Nice concept, i've always wanted something like this, but here in south america and I suppose everywhere in the world, unless you speak the local language, for a tourist is pretty hard to avoid these traps and get to hang out with the locals.
Maybe the app will take the wikipedia route and let the people share their tours.
User driven content on something like this seems like it would pretty quickly lead to routes popping up which lead the users to the author's "not a tourist-trap" restaurant or store.
"We have traditional destinations, like Fisherman’s Wharf, but we found a fisherman who has worked there for 40 years to guide you through the working pier and experience a side of the Wharf that tourists rarely see. We’re also producing Detours in seemingly nondescript places, like Western Addition, or a walk through Bayview, on which you learn about San Francisco’s ambitious goal to recycle or reuse every single item we ‘throw away,’ as you walk from the aisles of a grocery store to the pier where container ships pick up bundles of plastic and take them to China."
My wife and I used an app similar to this on our honeymoon in Hawaii. We had the option of paying $300 for a guided tour, or paying $5 for an app and going our own pace. The app made that day one of the highlights of the trip.
This looks great - I was just in Italy for several and wishing for something like this, completely in shock that it doesn't exist yet.
I can't see any way to sign up for notifications when it's ready - or even a company website. I guess I'll just hope I come across it when it's fully baked.
Hey Andrew...another direction you, Yishai, etc. should / can go would be subject areas. I would imagine culinary/food tours would be great in the areas you guys are targeting. They could also be kept pretty fresh as restaurants/bakeries/breweries, etc. wax and wane.
Maybe the app will take the wikipedia route and let the people share their tours.