Rethinking tourism: How design thinking really inspires guests!

Rethinking tourism: How design thinking really inspires guests!

There is a constant flow of new product developments in Alpine tourism, but these are often realized without real demand or extensive market research. Gerhard Gstettner, an experienced tourism director and brand developer, criticizes this approach as inadequate. He emphasizes that many products are often developed without meeting the needs of guests, which leads to an imbalance between supply and demand. This highlights the need to better understand guests' real needs before developing new offerings. [OTS] reports that the entire process usually starts with ideas in the team, but is often implemented without valuable feedback from guests.

In order to remedy the current deficit in product development, Gstettner suggests the use of “Design Thinking”, a method established in the industry. It begins with identifying a specific topic or problem within the team, followed by open listening to guests to understand their actual needs. It becomes clear that guests often have different problems than the developers assumed. Following the listening, a prototype is developed, which is tested and optimized. Applying this methodology requires a lot of time, but it can save money in the long term and avoid undesirable developments.

Design thinking in detail

The design thinking process includes six essential phases. In the first phase, understanding, techniques such as the “design challenge” or stakeholder maps are used to obtain a comprehensive picture of the target group. In the observation phase, methods such as exploratory interviews or market trend analyzes are used, while in the synthesis phase the point of view is defined, for example by creating personas or user journey mapping. This systematic approach is also important in the tourism industry. [Tomorrow] emphasizes that each method is described in detail and often supplemented with templates to make it easier to use.

In the idea development phase, creativity techniques such as brainstorming, the headstand method or brainwriting can be used. Prototyping follows, in which initial ideas are visualized using simple mock-ups. Finally, in the final phase of testing, the functionality of the prototypes is checked. Methods such as user tests or expert interviews are used here to obtain further feedback and make adjustments.

Adaptation to current conditions

The need to adapt to changing conditions in tourism is obvious. Tourism companies such as hotels and restaurants in particular face the challenge of developing innovative products and services both online and offline in order to remain competitive. In this context, the “Design Thinking in Tourism” workshop is offered, which aims to promote creativity and customer orientation. The workshop provides participants with a comprehensive set of methods for solving specific questions and problems in their own practice. [Innominds] describes that the methods are learned pragmatically using concrete examples and applied directly to individual situations.

The results of the workshops are documented not only theoretically, but also in a photo protocol that helps the participants to continue applying the methods in everyday life. The core content includes customer journey mapping, design thinking, storyboarding and other creative approaches to developing unforgettable customer experiences.

Applying design thinking in the tourism industry ensures that products are developed not just for guests, but together with them. In times of tight budgets and increasing interchangeability of offers, this approach is becoming increasingly important.