By Anna Fitzpatrick, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Visiting the Cidade Maravilhosa for the first time is an experience never to be forgotten, and often repeated. The natural beauty of the city, the hills, the beaches and the endless things to do guarantee many a happy memory for visitors and residents alike. However, like many places, being a tourist can come with occasional frustrations.
Trying to book a tour to Pão de Açucar (Sugar Loaf) and not sure what the best price to pay is? Worried about getting lost in translation with Portuguese? Trying to organize everything from afar by spending hours trawling on the internet looking for a great deal?
These are problems understood only too well by the founders of Touristaz, a new travel company which can help solve all these dilemmas and with huge discounts. Indeed, it was the frustration due to these problems that drove founder, Eric Willis and co-founder Tryiokasus Brown, to start Touristaz nine months ago.
Willis’ inventive idea was to use social networking to link together tourists traveling to the same place at the same time. Being in a group means travelers will be able to access discount prices from tour operators, retailers and property owners.
The process is designed to be easy, intuitive, and social, and all starts with a quick registration to sign up, and then simply wait for the email notification system to send offers that match your interests.
Willis explains that with group buying, users may be receive up to 90 percent discount – “everyone wins with Touristaz. The tour company or travel-services provider has the benefit of gaining hundreds if not thousands of new clients and our users get a chance to save up to 90 percent on travel deals”.
Organizing, booking and paying in advance for tours and trips before you leave for your vacation saves time and money. Willis pointed out that “talking to tourists they were complaining about the high prices of local activities and tours. They also complained about not being able to take care of the payments on these activities before arriving to Rio with a trusted source”, which is another point where Touristaz comes in.
Touristaz users will be able to have their adventures organized and paid for before their departure, leaving more time to think about what to put in their suitcase. “It will definitely save people time. As opposed to needing to search the web to find different providers, compare prices, and worry about finding reputable providers… Touristaz does all the work and then emails them the deal”.
Leaving feedback and tips for other users will ensure that good businesses get rewarded, meaning budget conscious travelers will be able to pick up more money saving tips from fellow adventure-seekers that have visited the same destination previously.
After giving feedback, travelers will be rewarded with points which they can also redeem against deals offered through the site. The majority of information on the site will be lead by those using it – tailor-made travel at a fraction of the price.
With Rio’s high season starting, and the World Cup and the Olympics on the horizon, Touristaz already has some deals lined up to be announced in the New Year. And with more cities throughout Brazil being added soon, the opportunity to travel to the greatest places in Brazil at a discount price is an opportunity not to be missed.
* This is a paid Advertorial by Touristaz