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Travel companions website goes live
FriendsOnArrival.com, described as a global community to help travellers have a better “on arrival” experience, has been launched.
The site’s free notice board and member profile search aims to provide common ground for people to connect, share experiences, and arrange to meet up.
Members are able to find like-minded people by searching on criteria such as as religion, pets, parents, geographic location, nationality and volunteering.
Founder Maurizio Marmotta said: “The initial idea for FriendsOnArrival.com came from my own experience of moving around and having to start all over.
“I’ve found the packing gets easier, while making new friends and settling in gets harder. I saw there was an opportunity for a community which wasn’t just singles based or focussed on business networking. Something you can feel comfortable about using, without the stigma or the presumption one that was more about making friends.
“This is reflected in the audience the site attracts and how they’re using it. For example, 78% of members are over 26 and half of those are over 36. What surprised us is that 11% are over 46.
“Our site has drawn a far more diverse membership than we originally expected. Members are looking for team-mates, travel companions, advice on how to get started in a new place, tips for upcoming holidays and gap year adventures. Some want to meet other parents to socialise with, other retirees in their area or locals to connect with on their next business trip. Others are looking to catch up with old friends, meet that someone special or expand their circle of friends.”
Marmotta added that plans for expanding the site are underway: “We’re developing a range of complimentary services that will make the site even more useful to existing members as well as extend to new user segments.”
The company claims the site is designed to be safe and easy to use with all public content being reviewed before going on the site.
FriendsOnArrival says it adheres to, and is licensee of the TRUSTe privacy programme, meaning that members can give as much or as little information as they want and be assured that none of it gets passed onto advertisers/spammers.
To coincide with the launch, new and existing members enter a monthly draw to win iPod nanos and Casio EX-S500 digital cameras.
Report by Phil Davies
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