In the purest Pokemon Go style, Wonder Experience will allow travelers from this summer to accumulate points and win prizes while traveling around the island of Lanzarote on routes proposed according to their preferences. The app will be free for travelers and will be financed through the tourist businesses affiliated to the platform along the route.
The company, born between Galicia and the Canary Islands, has established itself in Lanzarote and is one of the two winning businesses of the latest edition of the Seeds of Talent award promoted by the Employment Area of the Cabildo de Lanzarote and managed by the Chamber of Commerce.
Diego Toribio, web developer and founding partner of the company, explains in an interview with Ekonomus the keys that make Wonder Experience a novel product that, from the Canary Islands and Galicia, wants to expand throughout the world.
- What is Wonder Experience? What will a traveler who downloads the application in Lanzarote find?
On the one hand, Wonder Experience is a technological platform that allows travelers to enjoy destinations in a different way. On the other hand, there are the affiliates, which are all the tourist businesses that want to promote their activities on the proposed routes.
"For travelers it is free. Businesses can register for 8 euros"
Once travelers download the application, the platform will suggest a route based on their tastes. If they like gastronomy, or culture, or want to find beach or mountain, we will propose routes including their places of interest and the establishments of the affiliates that adapt to their profile. The traveler along the proposed route will receive points that they can exchange for prizes or for some type of consumption in these establishments.
- How are you going to charge for your services?
For travelers it is free. Businesses can register for eight euros per month, like a Netflix subscription, and 15% of the billing of the travelers we send them. In addition, we are going to provide them with data on what type of travelers go to their establishment so that they can make their forecasts, know the client's profile and more things that we are still developing.
- Who makes up the Wonder Experience team?
Now we are four people with more than 10 years of experience in their respective fields. Arancha Pérez, who is also from Lanzarote, is our CEO, she is an expert in computer science and tourism innovation. Alicia Hernández is our digital creative, originally from La Palma, but lives in London. And Alejandro Núñez, who is also a developer and lives in Lugo.
When we started the project we were three Canarians and three Galicians. Jacobo Sánchez Feijóo, who wrote the book that inspired us for the application, ‘Lean Gamification’ and Alejandro Liz, data architect. Both are no longer partners because they have other commitments, but they continue to advise us.
- How did the business idea come about?
In 2018, Arancha came up with the idea, inspired by Pokémon Go and the book by Jacobo Sanchez Feijoo, which proposes a methodology for creating games. We said, why not turn travel into an experience where you can win prizes? It was first called My Lanzarote Experience until it became Wonder Experience today.
"The idea is for Wonder Experience to be a global application"
In 2021, advised by Alejandro, we presented ourselves to Turislab, a Galician accelerator of tourist products of the Xunta de Galicia, which chose us among 117 projects. We spent nine months of training in their academy until we finally won the second prize in December of last year.
- When will the application be available?
Right now we are in the development phase, we want to launch it this summer in Lanzarote and Galicia. We did a pilot test in Lugo, during the October festivities. We had more than 50 players, who had to travel 80 points in the city.
- How is Wonder Experience different from other travel applications?
We have analyzed the competition and we have seen some application that looks like it, but if they have the part of creating routes, they do not have the part of games, or vice versa.
- In addition to Galicia and Lanzarote, do you plan to launch the application in other places?
The idea is for Wonder Experience to be a global application. This year we plan to expand throughout the Canary Islands and Galicia, two autonomous communities that we know quite well. Then the rest of Spain and then internationally.
