The National Geographic-branded Gowalla Trips include 15 walking tours to explore destinations like the Seine in Paris, the Avenue of the Arts in Philadelphia and San Diego's Balboa Park.
The Washington Post has curated its own adventures. Its trips are designed to help travelers discover attractions and explore Washington, D.C.
These trips are in-depth exploratory missions that include destination descriptions, maps, editorial commentary and photographs. They also parallel what Foursquare is trying with its branded city adventure quests for badges.
Gowalla's Trips feature gives any user or business the ability to create their own expeditions and emulate the trip style of National Geographic or The Washington Post. Plus, users who complete trips earn a digital pin (similar to badges) as a keepsake for their Gowalla Passports.
Gowalla users can also now add descriptions to Spots (places) in Trips. These descriptions are permanently associated with the location and remind us of venue tips on Foursquare.
The souped-up Trips functionality make Gowalla exponentially more interesting as an adventure guide. We can immediately see the potential of this new addition with the experience and information-rich trips created by National Geographic and The Washington Post.
[img credit: Jim Epler]