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Describe TourMe in less than ten words.

TourMe enables frictionless, personal connections between travelers and cultures worldwide.

What is TourMe’s origin story?

It all started six years ago at the Louvre when I was listening to their conventional audio guide. As someone who is deeply curious and eager to learn, I found the audio guides to be overly generic and unengaging, leading me to question why there hadn’t been more focus on enhancing this learning experience.

In parallel, I’ve been consistently surprised by how technology hasn’t substantially changed the way we explore and learn during our travels. I find this astonishing to say the least. For example, visiting the Golden Gate Bridge as a child with my family, we looked at the bridge, took some photos, and continued our trip. Fast forward 15 years, my experience last summer in San Francisco was virtually unchanged. Despite all the technological breakthroughs around easy access to information on the go in the past decade, our travel experiences have largely remained the same! Why?

What is your favorite aspect about the website?

The design of the landmark learning experience. I love how quickly and easily it provides tailored descriptions of the history behind the locations I visit. It's rewarding to look back and see what I've discovered and learned on past trips through the exploration log. It's quite useful for sharing recommendations with friends and family and planning future adventures.

Where has the app come in handy for your travels?

The time I’ve gotten most use out of TourMe was during my 2-week trip to Japan. Japan has an impressively rich culture and history but has a language barrier, as most people there do not speak English or Spanish. As a curious traveler, this could have been a challenge in the past. However, my friends and I used TourMe to get explanations of temples, castles, and other landmarks, allowing us to maintain a flexible itinerary without being confined to tours that may not fully align with our interests.

In your free time, what do you like to do?

I love playing chess (the only game app on my phone) and capturing vibes of locations I travel to through photography.

Favorite travel must have? (Excluding TourMe)

A camera, including your phone's camera. The nostalgia of scrolling through pictures and reliving memories is, for me, one of the best feelings ever.

For fun, what is your hidden talent?

I know some magic tricks! As a child, I would dress up and perform magic shows for my family and friends. Luckily, I’ve managed to retain some tricks up my sleeve.