Development of a Tourist Destination Recommendation Application Based on User Interests: An Application of Design Thinking

This research aimed to develop a tourist destination recommendation application based on user interests by applying the Design Thinking process. The research began with understanding user needs through online questionnaires and in-depth interviews. The data collected was analyzed and transformed into Customer Journey Maps and Empathy Maps to identify genuine problems and requirements. Through brainstorming sessions, solutions were generated and developed into an application prototype featuring key functionalities including 3D/AR tourist attraction recommendations, accommodation search and booking systems, restaurant recommendations, and navigation features. The satisfaction evaluation revealed high to very high levels of satisfaction across all aspects, particularly in user interface design and ease of use, with over 40% of users giving the highest ratings. This research not only demonstrates the effectiveness of the Design Thinking process in developing tourism applications but also presents a development approach that can be applied to future applications in the tourism industry.