VACCAY

A mobile application was created to submit to The Innovative Tourism Project Pitching 2021 by Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA). This travel app will offer real-time crowd density data at Thai tourist spots by tracking wireless device numbers. It will also recommend less crowded alternative locations to enhance the Thai tourist experiences in the post COVID-19 period.

Tools

Figma

Duration 16 weeks

May — September 2021

Role

UX Researcher

UX/UI Designer

Team

Nawamon Chanprapun

Ratchita Sarawanawong

Tanaporn Lawsuriyont

Final Round

August 2021

First runner-up

Background

DASTA, also known as the Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration, is organizing a national competition for the Innovative Tourism Project Pitching 2021. The focus is on redefining travel in the new normal. Participants would select a district and develop a prototype application to help solve these issues. From our personal experience, we chose the designated areas for Andaman tourism.

Problem Issue

In 2019, Thailand’s main income was generated approximately 3 trillion baht from tourism. However, with the onset of Covid-19 towards the end of that year, all businesses, particularly travel, suffered that situation. According to the Thai Hotel Association, 90% of local businesses were forced to close due to the pandemic, leading to unemployment for 50,000 to 60,000 local workers.
Therefore we assumed that people were concerned about the infection in crowded areas, this situation directly made a huge impact on the tourism industry

Secondary Research

We started to do the research about the effect of COVID-19 on the tourism industry.

Then we summarized the main problem issues from our research as

We decided to choose the overcrowded issue as it's the initial concern causing people to be afraid to go outside.

Project Goal

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Thailand's tourism industry due to concerns of virus spreading in crowded areas. Our objective is to create a product that encourages Thai citizens to travel after the pandemic, so the travelers would help with local tourism business recovery.

Empathize

Online Survey

We managed to create an online survey with this scope of questions to get insight information about the user traveling while they had to deal with the crowded situation.

Out of 168 survey participants, our focus was on individuals aged 18–35, as they are typically more adept with technology. Among them, 126 people, or 80%, use the internet to research destinations. (It would be the result of the overcrowded issue) While the advantages are its speed and accessibility, many websites are outdated and lack diverse suggestions. Therefore the users ended up going to the same tourist spots, facing the overcrowded issue.

Competitive Audit

In our research, aside from online sources, we analyzed various travel, booking, and review applications. Many competitors primarily offer features for suggesting locations, reviewing destinations, and making bookings. Google Maps stands out as the only platform that provides information on the crowd density at specific locations.

Good Feature

The reliable and directed insight reviews from users
Containing a crowded display feature
Most of them have user-friendly interface

Could be improved

Containing a lot of UI useless elements
Some have too much function
(Distract user from main features)

Define

Persona

User Journey

As is User Journey Map

Persona: Lukpear

Scenario: Go traveling, then facing the crowded destination

To be User Journey Map

Persona: Lukpear

Scenario: Go traveling, facing the crowded destination then using the application

Pain Point

Tourists do not like crowded place
They prefer to find the alternative destinations
Spend more time for researching and heading to new spot
The researching sites provides the similar guide, contributing crowded issue

(Diagram of the problem loop)

Problem Statement

How might we reduce tourist congestion
By creating a platform that informs tourists about the current crowd levels, supporting and promoting local tourism businesses in Thailand.

Ideate

Tracking Crowdedness Feature

From the competitive audit, we were interested in the Google Map displaying the crowd density graph which is real time updated, so we searched for more existing technology that is similar to our preference, proving the possibility.

UX Storyboard

We collaborated on creating the UX storyboard to ensure everyone comprehends the functionality of the product and the user journey within it.

Sitemap

Wireframe

After we understood the flow from sitemap process, our wireframe is provided into three main flows:
1. Suggesting places with the crowdedness rate
2. Log in account to reach personal information in profile
3. Reviewing and commenting the location

Design

Identity

We decided to name our application as “VACCAY” which came from the short term of the word “Vacation”. Our tagline is “Flee and Free from Crowd” which directly means using our application the users can escape from the crowdedness. This phrase corresponds to our main feature.

The logo picked up, V, the capital letter from the name then made it similar to the check mark symbol meaning as it is ‘YES’ to go to this place then combined with the location icon. Moreover, the check marks are also inspired by people.

The main color of VACCAY is bright blue and orange colors which represent the sense of sea and the sunset from the Andaman ocean.

First Draft Hifi-Prototype

These hi-fi prototypes are for the initial round of the contest. After being informed that we advanced to the final round, we chose to develop the design of VACCAY’s user interface.

Prototype

After the first round, we decided to develop our product interface according to our main purpose of the application, which is to inform the indicator of crowdedness and promote traveling, so we redesigned the onboarding page providing a short overview of VACCAY and showcased more beautiful pictures to promote the places.

Getting into the application

Starting with the onboarding which presents the brief details of VACCAY, the user has a choice to log in by making an account or using the guest mode.

Suggesting the less crowded places via the home page

We decided to add the homepage instead of the map and bottom navigation bar, so the user can directly get the recommended places from nearby and it is easy to switch to other pages.

Showing the level of crowdedness by the pins

The main map page contains three colors of the pin which shows
a different level of crowdedness.
We redesigned the bottom popup to emphasize the crowded bar and bigger picture of the landmark.

Seeing the similar locations and more information

After sliding the bottom popup up, the user can find more information: the contact, direction, the alternative choice to go, and the insight information from others’ users by the review.

Knowing more about the destination by My Review and My Favorite

The user can share the review to help the others get to the place and also can save the interested destination to their list.

Test

Usability Test

We chose to perform usability testing with five potential users to test whether the app delivers a positive experience and to determine if the crowdedness level indicator is easy to understand.

Aim

Assessing a good experience from users by using application
Testing the users’ understanding toward our level of crowdedness
Finding some suggestions from user

Scenario

You are on vacation with your family. Now that you have arrived at Phuket airport then you have to plan the trip in which the destinations are less crowded.

Reflection

1. Conducting user interview and consulting expert
Due to the limit of time, we did not do the user interview, which meant missing out the insight information and additional solutions based on real user experiences. After the contest, we also received feedback on the crowded detector. I consulted a friend from the engineering faculty. He acknowledged that while our concept was promising, it is difficult in terms of technology to deal with. This experience highlighted how important consulting with experts is.

2. Working on a team
Participating in a user experience innovation contest with friends was a new experience for me, and it provided a deeper understanding of the research and analysis process through different working styles. I could gain some advantages from collaborating by learning project management, compromising and respecting each others’ opinion, and enhancing my teamwork skills.