Exploratory Research for an International Travel Company

Overview:

My Field Methods graduate course was sponsored by a travel company wanting to understand what drives people when planning and booking travel, i.e. the why and how behind decisions that result in purchases on their site.

Their primary objective was to understand travel engagement purchasing behaviors. Their secondary objective was to understand non-committal travel engagement behaviors.

Some questions they wanted answered were: Why do travelers take trips? What triggers someone to start researching travel? How do they research travel? What impacts their decisions when planning for a trip? etc.

My Role:

I worked as a sole UX Researcher to:

• devise a protocol (script including probing questions)

• recruit participants

• interview participants

• analyze findings

• create final report and present to stakeholder

Methodology:

I recruited 5 participants who: had travelled in the last year, utilize technology on a daily basis, and enjoy traveling as evidenced by their behavior. I interviewed participants for 60 minutes - some in person and some over Zoom - details below.

Data Analysis:

I listened to the recordings of each session and noted behaviors associated with traveling, behaviors associated with planning, attitudes, emotions, goals/motivations, technology aptitudes, and tools or websites used. Then I grouped these notes in clusters as well as spectrums.

Findings:

After analyzing the data, I came up with 5 findings:

1. There is an opportunity to help people keep track of/document places they want to visit one day.

2. People typically travel for one or more of these reasons:

   • arts & culture

   • to spend time with friends & family

   • for work

   • to escape

   • for adventure

3. Booking a trip depends on: cost, time, friends/family/partners, and life events.

4. Devices with larger screens are preferable for research and for booking.

5. Spontaneity is difficult for pet owners, multiple homeowners, and parents.

I also developed two different personas:

Reflections:

For next steps, I recommended they continue to ideate on Persona 1, who I believe has the greatest potential for their Company. Challenges throughout this process were the scarcity of resources. I was the observer and moderator. In order to be present in the discussion, I did not take notes. Instead I took notes while listening to the recordings after each interview. I also would have liked to analyze the data with another person. However, the client was very pleased with my findings and presentation.