Designing visual communication to encourage conscientious tourism

ABSTRACT This article examines the visual communication potential and efficacy of the Portal to Peru project to prepare future study abroad and other tourists for ethical and conscientious tourism encounters. Portal to Peru is a Website project that provides visitors with exhibits, digital stories and interactive novels, and access to the permanent collection based on the Center for Traditional Textiles (CTTC) in Cusco, Peru. To begin exploring the question of whether and how using the site before going abroad may or may not help prepare eventual travelers to South America to be more informed and thoughtful tourists, we administered a pre-departure survey to a class of Latin American Studies students at a Florida university before their trip to Cusco, and a post-visit survey upon their return, along with having them study the Website for a limited period of time in between. Although preliminary, the results suggest modest gains in certain areas of knowledge and changes in attitudes, although more work is to be done both in terms of testing and in refining the approach the Website takes based on user feedback.