Complexity-aware design: an interdisciplinary approach to tackling complexity in tourism

Abstract

As the design movement in tourism management grows, a unifying approach is needed to tackle complex, tourism-related societal issues. This conceptual research note presents complexity-aware design as a pivotal approach for studying and addressing the wicked problems faced by the tourism industry. Complexity-aware design is an interdisciplinary approach that integrates complexity thinking with advanced design methods to foster adaptable and co-created solutions responsive to dynamic societal systems. Moving beyond traditional, linear design processes, I present five principles of complexity-aware design to transform how complex solutions are conceived and implemented within tourism: 1) Design for generative emergence; 2) Foster collective creativity; 3) Embrace the power of language; 4) Take an evolutionary approach; and 5) Empathise with the system.