Behavioural design and responsible tourism: insights from ISTO’s webinar with Milena Nikolova.

How can we encourage more responsible behaviour among travellers without multiplying rules, instructions and reminders? This question was at the heart of the webinar organised by the International Social Tourism Organisation (ISTO) on 22 September 2026.

ISTO welcomed Milena S. Nikolova, PhD, co-founder of BehaviorSMART, a specialist in behavioural science applied to tourism. Her presentation explored an approach that is still relatively underused in tourism strategies: designing experiences and environments in ways that encourage specific behaviours.

Drawing on several examples from tourism businesses and destinations, Milena Nikolova showed how targeted adjustments to traveller journeys, communication and service design can lead to measurable changes in behaviour. ISTO warmly thanks Milena Nikolova for sharing her expertise and all the members who took part in the discussion.

Understanding the gap between intentions and behaviour

Tourism professionals and decision-makers increasingly understand the behaviours they want to encourage: choosing lower-carbon forms of mobility, spending money with local providers, respecting local cultures and communities, avoiding overcrowded areas and reducing waste.Yet intentions do not always translate into action. Behavioural science provides useful insights into this gap and helps identify the mechanisms that shape travellers’ decisions.
Milena Nikolova highlighted that public policies, infrastructure, awareness-raising programmes and investment achieve their intended impact when travellers actually engage with them and adopt the behaviours they are designed to support. Understanding behaviour therefore becomes an essential part of responsible tourism strategies.

Looking at the traveller journey as a whole

One of the key ideas presented during the webinar was to view travel as a succession of touchpoints and moments of decision. From choosing a mode of transport and booking a trip to arriving at the destination, getting around, choosing where to eat or managing waste, many decisions can influence the social and environmental impacts of a stay. Some of these decisions are even made before the journey begins. For example, encouraging travellers to use drinking water available at their destination may require influencing their behaviour when they are still at home, before they pack their bags.
This approach means mapping the traveller journey to identify the moments of choice where an intervention can make a difference.

Designing for better choices

Milena Nikolova highlighted three levels to consider: travellers’ individual characteristics and habits, the context in which they make a decision, and the wider environment in which that choice takes place. The choice context is particularly important. The availability of different options, how they are presented, their number and order, the way they are described, and even the behaviour of people around us can all influence a decision.
The wider tourism environment also matters. Infrastructure, visitor services, regulations and the accessibility of public transport can all make certain behaviours more or less likely. Behavioural design brings these different levels together and focuses on creating conditions that support the desired behaviour at the point when a decision is made.

Making responsible behaviour easier and more appealing

Two principles emerged particularly strongly from the discussion: removing barriers and making the desired behaviour more appealing. The example of waste sorting in accommodation illustrates this approach. Recycling habits vary considerably across countries and cultures. A behaviour that feels obvious to some travellers may be unfamiliar to others.

The first step is therefore to identify the obstacles. Are the instructions clear enough? Are the facilities in the right place? Does the traveller have everything they need? Does the system require additional effort? The visibility and location of facilities can matter as much as the messages accompanying them. Visual cues, playful elements or thoughtful layouts can also help capture attention without adding unnecessary complexity to the visitor experience.

Measurable results for tourism businesses

To illustrate the approach in practice, Milena Nikolova presented the case of Campo Felice, a large campsite in the Swiss canton of Ticino.Although drinking water was readily available on the site, many visitors continued to purchase bottled water. One of the issues identified was the poor visibility of the drinking-water points. Targeted changes, including stickers and signage making the drinking-water points more visible, helped influence visitor behaviour. According to the results presented during the webinar, the intervention led to a 23% reduction in plastic waste and generated almost €100,000 in seasonal savings on waste collection costs.
The example highlights the value of an observation-based approach: before adding more messages or trying to persuade visitors, it can be useful to look closely at the conditions in which they actually make their decisions.

From individual behaviour to destination-wide approaches

Behavioural design can also be applied at destination level. Milena Nikolova presented work carried out in Bohinj, Slovenia, an Alpine destination experiencing high levels of summer visitor pressure at some sites. The approach aimed to influence visitor behaviour throughout the travel experience by working across several touchpoints. Accommodation providers can play an important role as an interface between the destination and the traveller. They offer valuable opportunities to present alternatives, guide visitors and support different choices before and during their stay.

This approach allows visitor-flow management, the diversification of places visited and mobility choices to be considered as part of the design of the tourism experience, alongside public policies and infrastructure.

Supporting intentions without moralising

The discussion with ISTO members also explored a more social dimension of tourist behaviour. Why might a traveller who cares about social justice or climate change not necessarily reflect these concerns in their decisions while on holiday?
Milena Nikolova introduced the idea of “human realism”: behaviour and priorities change according to context. During leisure time, attention to certain issues may give way to the pursuit of enjoyment, relaxation or immediate gratification. For tourism professionals, this means designing mechanisms that make engagement more accessible. When offering opportunities to donate or support local initiatives, for example, the clarity and number of options, as well as the timing of the request, can influence participation.

A complementary approach to responsible tourism

The webinar opened up a valuable discussion on how behavioural science can complement existing approaches to responsible tourism. For destinations and tourism businesses alike, the process involves several steps: defining the desired behaviour, understanding existing practices and their barriers, identifying relevant moments of choice, and then designing, testing and measuring appropriate interventions. This approach provides tourism professionals with a practical framework for connecting their responsible tourism ambitions more closely with the actual behaviour of travellers.
Through this members-only session, ISTO continues to create opportunities for sharing experiences, tools and practical approaches among social and responsible tourism stakeholders internationally. ISTO warmly thanks Milena Nikolova and BehaviorSMART for sharing their expertise, as well as all ISTO members who participated in the discussion.