Overview
Client: Self-initiated
Deliverables: User research, competitive research, visual design, copywriting
Timeframe: 2 months
travelSustainably is a conceptual platform dedicated to encouraging sustainable tourism by promoting eco-friendly travel options and information on traveling sustainably.
Problem 🤕
Travelers are increasingly inclined to adopt a more environmentally conscious approach to travel, recognizing the importance of sustainability. However, they often encounter difficulties in:
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Having access to sustainable travel options
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Finding information on the eco-friendly practices of different destinations
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Understanding the environmental impact of their decisions.
Why is this project important?
This project can have a positive impact on our planet and also benefit the business. The demand for sustainable travel options is skyrocketing, and travel businesses are also increasingly becoming sustainability advocates. However, there’s a lack of platforms that curate sustainable travel options, and information on being a sustainable traveler.
🚨 Thus, there’s an opportunity to effectively bridge this gap by being a mediator between sustainable travel businesses and eco-conscious travelers.
Why is it important to me?
Travelers want to travel sustainably. Travel businesses want to contributes positively to the planet’s ecosystem. Both share the same values of doing something that serves humanity. As a UX designer, my job is to make sure they can achieve these goals through effective design.
If we’re not using design for such things, we're nothing more than pixel pushers.
How will this project benefit the business?
Due to the high demand and increased awareness of sustainability and sustainable travel options, the potential impact of this platform will be in these key areas:
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Forming strategic partnerships with eco-friendly businesses and travel-related enterprises focused on sustainability within the travel industry.
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Boosting user engagement by promoting sustainable travel options, and spreading awareness on the importance of choosing a responsible brand.
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Increasing website traffic by attracting the growing audience of eco-conscious travelers who seek information and advice on sustainable travel.
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Enhancing brand perception by promoting sustainability and supporting eco-conscious travel.
The objective is to influence travelers to adopt a more responsible travel behavior by simplifying the process of discovering and learning about the practices of eco-friendly destinations as well as bringing awareness to the environmental impact of travel habits.
Research & Discovery 🔍
Understanding what’s stopping travelers from making more eco-conscious travel choices through secondary research
Resource constraints limited me to rely heavily on secondary research such as online studies, academic papers, and articles which was quite challenging to find what will be of use in informing my decisions.
My approach combined a lot of continuous research and going back and forth between research and coming up with concepts.
So, you could say it was quite a messy and iterative process 🤷🏽♂️
While researching online, I came across a study carried out by Expedia Group Media Solutions that provided valuable data on consumer demand for sustainable travel options.
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90% of consumers consistently seek to make sustainable travel choices during their travels.
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Consumers emphasized a strong need for information on eco-friendly options.
The study further pointed out:
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70% of the respondents also expressed feeling overwhelmed by the concept of becoming a more sustainable traveler.
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They expressed a need to witness a genuine commitment to sustainability from travel options
Digging a little deeper, similar trends were popping up
A survey in a paper conducted on Pro-Sustainable Tourist Behavior yielded the following findings:
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Many participants found it rather difficult to find information on the sustainability commitment of destinations.
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Tourists are more likely to embrace sustainable travel behavior when they can access reliable information regarding the sustainable practices of destinations.
Therefore, travelers were facing problems finding the information needed to guide them toward making sustainable travel choices.
The paper further pointed out that:
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Increased awareness about sustainability can result in behavioral changes, including the preference for more sustainable options.
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When asked “What long-term effects do you foresee on your travel behavior?”, surprisingly, most participants opted for the following answers: ‘More holidays in my country’ and ‘Less traveling overall’.
Thus, the lack of information on sustainable options and destinations’ commitment towards sustainability made it difficult for travelers to make sustainable travel choices, leading them to foresee themselves traveling less.
Stepping back from user research to see who’s providing similar solutions
In the competitive landscape, I found one platform that resembles a direct competitor, bookdifferent. It offers sustainable travel options to travelers but has several notable drawbacks that could position our platform as a more user-friendly and informative choice for travelers:
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Lack of Mission Clarity: The platform's homepage fails to provide information about the company's mission or services above the fold, potentially causing user confusion.
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Navigation Challenges: The labeling of sections, such as 'bookdifferent' and 'responsible holiday,' is ambiguous, making it challenging for users to discern their purpose.
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Ineffective Categorization: The 'greenest choice' category leads users to a page filled with textual information instead of easily accessible green accommodations, affecting user experience.
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Unintuitive Content Display: Destinations are presented in a manner resembling blog posts or articles, potentially causing delays in decision-making due to the time-consuming nature of recognizing and evaluating options.
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Lack of Emphasis on Sustainability: The absence of prioritization or emphasis on the sustainability practices of specific destinations further hinders users' ability to make informed decisions.
After going through existing solutions, I learned that there's still a gap in a clear, user-friendly and encouraging platform that can effectively guide and inform travelers’ decisions and enhance their understanding of sustainable tourism and environmental impacts.
Interesting consumer insight emerged 👀
Through additional research, an online survey on food choices revealed that 53% of respondents expressed a willingness to alter their decisions based on a better understanding of the environmental impact of their food choices.
So I started thinking.. 💭
if consumers are willing to adjust their food choices based on environmental concerns, it is highly probable that travelers will also be open to modifying their travel behavior when informed about the environmental impact of their travel habits.
Thus, for travelers to embrace sustainable travel behavior, it not only depends on having access to eco-friendly options and their practices, but raising awareness about the environmental impact of one’s decisions could also have an influence on travelers.
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Other findings online also offered some interesting learnings about travelers’ behavior:
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Nearly two-thirds (65%) of a survey said they’d feel better about staying at a particular accommodation if they knew it had a sustainable certification or label.
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Travelers expressed an openness to receiving tips on adopting more sustainable practices during their travels.
💡Although I had no access to real users, the existing research was sufficient enough to provide me with valuable findings on why travelers were struggling to adopt sustainable travel behavior, allowing me to save time and focus on transforming the findings into actionable insights.
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Synthesizing research data into HMW statements 📝
After gathering all the data about what’s holding travelers from making sustainable travel choices, I synthesized the data into How Might We statements to articulate the challenges as opportunities for ideation and solution development:
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Turning the HMWs into key actionable insights through user stories
After analyzing and synthesizing the research findings into HMWs, I managed to brainstorm ideas on what to prioritize, and what really matters for travelers looking to travel sustainably through user stories:
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As a user, I would like to easily access sustainable destinations so that I can make sustainable travel choices and reduce my environmental impact.
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As a user, I would like to understand the impact of my decisions and habits on the environment so that I can implement sustainability into my plans.
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As a user, I would like to know more about travel options’ practices and commitment towards sustainability so that I can make informed travel decisions.
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As a user, I would like to have access to tips and information regarding sustainable travel to be a more eco-conscious traveler.
💡Putting the ideas in the form of user stories helped me understand and simplify user needs, and also develop design concepts through empathizing with users.
Design solutions 🪄
Encouraging sustainable travel behavior through storytelling and real-world data 🙌🏽
Offering information alone was never enough. In order to increase the chances of influencing travelers’ behavior, It was important to raise awareness and craft a compelling story around the importance of sustainable travel by using impactful imagery, encouraging messages and real-world data.
I also made certain that there were multiple entry points for travelers to reach the destinations page, which was the top priority for visitors to the website.
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Personalizing the flow of finding a sustainable destination 🫀
The initial draft of the destinations page led visitors directly to the available locations, accompanied by a selection bar to choose their preferred accommodation type and other criteria. This made for a stale and boring flow to go through before deciding where they wanted to go.
This made me go back to the drawing board and brainstorm ways to make the flow a more personalized and emotional experience for travelers while deciding on their destination options. Therefore, I aimed for something that can make travelers visualize the experience of the destination they want to go to ✨:
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Making the destinations that have a sustainability certification one click away
As the research pointed out, travelers said they’d feel better about choosing an accommodation if they knew it had a sustainable certification or label. After learning about this behavior and the importance of sustainability credentials for influencing travelers’ decisions, I decided to include a prominent green button that makes it seamless for users to filter out certified accommodations:
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Prioritizing the sustainability practices information of destinations
Travelers expressed a difficulty in finding and recognizing a destination's commitment towards sustainability, which acted as a barrier for them in choosing travel options. As a result, it was crucial to prioritize and highlight the commitment of destinations toward sustainability.
That’s why I made use of visual elements (icons, images) along with big headlines and descriptions to make it easy for travelers to consume the information and make more informed travel decisions.
I also incorporated a secondary Call to Action (CTA) within each description section. This CTA directs users to the dedicated sustainable practices page, encouraging them to adopt eco-friendly behaviors during their stay at a destination.
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Helping travelers grasp the impact of their decisions on the environment and encouraging them to take action
I had a lot of challenges when it came to demonstrating to travelers the impact of their decisions on the environment in an easily understood way. After a lot of iterations on mere text, I knew no one would find it interesting to read through paragraphs of the environmental impacts of unresponsible travel decisions… HOW DULL!
So, I took a step back and said to myself: “How do I make it visually inviting and impactful to arouse a feeling of responsibility in travelers?”
Then, I came up with this formula to demonstrate the impact:
Habits ➡️ Environmental impacts ➡️ Horrible foreseeable future ➡️ Call to action
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Reinforcing the adoption of sustainable practices through real-world data
Humans have a fundamental need to belong and be part of a social group. By offering actual statistics showing the general interest in sustainability, it not only acts as social evidence but also as a persuasive method for motivating travelers to adopt sustainable practices.
I also included accommodations that implement those practices in each sustainable practice page to further help travelers make responsible travel choices.
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Increasing user engagement through a community for travelers to share each others’ experiences
How I would measure success 📈
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Monthly Visitors:
Measure the increase in the number of visitors to the website. Set a target for monthly growth to gauge the effectiveness of attracting eco-conscious travelers.
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Clickthrough rate:
Track the CTR for the 'Check resort availability' call to action within the destination details section that enables travelers to explore and book sustainable accommodations. This KPI assists in evaluating the platform's effectiveness and its role in promoting eco-friendly travel options.
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Number of Partnerships Established:
Track the number of partnerships formed with eco-friendly businesses. This KPI indicates the success of acting as a mediator between travelers and sustainability-focused businesses.
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Social Media Engagement and Mentions:
Monitor social media engagement, mentions, and brand recognition. This KPI reflects the strength of building an eco-conscious brand and its effectiveness in promoting awareness about sustainable travel.
Reflections and final thoughts 🪄
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I realized that doing a solo project can be challenging in a way that there is no human interactions and collaboration which is indispensable in this field.
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I was fortunate to find existing research data closely related to the scope of this project to back up my design decisions instead of relying on assumptions and guesswork.
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If I had direct access to real users, I would have conducted usability tests to assess the platform's effectiveness in facilitating the discovery of sustainable destinations. Additionally, interviews would have been conducted to gain deeper insights into various factors influencing travel behavior.
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