12 millions sites and monuments listed over 750,000 downloads in 7 months.
The Around.Us application streamlines user searches through an interactive map, showcasing the top 10 points of interest near their location worldwide. To explore these popular places, various options are available, such as geolocation, searching by location, or using keywords. Whether navigating a city, neighborhood, or street, Around.Us always provides a list of the 10 nearest major points of interest, focusing on the essentials.
“This idea occurred to me during a stay in Carnac, in Brittany. I wanted to show my children a dolmen. By typing that word into Google, I got 15 creperies as results. As for Google Maps, it did provide me with a list of megalithic tombs, but it was impossible to know which one was the most interesting,” explains the creator of the application, Jean- François Pillou, also the founder of the website CommentCaMarche and the director of CCM Benchmark, Journal Du Net, and Linternaute (Figaro Group). He aims to offer new perspectives and ease of discovery to all travelers.
Uncovering hidden treasure
Beyond the must-see attractions, the application reveals a multitude of lesser-known monuments and sites. With its 16,000 filters, everyone can embark on discovering local heritage, natural sites, or forgotten monuments: from fountains to train stations, museums to haunted houses, suspension bridges to remarkable trees, and public gardens. Curious explorers around the world can enjoy locating these attractions. Around.Us references 300,000 sites in the app including 3,000 “heritage designations” in the U.S. selected and ranked according to their popularity on a scale of 1 to 5 flames. This ensures visitors don’t miss major sites and also sparks interest in more secretive locations. Currently, the U.S. represent 4.8% of the downloads.
A true travel guide
The enriched content of the application allows users to use it as a genuine travel guide. When a user clicks on the bubble or the frame of the place of interest, they discover a detailed sheet with its
history, anecdotes, practical information, exact location, and a link to the website. Synthesized through an algorithm, the information is updated daily.
Around.Us in numbers:
- Available in 8 languages
- Downloaded over 750,000 times since its launch in June
- 12 million monuments listed
- Between 10,000 and 20,000 sumultaneous users
- 250,000 requests per day
- 200,000 unique visitors in September 2023
- 16,000 keywords
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
