Gamification, content creators – decoding Explurger’s success story

In a world where social media is dominated by status updates and fleeting trends, Explurger stands apart as the ultimate platform for travelers, adventurers, and storytellers. More than just a place to share pictures, it’s a thriving community where explorers document their journeys, uncover hidden gems, and connect with like-minded wanderers. Whether scaling mountains, discovering offbeat destinations, or navigating vibrant cityscapes, Explurger transforms every trip into an epic story worth telling.

Established in 2019, Explurger has quickly carved a niche with its innovative approach—integrating travelogues, gamification, and rewards to create a truly immersive experience. In an exclusive interaction with Adgully, Jitin Bhatia, Founder & CEO of Explurger, shares the platform’s rapid rise to a 15M+ user base, its unique engagement model, and its game-changing presence at Maha Kumbh 2025. He delves into the future of travel-focused social networking, the evolving creator economy, and how Explurger is setting new benchmarks in digital innovation.

Please tell us about Explurger, its target audience, and its journey so far.

Explurger is a social media platform designed specifically for travelers—a vertical, niche platform unlike horizontal ones like Facebook and Instagram. While general platforms cater to all interests, Explurger is dedicated to travel enthusiasts, much like LinkedIn is for professionals or Pinterest for creatives.

Launched just two and a half years ago, Explurger has grown rapidly, now boasting over 15 million users across 75+ countries. It has also attracted more than 35 unicorn brands and hundreds of businesses, including Royal Enfield, Mahindra, EaseMyTrip, CarDekho, Paytm, and several tourism boards. These brands actively engage with users and have built significant followings on the platform.

Explurger combines travelogues, gamification, and rewards. What was the vision behind creating it, and how do you see it evolving in the next five years?

Explurger stands out due to its unique features, driving strong user engagement and retention—all through organic growth, without paid promotions.

A key differentiator is the Automatic Travel Log, which tracks continents, countries, cities, miles traveled, and even specific places visited. This builds an authentic travel timeline while filtering out VPN users to ensure genuine data.

Next is Gamification—Explurger is the world’s first gamified social media platform. Users earn Explurger Counts for miles traveled, likes received, and followers gained, leveling up for greater recognition.

This ties into Rewards—users unlock discounts on flights, hotels, and experiences through partnerships with 100+ global brands like Trivago.

Another highlight is the Bucket List, allowing users to save destinations with a single tap. When they visit that city, the app reminds them and provides directions.

By blending authenticity, engagement, and tangible benefits, Explurger is redefining travel-based social media, with plans to keep innovating for a seamless, rewarding experience.

The automatic travelogue and personalized bucket list features are standout elements of Explurger. Could you shed light on the technology behind these features and how you ensure they provide a seamless experience for users?

Everything you see on the app has been developed in-house—there are no third-party SDKs or imported components. When we say Explurger operates on a proprietary algorithm, we mean that all features have been built internally from scratch.

The Travelogue feature works similarly to Google Maps’ timeline but offers a more detailed and social experience. While Google Maps creates a timeline based on location tracking, Explurger’s timeline is automatically generated from users’ social sharing. Every time a user posts on Explurger, the system logs their travel details, making it an authentic and comprehensive record. Additionally, because our algorithm filters out VPN users, the travel data remains genuine and tamper-proof, adding to the excitement.

The Bucket List feature is more about the concept than complex technology. Users can save destinations they discover through other travelers, creating a personalized list of must-visit places. What makes it special is the algorithm that ensures authenticity and provides valuable insights, such as user ratings of locations.

When users travel to a new city, their saved Bucket List entries come into play—helping them plan their journey efficiently. The system even provides directions to these locations, enhancing the overall travel experience. This seamless integration of discovery, planning, and navigation is what makes Explurger unique and engaging for users.

Explurger has gained popularity among travelers, creators, and influencers. How do you plan to enhance its features for them and expand your user base globally?

One key differentiator of our platform is the high percentage of content creators. While platforms like Facebook and Instagram see only 4-5% of users actively creating content, Explurger boasts a 20% creator base—five times higher. Users who typically post only on special occasions elsewhere create significantly more content on Explurger. Their motivation? Showcasing their journeys and expanding their travelog.

Unlike other social platforms where engagement is measured by followers and views, Explurger provides an authenticated travelog, verifying places visited and experiences. This unique feature resonates with creators who can now showcase not just engagement but also their real-world adventures.

Recently, brands have taken notice. Since launching business accounts, over 35-40 unicorn brands have joined, many running exclusive campaigns for Explurger creators. Brands find value in our audience—53% from Tier 1 cities and 66% in the 18-34 age group, with high spending power and a passion for travel. This niche demographic, constantly on the move, actively shares content, creating valuable engagement signals for brands.

Monetization is also scaling up, with brands boosting content and running targeted campaigns. This growing ecosystem—where more creators attract brands and vice versa—is fueling exponential growth.

Beyond digital engagement, we also foster offline connections. Our engagement team, spread across cities like Mumbai, Guwahati, Jaipur, and Delhi, hosts monthly meetups—whether biker events, creator meet-and-greets, or collaborations with brands. A dedicated team of eight account managers supports top creators, ensuring seamless engagement.

A recent highlight was our participation in Mahakumbh, the largest gathering in human history with over 400 million attendees, marking a significant milestone for Explurger.

With this momentum, we’re continuously innovating to enhance user experience and solidify Explurger’s position as the go-to platform for travelers and creators worldwide.

Watch the full interaction:

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