Localizing Google’s Travel Platform for the Mexican Market
Service
UX Research
Client
Agency
Usaria, 2019
Agency
Usaria, 2019
Client
Service
UX Research
Most travelers use multiple apps to plan their trips, resulting in a fragmented experience. Google launched a travel app designed to unify the planning process—from inspiration to booking—within a single platform.
After a successful pilot in Europe, the next challenge was to adapt the product for the Mexican market, understanding how people in Mexico plan both domestic and international trips.
The Challenge
Understand the habits, motivations, and expectations of people who use travel planning apps in Mexico in order to identify cultural differences and product gaps. The goal was to adapt the app—still in an exploratory phase for local rollout—to the needs of the market and improve its relevance, usability, and adoption potential.
I participated as a UX researcher, responsible for designing and executing one-on-one interviews with frequent travelers in Mexico. My contributions included:
Creating realistic usage scenarios, where participants were asked to plan their next trip using Google’s travel app.
Facilitating qualitative sessions to explore travel habits, decision-making, and comparison strategies.
Collecting real-time feedback on user expectations, frustrations, and workarounds.
Supporting the synthesis of insights and contributing to strategic product recommendations.
Timeline
4 weeks – planning, recruitment, research execution, analysis, and delivery of prioritized findings.
Research statement and goals
Explore how people in Mexico plan their trips, which tools they rely on, and how they perceive Google’s role in that process. The goal was to uncover opportunities for localization and identify key product adaptations based on cultural and behavioral patterns.
Success criteria
Identify usability gaps and pain points in the current Google app.
Map tools and services used outside the Google ecosystem.
Deliver actionable insights to guide localization decisions and feature prioritization.
Research methodology
In-depth interviews with travelers who take at least three trips per year.
Scenario-based observation of planning behaviors and in-app navigation.
Thematic analysis focused on decision-making, tool switching, and pain points.
Recruitment criteria and process
Participants were Mexican nationals with experience planning both local and international trips independently. Tech-savvy users were prioritized to capture informed opinions and identify platform-switching behaviors.
Sharing and activation
Findings were delivered to Google’s product and UX teams through insight summaries, journey maps, and key visualizations focused on user behavior in Mexico.
Approach
Outputs & deliverables
Insight mapping across key stages: inspiration → research → decision-making.
Visualization of external tools used throughout the planning flow.
Product recommendations:
Display average prices and visit durations for activities and attractions.
Allow users to save flights, hotels, and places to generate cost estimates and itinerary views on a map.
Suggest local restaurants and attractions dynamically during the trip.
Personalize recommendations based on age, travel purpose, and interests—especially for younger users.
O3
International trips are more stressful to plan
Users face challenges estimating costs and coordinating logistics. Synchronizing flight times with hotel check-in/check-out, and building a realistic itinerary across time zones were top concerns.
O2
Heavy reliance on Google Maps, but fragmented experience
Google Maps plays a key role in understanding distances and locations. However, it’s not seamlessly integrated into the full trip planning flow, causing users to jump between apps
O1
Price comparison drives planning decisions
While users start with Google, they quickly turn to external platforms—Booking.com, Despegar, Expedia, Trivago, and TripAdvisor—to compare prices. Budget is the primary decision factor when planning a trip.
Key findings
Business Value
Impact
The research helped the Google team better understand the distinct planning behaviors of Mexican travelers, revealing differences from the European market.
It enabled:
→ A more locally relevant product experience, improving usability and engagement.
→ Prioritized product adaptations to align with Mexican users’ top priorities.
→ Increased competitiveness against local favorites like Despegar and BestDay.
→ Stronger positioning of Google as a one-stop solution for travel planning in the region.
Reflections
Planning a trip is not just about information—it’s a culturally shaped decision-making process. This project reinforced the importance of designing for local realities. Listening to users and observing how they actually plan revealed more than surveys ever could. Adapting a global product to a local market requires more than translation—it requires empathy.