TUI Germany is the national travel industry market leader and aims at creating exceptional travel experiences for its customers. The core brand TUI is complemented by numerous additional travel businesses providing a wide range of leisure flights, package holidays and individually arranged trips.

Customers can access all necessary information about their trip through the personalized travel portal Meine TUI (engl: My TUI). Besides managing their travel documents and booked services, users can add further trips and learn interesting facts about their travel destination.

Requirements & Concept

Findings of the first usability test as well as business requirements and technical restrictions were especially important for the list of redesign requirements. Regular workshops involving project stakeholders were used to collaboratively collect requirements and develop new ideas. The close coordination facilitated a goal-oriented approach.

Identified requirements were used to improve the information architecture and develop a new, responsive concept which provides personalized content and supports the whole user journey – from booking a trip to returning home. Technical conditions proved to be a major challenge. Users expected to see individual components of their booking (flight and hotel, rental car) all in one place, however this was impossible due to technical limitations. This problem was bypassed by the implementation of numerous hyperlinks between the respective content areas.

Following the user-centered design approach users were asked for feedback at an early stage in the process and completed typical tasks in a usability test with a high-fidelity prototype.

The results of the usability test served as guidelines for the continuing redesign and emphasized how much easier using the portal had already become because of the new navigation structure. The hyperlinks between different content areas also had the desired effect even though users still did not understand why the areas were separated.

Based on those results, the prototype was iteratively improved and fleshed out. In a final step, the visual design was included. This high-fidelity prototype was again tested, not just on usability this time, but on user experience as well.

Users enjoyed the portal’s ‘vacation mood’ look and feel. Not only was the user experience assessed as considerably more positive compared to the old design, but also compared to the first testing round of the redesign.

• Intuitive information architecture

  It was significantly easier for users to navigate through the different areas.

• Services are noticed

  Users were pleasantly surprised by the multitude of information and services that had remained unnoticed before.

• Optimized for all devices

  The responsive layout made navigation much easier for smartphone users.

• Easy registration

  The registration process contained less steps and media disruptions and was therefore considerably simpler.

• Vacation mood

  The participants particularly liked the appealing design with many pictures. “This makes you want to go on holiday.”

The Result of the User-Centered Design

Through the user-centered design approach it was possible to develop a new, optimized design of the travel portal Meine TUI which meets the requirements of both users and management.

Despite technical limitations, the responsive design allows for easy interaction on all devices and in every stage of the journey. Users are treated with a fun, clear and easy-to-use portal. Large images and a lot of information increase their excitement for the next holiday. The project’s success was reflected in the positive feedback from enthusiastic customers, which TUI was pleased to receive after implementation.