2026
TabiSubi: Designing Trust for Social Travel Matchmaking
Jimmy Shih
This thesis explores how experience design can help solo travelers find compatible travel companions while addressing the uncertainty and risk involved in traveling with people they have met online. Research with travelers found that successful companionship depends on more than a shared destination. Differences in budget, schedules, travel pace, lifestyle, and communication can quickly create conflict, while concerns about personal safety and reliability can make travelers hesitant to connect with strangers. The project reframes trust as something that develops progressively through transparency, compatibility, communication, verification, and demonstrated commitment.
The resulting concept, TabiSubi, is a social travel matchmaking platform designed
to guide travelers from initial discovery to trusted companionship. The platform matches
users based on interests, travel preferences, budgets, schedules, and lifestyle compatibility,
while providing layered trust signals through detailed profiles, identity and face
verification, verified traveler badges, group chat, and required video calls. Collaborative
planning and shared-expense tools further support transparency and accountability
as a trip takes shape. By designing trust as a step-by-step experience rather than
a single decision, TabiSubi helps travelers evaluate potential companions with greater
confidence while creating opportunities for meaningful relationships through shared
travel experiences.
