Toward better tourism

Abstract

The impact of over-tourism on popular tourist destinations has become a major concern, affecting the environment, social dynamics, and local economies. This thesis, developed in collaboration with Withlocals, an innovative travel-tech firm dedicated to sustainability, explores opportunities for addressing this critical issue by redirecting tourist traffic to less-frequented areas. The main goal is to assess the feasibility of creating specific strategies that cater to the needs of customers, Withlocals, and society by using design tools and methods.

The project involves in-depth research, both empirical and theoretical, supported by tools and premises of systemic design, behavioural design and strategic design. The research highlights:
1. The complexities of over-tourism and methods to mitigate it (Chapter 2).
2. The factors contributing to high tourist numbers (Chapter 3).
3. The motivations behind tourists visiting less-frequented areas and strategies to encourage this behaviour (Chapter 4).
4. The strategic positioning of Withlocals (Chapter 5).

Building on these insights and a client-involving conceptualization process, the thesis proposes two actionable strategies for Withlocals: the shift to "Hallmark Experiences" framework, which promotes thematic exploration and provides diverse location and activity options, and the "Destination Education" and "Location Scorings" features, designed to enhance platform-based education and transparency regarding destinations and locations (Chapter 6).

These proposals are designed to direct visitors’ focus towards learning about unique hallmarks rather than just traditional landmarks, cater to visitors' personal interests and address their information and confidence gaps, while expanding the range of points of visits. Hence, they are expected to encourage visits to less-frequented areas and, partially, alleviate spatial congestion. The proposals also aim to reinforce Withlocals' values of originality, storytelling, and knowledge, while aligning with their plans to enhance the personalization. Finally, these strategies offer additional potential benefits for Withlocals, including competitive differentiation, booking conversion optimization, and an enhanced brand perception.

Significantly, to align with broader sustainability goals, these strategies must be complemented by robust growth and temporal congestion management measures, ensure the authentic representation of regional identities, obtain consent for tourism from local communities, and promote sustainable transportation options. Further steps should include validation with customers and hosts, evaluation of behaviour change effectiveness, and careful assessment of potential risks, such as increased operational complexity.