EasyTas

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  Business Model Canvas

Inspiration

The high unemployment rate is an issue that I have observed ever since I arrived in Tasmania. As I have spent time in metro areas and had the opportunities to earn, I have been able to engage with the local community. I understand how the lack of employment can be a major factor in insecurity and social isolation. I also understand that the Tasmanian economy can be boosted by the inflow of foreign capital brought by tourists from the rising Asian countries. I am therefore endeavouring to build an app that can solve the anxieties of tourists who are not proficient in the English language and directs them to visit beautiful but less well-known remote areas of Tasmania.

EasyTas provides a platform that overseas tourists can use to understand what Tasmania can offer, in their native languages. Staff from Tourism Tasmania will help tourists install the app onto their mobile devices once they arrive in Tasmania in Hobart, Launceston or Devonport. Tourists can scan the app at businesses that participate in the scheme, which works as a loyalty system. When a certain amount of points is accumulated, they would be provided with options of packages for travel in less well-known areas. Tourists can decide using the information provided by the businesses and book the packages through the app. Once the booking is finished, they can travel to that location using maps developed by the map app developers of their own countries, which is a localisation consideration for tourists who are more comfortable with their own apps.

How I built it

I did not start by thinking about the app, rather I paid attention on how to attract people from a particular country to come to Tasmania. I dissect the market into 3 segments, 1) those who are not in Australia, and have not been to Tasmania, 2) those who are in Australia, but have not been to Tasmania, and 3) those who have been to Tasmania. The first step would be to get people to come to Tasmania by educating the market through key opinion leaders on local social media. If interests are aroused, people will be directed to the official Tourism Tasmania website and links to flight companies would be provided for ticket booking. Once the tourists arrive in Tasmania, they will be prompted to download the app, through two questions in the registration process that would determine which language to display the content and the map from which country would be embedded into the app.

Challenges I ran into

My idea came up after the hackathon meetup night, so I was unable to sell my idea then. Many people are interested in my idea, but since my plan reached maturity I would like to meet people who can help with production rather than on refining the plan. It's the first time I have engaged from the start to finish on a project on my own.

What I learned

1) I realize I am able to carry out research projects on my own. 2) I realize my education in social science and business analysis equips me well to map my ideas to real-life issues.

What's next for EasyTas

I don't do EasyTas for this Hackathon only. I would like to propose my idea to some government agencies to make it happen.

Built With

• adobe-creative-sdk