Using the Behaviour Change Wheel to Design an App to Change Tourist Behaviour and Increase Dispersal into Regional Areas

Currently, many tourism destinations are experiencing greatly reduced tourism due to COVID-19. In order to ensure that regions that wish to engage in tourism can share the benefits of it more equally, and to prevent the predicted future problem of overuse of popular areas once pre-COVID visitor numbers resume, an app to encourage tourists and leisure-seekers to change their behaviour and disperse into regional areas has been developed. The Behaviour Change Wheel was used to define the problem, find suitable intervention functions and design methods of delivery that could increase tourists’ capability, opportunity and motivation to disperse farther into regions. The Huon Valley of Tasmania, Australia, was used as a research area. Our application of the Behaviour Change Wheel methodology determined that active engagement in logistic, value-based, and social information has the greatest chance of changing behaviour in this region and a list of Behaviour Change Techniques has been developed and considered in the design of a gamified travel app.