GuideInfo.ge
A professional platform for guides, travellers and travel agencies
GuideInfo.ge grew out of Sweet Georgia's guide services into a standalone product at the request of the Association of Guides of Georgia. Guides published excursions and promoted their services, travellers found suitable professionals, and agencies arranged work directly with guides. The service supported messaging, reservations and vouchers, audio tours and online consultations. I organised collaboration between the professional community and the technical team: developed scenarios, translated requests into tasks and trained users on site. Prepared database structure specifications to ensure compatibility with Sweet Georgia, including a single user account, information, reference data and guide availability calendars. The operating service had approximately 135 guides, 35 agencies from different countries and 120 published excursions. The service remains available to users.
- Participation started
- 2019
- Company
- Sweet Georgia LLC
- Positions in the project
- —
Roles and achievements
| Responsibilities | My contribution | Results and metrics |
|---|---|---|
Product Owner
|
Worked with tourism businesses and the guide community to define scenarios for a standalone service built on Sweet Georgia. Defined how guides presented themselves and their excursions, travellers selected providers, and agencies booked guides and prepared trips with them. Translated requests into development tasks and discussed design and functionality with participants. The product implemented open registration for guides and travellers, assessment badges in cooperation with a tourism school, post-order reviews and ratings from 0 to 5. Search took account of guides' languages and operating areas down to municipality level. |
The service operated on subscriptions: it was free for travellers, while guides and agencies purchased access for a defined period. Guides had three tiers: up to three excursions; up to ten excursions and online consultations; or unrestricted access. Excursions could be ordered in advance, with reservation confirmations and vouchers. Travellers paid for services on site. |
Systems Analyst
|
Using my knowledge of the shared system architecture, prepared database structure specifications based on user needs and compatibility requirements with Sweet Georgia. Defined guide, excursion, reference and availability data so users could work in both services with one account and information changes would be available in both. Developers and DevOps implemented the changes. The Sweet Georgia portal published the same guides and excursions and used the same guide availability calendar as GuideInfo. |
GuideInfo and Sweet Georgia worked together through a single user account, consistent guide and excursion data, shared reference data and an availability calendar. Information and its updates were used in both services. Guides published excursions with photographs, schedules, prices, group conditions and dates. Travellers could choose a guide or excursion, message the provider and place an advance order; agencies contacted guides directly. Audio tours and remote consultations called 'Give me advice' were available. The service used JavaScript, Framework7, Vite, Cordova and MySQL. The backend initially used PHP and was later migrated to Python/FastAPI, earlier than in Sweet Georgia. The technical team implemented the agreed scenarios and requirements. |
Project Manager
|
Organised collaboration between the guide community, business representatives, developers, DevOps and the designer. Used Sweet Georgia's existing functionality as the foundation and directed changes towards the specific needs of guides and agencies. Defined technical tasks and connected user feedback with the team's work. Travelled through almost all of Georgia and met guides personally. The first visits focused on needs and scenarios; later I presented the completed service, demonstrated its operation, answered questions and trained users. |
Approximately 135 guides and 35 travel agencies from different countries used the service, with around 120 excursions published. Personal meetings, presentations and training helped participants learn the implemented workflows. GuideInfo remains available to users. |
Competencies and skills
Tools and technologies
Project testimonials
We first met Yuriy when he was visiting Georgia as a tourist. Later, seeing how he was developing Sweet Georgia, we approached him with the idea of an application that would help guides connect with tourists and with one another.
Yuriy proposed the concept and took responsibility for organising the project, turning our needs and ideas into a working product. He led the development, travelled throughout most of Georgia, met with guides, gave presentations and discussed the application with us.
I particularly value his attention to our needs and his ability to find sensible compromises. Yuriy knows how to bring people together around an idea and see it through to completion.
Yury is the foundation of our entire project. His vision, his ability to gather various methods, secure funding, and bring people together made it possible to build a major project—starting from virtually nothing, just a conversation. It has grown into something far more than a website; it now encompasses the country’s tourism industry, international partners, volunteers from various nations, and government agencies.
It has been truly amazing!