Ecotravel is an app prototype designed in 2022 to promote sustainable tourism by helping travellers minimise their carbon footprint. It offers eco-friendly travel options, sustainable accommodation and activity recommendations, and CO₂ footprint calculations with offsetting suggestions, making responsible travel both easy and rewarding.
The objective was to design a user-centred application that simplifies the process of making sustainable travel choices and encouraging sustainable tourism.
My role encompassed scheduling and task management, documentation, user research and analysis, user journey mapping, branding, sketching, wireframing, prototyping the accommodation flow, user testing, and delivering the final presentation.
Overview
Scrum Master, UX Research,
Visual & UX Design
Role
User Research/analysis 3 weeks
UX/UI Design: 4 weeks
Durations
Reflections
Working on ecotravel provided an opportunity to develop my agile leadership skills. I had to adjust team workloads and reassign tasks to keep the project on track. In my role as scrum master, clear communication, setting strong expectations, and remaining flexible were paramount for the successful delivery of this project on time. This experience highlighted the importance of creative adaptability and proactive problem-solving in meeting deadlines despite unexpected challenges.
Challenges
Changing Mindset: Consumers are increasingly concerned about climate change and pollution.
Rising Emissions: Tourism-related greenhouse gas emissions are expected to rise by 25% by 2030 (The World Counts, 2020).
Trends: The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the trend towards sustainable travel (Hederer, 2022).
Tourism Recovery: Global tourism is not expected to recover to 2019 levels until 2023 (Behsudi, 2020).
Consumer Demand: 90% of consumers look for sustainable options when travelling (Expedia Group, 2022).
Problem Statement
Many travellers want to make sustainable choices, but existing travel apps focus primarily on cost and convenience, making it difficult to find eco-friendly options. No single platform integrated transport, accommodation, and activities while considering environmental impact.
Design Process
User Research
We interviewed a sustainability professional who shared useful information on problems (e.g., greenwashing) and trends (e.g., affordable, popular solutions for CO2 offsetting).
To understand user habits and needs, we employed mixed-methods research, including surveys of 15 travellers and interviews with 5 volunteers interested in sustainable tourism. This approach provided both quantitative and qualitative insights into user behaviours and preferences.
Competitor Analysis
We analysed the competitive landscape, noting the vast and growing market for sustainable tourism. Existing platforms offer some sustainable options, but a specialised app was needed to tackle sustainable tourism holistically.
How Might We statements
The interview and survey responses were grouped, and Affinity Mapping was used to generate 'How Might We' statements that highlighted users' pain points and uncovered their key needs.
The top concerns were:
Lack of centralised information: Users had to search multiple sites to find sustainable options.
Unclear environmental impact: Travellers wanted transparency on how ‘green’ an option really was.
Sustainability vs. affordability: Many assumed sustainable travelling was expensive and hard to plan.
Persona
Meet Sam, a 38-year-old urban professional who is passionate about sustainability but struggles to find reliable eco-friendly travel options.
Journey Map
We mapped Sam's journey to identify key stages and potential pain points, ensuring our app addresses these effectively.
Inclusive UI Design
In developing the Ecotravel app, I prioritised accessibility to create an inclusive experience for all users. Using a user-centred design approach, I conducted accessibility heuristic evaluations to identify and resolve usability barriers, ensuring compliance with WCAG standards for users of varying abilities.
Carefully selected the Montserrat and Mulish font pairing for its legibility and modern aesthetic, while the colour palette was calibrated to balance eco-friendly tones with sufficient contrast to meet WCAG Level AA standards.
These efforts reflect the commitment to designing a sustainable travel platform that is inclusive, user-friendly, and visually engaging.
Prototyping
I designed the Ecotravel accommodation flow prototype to make selecting sustainable accommodation straightforward and engaging.
The design allowed users to easily filter and book eco-friendly stays based on sustainability criteria. I created wireframes and interactive prototypes to guide users seamlessly through searching, booking, and monitoring their environmental impact.
Usability testing offered valuable insights, leading to refinements in layout and feature prioritisation to improve user experience and accessibility.
Results & Impact
User testing with five participants indicated that 80% found the sustainable travel suggestions intuitive and motivating. The CO₂ footprint calculator was particularly engaging, encouraging users to explore more sustainable travel options. Participants valued the rewards system, noting it increased their likelihood of adopting eco-conscious habits.
Based on feedback, future improvements could include more personalised travel recommendations and clearer pathways to redeem rewards.
Key Features
Comprehensive Travel Experience
The application allows users to seamlessly book their journey offering bookings for activities, accommodation, and selecting eco-friendly transportation options.
Incentives for Sustainability
Ecotravel enhances user engagement by integrating a rewards program and facilitating contributions to environmental charities, such as tree planting initiatives.
Eco-conscious Planning Tools
The app provides a feature to calculate the environmental impact of travel choices in terms of CO2 emissions and employs AI to recommend alternatives for offsetting this footprint, aiming for a sustainable travel experience.
User Testing
Testing showed that 80% of users found it easier to plan sustainable travel using Ecotravel compared to existing methods.
90% felt the CO2 impact calculator helped them make better choices
Ecotravel’s framework is adaptable for broader markets, making it scalable for future development or integration with existing travel platforms.
Users reported:
“I love that I can filter by sustainability without digging through endless options.”
“I never realised how much CO2 I was generating until I used the calculator!”
Road Map
I created a roadmap to guide Ecotravel from concept to reality, ensuring a structured and strategic approach.
We started by asking: How can we make sustainable travel effortless? Over 11 weeks, we focused on understanding user needs, mapping journeys, and prototyping ideas, shaping the foundation of the product. We also explored potential partnerships with eco-conscious organisations to add real value to travellers.
Our roadmap set the stage for the next phase—developing an MVP that would allow travellers to track their footprint, get AI-driven recommendations, and choose greener ways to explore the world.
Ecotravel wasn’t just an idea—it was a vision shaped through structured planning, ready to transform the way people travel sustainably.
Future Plans
The Ecotravel app represents a significant step forward in promoting sustainable travel. By providing users with tools to make eco-friendly travel choices, we aim to reduce the carbon footprint of tourism and encourage more responsible travel habits.
The project has taught us valuable lessons about user-centred design and the importance of aligning our solutions with environmental goals.
Ecotravel’s framework can be expanded to include real-time carbon offset suggestions, partnership integrations with green travel providers, and AI-driven itinerary recommendations. With further development, it has the potential to scale as a leading sustainable travel tool.
Testimonial