-like feed, showcasing exciting activities and events around you, making it easy to explore, save, or book experiences instantly.
Discover exciting adventures near you with our intuitive map and category filters. Find experiences tailored to your interests and location, ensuring every trip is unforgettable.
Effortlessly browse through diverse categories with intuitive filters. Dive into detailed pages for each experience, helping you make the best choice for your next adventure.
Easily discover top experiences in cities with curated attractions, live weather updates, and real-time “Moments.” The intuitive design helps users quickly explore categories and plan their trip seamlessly.
Easily update account details, view saved experiences, manage bookings, handle refunds, and access generated tickets for upcoming events.
Quick and easy sign-up for providers. Verify, link accounts, and start listing experiences right away.
Effortless Experience Listing
Create and manage your listings with ease. Select categories, add details, upload images, and share moments to attract potential customers.
Usability Testing
I carried out usability testing with 12 users to assess how intuitive TourMate’s interface is, focusing on booking experiences and overall app navigation.
98% of tasks
were completed smoothly, indicating an efficient user flow throughout the app.
85% of users
felt the navigation was straightforward, validating the app’s clean and organized structure.
80% effectively explored key features
such as browsing categories and adding experiences to their itinerary with minimal guidance.
"Users were unsure about how to access saved experiences."
FIX:
We added a clear “Saved” section to the main menu for quick access to favorite activities.
"Some users felt the category filters could be more precise."
FIX:
Improved the filter options with more specific categories and better location targeting.
"The Moments feature wasn’t fully understood."
FIX:
Introduced a brief in-app guide to explain how to navigate and interact with Moments.
"Booking confirmation emails were difficult to locate."
FIX:
Simplified the confirmation process and added an in-app notification for easy reference.
Scaling platform features
Expand TourMate’s functionality to include deeper integration with third-party services, offering an even more seamless experience for both providers and tourists.
Improving payment flexibility
Refine the payment system to support a wider range of methods, making it easier for users to complete transactions with various payment options.
Enhancing data insights
Implement advanced analytics that allow providers to track bookings, reviews, and sales performance to optimize their offerings.
This project highlighted the value of striking a balance between innovation and practicality. The initial goal was to create a feature-rich platform, but usability testing demonstrated the need for simplicity. By refining the user journey, TourMate has evolved into a more intuitive and effective tool for both providers and tourists, emphasizing ease of use without sacrificing functionality.
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