Transforming Tourism with Design Thinking
Design thinking is a creative and innovative approach to problem-solving. It is a human-centric method for finding solutions.
Design thinking is a creative and innovative approach to problem-solving. It is a human-centric method for finding solutions.
Design thinking is a creative and innovative approach to problem-solving. It is a human-centric method for finding solutions. It also revolves around the idea of building a comprehensive understanding of whom we design products and experiences for: consumers and end-users are in front and centre in design thinking processes. Therefore, empathising with the consumer is a critical dimension of design thinking. It allows imaging processes, experiences and products from their perspectives.
Design thinking is a mindset, a process and a tool for problem-solving, and evolves around framing questions and collaborating to find solutions. In this process, putting ourselves in other people’s shoes and empathising with them enables us to find new ways to enhance their experiences. This method requires gathering as many perspectives as possible, sharing knowledge and insights and prototyping solutions that can truly drive change in the ecosystem.
At the DTTT, we believe design thinking is a thought-provoking process to build and assess scenarios in tourism and travel and could be the best approach to rebuild and restart tourism and find opportunities out of these challenging times. DMOs worldwide are increasingly employing design thinking to foster collaboration with the industry, travellers and local communities. We know that design thinking techniques are extremely useful if you want to explore leadership and we have some case studies that can help you get started with it.
At the DTTT, we base consultancy and workshops on design thinking. We have recently launched the Sustainability Leadership Programme. The programme principally employs design thinking and intends to support destinations to develop a sustainable vision and strategy through co-design sessions. During the Sustainability Leadership Programme, we run a series of live sessions, workshops and activities to assist destinations with advancing in sustainability. In this programme, we will discuss a network of interconnected matters that DMOs need to consider in becoming sustainability leaders. As mentioned at the beginning, design thinking is a human-centric approach; however, in design thinking for sustainability, other dimensions such as the environmental and biodiversity needs, as well as the industry objectives, have to be acknowledged. Throughout the programme, we observe limitations in how sustainability is approached in tourism and travel and assist DMOs in developing comprehensive sustainability plans.
Dolomiti Paganella is a destination in the Trentino region in Northern Italy. The DMO started investing in developing a more balanced and sustainable tourism strategy that equally acknowledges the local community and travellers a few years ago. Dolomiti Paganella has successfully used design thinking to overcome challenges with the help of the local community.
The DMO employed design thinking to assess their destination management strategy. The question “Are we going in the right direction or only following the flow?” sparked the idea to begin a collaborative project with stakeholders and the local community to enhance their destination management strategy. In the case of Dolomiti Paganella, design thinking played a key role in understanding the local community's views and concerns about the area as a tourism destination. Through design thinking, Dolomiti Paganella created a manifesto that reflected on shared values expressed by the local community.
Luca D’Angelo, Destination Manager at APT Dolomiti Paganella, presented the project in more detail at X. Festival 2021, you can watch it here.
Co-creation is a method for involving stakeholders in the process and collaborating. Design thinking leverages co-creation by allowing contributors and beneficiaries to express their input in the process. As such, co-creation reduces bias by allowing the contribution of thoughts from multiple perspectives. In tourism and travel, co-creation involves visitors in the process of designing experiences and products. Hence, the visitor cycle is shaped considering the direct input of visitors. Wonderful Copenhagen has incorporated design thinking and co-creation to reconfigure challenges caused by the pandemic and introduce solutions.
As Runa Sabroe, Director of Development at Wonderful Copenhagen, presented at X. Festival 2021, design thinking has played a key role in addressing issues around the health and safety of visitors visiting cultural institutions in the post-pandemic era. Many institutions in Copenhagen have employed design thinking to show resilience and recovery. As an example, ‘The Science Museum’ introduced the ‘Mars from home’ experience, taking the museums to the audience when they can't visit in person. Taking the museum outside of the building was a successful initiative during the pandemic and it continues to be post-pandemic.
You can watch Runa Sabroe’s talk here.
Tourisme Îles de la Madeleine, DMO in Québec - Canada, consists of six islands. Îles de Madeleine successfully brought museums and cultural institutions together in an open innovation event to prototype new projects and develop ideas. They facilitated design thinking on a destination-wide scale for museums to meet and exchange ideas. The open innovation event later led to a 4-month long co-creation project that leveraged design principles, as well as collaboration with stakeholders and users. The project paid particular attention to the "islands' way of life" and timed to encourage islanders to refer museums to visitors. As such, design thinking helped museums on the islands to collaborate, through a broader scale of networks.
Watch Tourisme Îles de la Madeleine design thinking story from Jason Bent, Tourism Development Officer, here.
The 17 Culture Test Labs in Denmark is yet another initiative that embraced creative problem-solving to respond to challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The project began with 17 cultural institutions joining the initiative and will continue with 10 institutions in 2022. The Mønsted-Kalkgruben, limestone mine, participated in the project to develop solutions for spreading visitors in space during their visit due to covid-19 regulations. In this project, the issues around crowd management were solved by guiding visitors through different map routes and introducing targeted activities to find collection cards on the way. As such, visitors explored the site through different paths and participated in engaging activities.
Design thinking in urban scale focuses on connecting people and places with creative designs that contribute to spatial awareness and perception of the surrounding space. In this context, design thinking and human-centricity leverage connectivity and playful spaces and navigation in space. It also has great value in the social interactions of people in an environment.
As Gideon Maasland, Studio Director at MVRDV - an architecture company in the Netherlands, explained during his X. Festival 2021, two blocks of lego can be put together in endless ways. The question is: "Why do we always stack them on top of each other in the same way?". This is where the advantages of design thinking become prominent in opening up new ways for solving the same problem. For example, Gideon mentioned ‘The Stairs to Kriterion’ project as a human-centric design that allows the public to access unused urban spaces, a simple but strong solution to connect an urban communal area to a roof terrace and encourage increased visits.
Find out more about Gideon’s talk by watching it here.
As we see more and more examples of how Design Thinking Techniques are applied in the tourism industry, we would like to know if you are familiar with this approach, if you ever used it and feel it could benefit your organisation and destination development.
At the DTTT, we follow IBM Enterprise Design Thinking to become certified practitioners and co-creators. We also use and create many other resources to boost our expertise in design thinking.
Design thinking is a creative and innovative approach to problem-solving. It is a human-centric method for finding solutions. It also revolves around the idea of building a comprehensive understanding of whom we design products and experiences for: consumers and end-users are in front and centre in design thinking processes. Therefore, empathising with the consumer is a critical dimension of design thinking. It allows imaging processes, experiences and products from their perspectives.
Design thinking is a mindset, a process and a tool for problem-solving, and evolves around framing questions and collaborating to find solutions. In this process, putting ourselves in other people’s shoes and empathising with them enables us to find new ways to enhance their experiences. This method requires gathering as many perspectives as possible, sharing knowledge and insights and prototyping solutions that can truly drive change in the ecosystem.
At the DTTT, we believe design thinking is a thought-provoking process to build and assess scenarios in tourism and travel and could be the best approach to rebuild and restart tourism and find opportunities out of these challenging times. DMOs worldwide are increasingly employing design thinking to foster collaboration with the industry, travellers and local communities. We know that design thinking techniques are extremely useful if you want to explore leadership and we have some case studies that can help you get started with it.
At the DTTT, we base consultancy and workshops on design thinking. We have recently launched the Sustainability Leadership Programme. The programme principally employs design thinking and intends to support destinations to develop a sustainable vision and strategy through co-design sessions. During the Sustainability Leadership Programme, we run a series of live sessions, workshops and activities to assist destinations with advancing in sustainability. In this programme, we will discuss a network of interconnected matters that DMOs need to consider in becoming sustainability leaders. As mentioned at the beginning, design thinking is a human-centric approach; however, in design thinking for sustainability, other dimensions such as the environmental and biodiversity needs, as well as the industry objectives, have to be acknowledged. Throughout the programme, we observe limitations in how sustainability is approached in tourism and travel and assist DMOs in developing comprehensive sustainability plans.
Dolomiti Paganella is a destination in the Trentino region in Northern Italy. The DMO started investing in developing a more balanced and sustainable tourism strategy that equally acknowledges the local community and travellers a few years ago. Dolomiti Paganella has successfully used design thinking to overcome challenges with the help of the local community.
The DMO employed design thinking to assess their destination management strategy. The question “Are we going in the right direction or only following the flow?” sparked the idea to begin a collaborative project with stakeholders and the local community to enhance their destination management strategy. In the case of Dolomiti Paganella, design thinking played a key role in understanding the local community's views and concerns about the area as a tourism destination. Through design thinking, Dolomiti Paganella created a manifesto that reflected on shared values expressed by the local community.
Luca D’Angelo, Destination Manager at APT Dolomiti Paganella, presented the project in more detail at X. Festival 2021, you can watch it here.
Co-creation is a method for involving stakeholders in the process and collaborating. Design thinking leverages co-creation by allowing contributors and beneficiaries to express their input in the process. As such, co-creation reduces bias by allowing the contribution of thoughts from multiple perspectives. In tourism and travel, co-creation involves visitors in the process of designing experiences and products. Hence, the visitor cycle is shaped considering the direct input of visitors. Wonderful Copenhagen has incorporated design thinking and co-creation to reconfigure challenges caused by the pandemic and introduce solutions.
As Runa Sabroe, Director of Development at Wonderful Copenhagen, presented at X. Festival 2021, design thinking has played a key role in addressing issues around the health and safety of visitors visiting cultural institutions in the post-pandemic era. Many institutions in Copenhagen have employed design thinking to show resilience and recovery. As an example, ‘The Science Museum’ introduced the ‘Mars from home’ experience, taking the museums to the audience when they can't visit in person. Taking the museum outside of the building was a successful initiative during the pandemic and it continues to be post-pandemic.
You can watch Runa Sabroe’s talk here.
Tourisme Îles de la Madeleine, DMO in Québec - Canada, consists of six islands. Îles de Madeleine successfully brought museums and cultural institutions together in an open innovation event to prototype new projects and develop ideas. They facilitated design thinking on a destination-wide scale for museums to meet and exchange ideas. The open innovation event later led to a 4-month long co-creation project that leveraged design principles, as well as collaboration with stakeholders and users. The project paid particular attention to the "islands' way of life" and timed to encourage islanders to refer museums to visitors. As such, design thinking helped museums on the islands to collaborate, through a broader scale of networks.
Watch Tourisme Îles de la Madeleine design thinking story from Jason Bent, Tourism Development Officer, here.
The 17 Culture Test Labs in Denmark is yet another initiative that embraced creative problem-solving to respond to challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The project began with 17 cultural institutions joining the initiative and will continue with 10 institutions in 2022. The Mønsted-Kalkgruben, limestone mine, participated in the project to develop solutions for spreading visitors in space during their visit due to covid-19 regulations. In this project, the issues around crowd management were solved by guiding visitors through different map routes and introducing targeted activities to find collection cards on the way. As such, visitors explored the site through different paths and participated in engaging activities.
Design thinking in urban scale focuses on connecting people and places with creative designs that contribute to spatial awareness and perception of the surrounding space. In this context, design thinking and human-centricity leverage connectivity and playful spaces and navigation in space. It also has great value in the social interactions of people in an environment.
As Gideon Maasland, Studio Director at MVRDV - an architecture company in the Netherlands, explained during his X. Festival 2021, two blocks of lego can be put together in endless ways. The question is: "Why do we always stack them on top of each other in the same way?". This is where the advantages of design thinking become prominent in opening up new ways for solving the same problem. For example, Gideon mentioned ‘The Stairs to Kriterion’ project as a human-centric design that allows the public to access unused urban spaces, a simple but strong solution to connect an urban communal area to a roof terrace and encourage increased visits.
Find out more about Gideon’s talk by watching it here.
As we see more and more examples of how Design Thinking Techniques are applied in the tourism industry, we would like to know if you are familiar with this approach, if you ever used it and feel it could benefit your organisation and destination development.
At the DTTT, we follow IBM Enterprise Design Thinking to become certified practitioners and co-creators. We also use and create many other resources to boost our expertise in design thinking.
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