From endless scrolling to curated journeys: A Service System for personalised and locally-authentic travel experiences
Author
Shafaat Pour, Sofia
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2026
Submitted on
2026-05-26
Pages
103
Abstract
This thesis examines how service design—the design of interactions, processes, and relationships—can help tourism move from one-off, product-focused solutions to flexible service systems that adapt and improve over time. To explore this, the project develops Viah, a digital service concept that helps travelers discover more personalized, locally rooted, and non-mainstream experiences, while enabling fair value exchanges among travelers, small providers, residents, and local tourism organizations. Analysis of the tourism ecosystem shows that, before a trip, people must piece together fragmented information from many platforms. At the same time, smaller local providers are hard to find in popularity-driven marketplaces where the most clicked options dominate. Using human-centered and service design methods, the project examines traveler behaviors, needs, and pain points to identify opportunities for service support during planning, decision making, and on-trip experiences. Findings suggest that the main problem is not how long planning takes, but how it feels: the process creates cognitive overload and too many choices. The thesis concludes that the value of service design lies less in building a mobile app and more in orchestrating relationships, participation, trust, and adaptable value exchanges. In this view, technology is a medium that enables evolving, context-aware service experiences, rather than the end value itself.
Specialet undersøger, hvordan servicedesign kan hjælpe turismebranchen med at gå fra enkeltstående, produktfokuserede løsninger til fleksible servicesystemer, der kan tilpasse sig og udvikle sig over tid. For at belyse dette udvikles Viah, et digitalt servicekoncept, der skal gøre det lettere for rejsende at finde mere personlige, lokalt forankrede og ikke-mainstream oplevelser, samtidig med at der skabes retfærdige værdivekslinger mellem rejsende, små udbydere, borgere og lokale turismeorganisationer. Analysen af turismens økosystem viser, at folk før rejsen må samle brudstykker af information fra mange platforme. Samtidig har mindre lokale udbydere svært ved at blive synlige i popularitetsdrevne platforme, hvor de mest klikkede muligheder dominerer. Med menneskecentreret design og servicedesignmetoder undersøger projektet rejsendes adfærd, behov og friktion for at finde muligheder for serviceindsatser under planlægning, beslutningstagning og selve oplevelsen af fritidsrejser. Resultaterne peger på, at hovedproblemet ikke er tidsforbruget på research og planlægning, men oplevelsen i sig selv: processen skaber kognitiv overbelastning og for mange valg. Specialet konkluderer, at servicedesigns bidrag ikke blot er at bygge en mobilapp, men at orkestrere relationer, deltagelse, tillid og tilpasningsdygtige værdivekslinger. Teknologi ses derfor som et middel, der muliggør udviklende og kontekstafhængige serviceoplevelser – ikke som værdien i sig selv.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
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