Soctravo, one of startup assisted by Bandung Techno Park (BTP), is an application that helps the potential tourism spots to sell their products (souvenirs) or their tourism packages by highlighting the concept of Voluntourism which combines volunteering and traveling activities.
Soctravo has been developed since 2017. This application was originally initiated by Pemuda Peduli Foundation, and since then has developed into a social traveling platform and enterprise focusing on developing villages and social activity.
The potential for tourism in Indonesia is quite big. There are many villages in various regions in Indonesia having their unique tourism potentials. The CEO of Soctravo, Aldi Gagan Rohmatu, a student of Management of Business in Telecommunication and Informatics (MBTI) of Tel-U, said that the tourism village should be prioritized in its development because of its economic value.
“The potential tourism villages face difficulties in developing themselves, especially on selling and marketing, although could support the local welfare in terms of economic value. Therefore, Soctravo will be able to become a reliable platform for Pioneering and Developing Tourism Villages to market and develop themselves,” Aldi said.
Soctravo has several features. One of them is the feature that gives the ‘Hidden Gem’ tourism reference title for Pioneering and Developing Tourism Villages. There is also a feature showing the itinerary of social activity designed to accommodate youths to express their creativity.
“Besides, users can also be pampered with the 360-video feature which gives the reference for the trip they want to book, and also the donation feature to contribute to the local community during the tour,” Aldi explained.
Soctravo receives positive feedback from various stakeholders. It is considered to have assisted the process of selling and marketing of the tourism package in the local area and given assistance to the locals during the program. Users also appreciate the simplicity and education provided by Soctravo, as well as the fun pioneering activities.
“As a startup assisted by BTP, Soctravo gets the benefit of an incubation program provided by Tel-U, starting from the process to its development. This startup also gets BTP’s whole assistance for funding, assisting, and working for legal recognition. Further workshops also help increase the value of its human resources,” Aldi said.
Contributor: Abdullah Adnan | Editor: Daris Maulana | Image: Interviewee