The digital destination is a mobile-first, personalized website to inspire and inform travelers.
Appnovation recently launched the latest version of a leading tourism board’s consumer website, a personalized and mobile-first experience designed to promote it as a preeminent tourist destination and showcase its abundance of offerings.
The site launch comes in the midst of a global pandemic that has had an unprecedented impact on travel. While the region continues to adjust its reopening guidelines to slow the spread of COVID-19, the site serves as a resource, letting visitors know how to travel responsibly and linking to local information regarding regulations and openings, as well as serving up inspiration for future travel.
The new website enables the tourism board to adapt during these ever-changing times by showcasing communities that are open for business, promoting road trip content, supporting the needs of in-state travelers, and amplifying user-generated content that is produced and developed by other travelers.
Appnovation worked with the tourism board on the full redesign and replatforming of the new website, providing user design consulting, user experience strategy, and programming services. The mobile-first website integrates user-generated content along with travel videos and podcasts into a flexible technical platform. The website also features personalized content based on user interests and past searches, the ability for users to save and bookmark content to be accessed later, advanced map functionality so users can plot locations and routes for their travels, and an advanced search engine and multiple routes to find content based around location or interest.
“The new website was designed with the user in mind, meaning it had to be easy-to-use while inspiring wanderlust for one of the most diverse and scenic travel destinations in the world,” said Anton Morrison, VP of Experience Design at Appnovation. “We worked with the tourism board to create a mobile-first website that allows users to find inspirational content, traveler information, and planning tools in an intuitive way.”
The new website is also home to the digital hub - the digital destination to get travelers inspired to plan and share their ultimate road trip. This hub, which launched in summer 2019, has already received six Awards of Excellence for Appnovation and the tourism board at the 2020 Communicator Awards in the website and mobile categories for the digital hub.
Additional features of the new site include an updated menu bar, which organizes content into user-friendly search categories. These include places to visit, things to do, and a blog, which highlights timely stories and deals. Users can also easily access travel videos, free travel guides, the newsletter, a podcast, and information on welcome centers.
To help visitors make informed decisions, the site’s menu bar features a Travel Tips section that includes the Responsible Travel Code, asking visitors to travel with RESPECT and observe seven best practices including putting safety first and educating themselves on local guidelines before traveling. The code lives in the Responsible Travel Hub, which offers need-to-know information on visiting restaurants, hotels, parks, and more within the region.
