A "nudge" towards sustainability

Project goals

1. Raising awareness among (German) travelers for sustainable travel offers in Ireland.
2. Creating a common understanding of sustainability in tourism and sustainability certifications
3. Visualization of sustainable travel offers in Ireland.
4. Strengthening Ireland’s position as a sustainable destination in collaboration with international tour operators.

The term sustainability

The almost inflationary use of the term “sustainability” is increasingly met with criticism and leaves many people skeptical about it. Travel offers never offer 100% sustainability, but offer an alternative with a conscious focus on this is no longer enough. Describing a trip as “sustainable” is not enough. Instead, other methods are needed to make travelers aware of sustainable holiday offers and encourage them to book. The “nudging” method has proven to be particularly effective in “nudging” people toward positive behavior.

Which communication methods can motivate travelers to use more sustainable offers?

As part of the joint project by Futouris and Tourism Ireland Germany, the question of which communication methods can be used to sensitize Irish travelers to the destination’s commitment to more sustainability and to motivate them to use climate-friendly offers is being examined. A concept for the use of effective “nudging” methods for the successful communication of sustainable travel offers in Ireland will be developed and tested in practice.

Effective nudges range from transparent additional information in the booking tool to raise awareness of greener travel options, to carbon footprint comparisons of selected means of transport, to adjusting pre-selected standard options when booking. The results will be analyzed as part of an academic thesis.

Project activities

The following activities are planned

• Analysis of the status quo with regard to existing sustainable travel offers and communication measures used
• Analysis and development of concrete nudging methods
• Establishing criteria for measuring success
• Testing the developed nudging methods in Tourism Ireland’s social media channels/newsletter
• Evaluation of the nudges used based on the previously defined criteria
• Summary and dissemination of the results (e.g. to Futouris members, Tourism Ireland markets)