Tourism Ireland
Tourism Ireland is responsible for marketing the island of Ireland as a travel destination to international audiences. Their flagship website, Ireland.com, serves as the primary digital channel for showcasing the country’s landscapes, culture and experiences. While the site inspired millions of visitors, there was a missing link between content discovery and actionable planning — especially given the hand-off between Tourism Ireland and its partner organisations who support travellers once they arrive.
Background
Over time, the Ireland.com platform had grown into a deep library of travel content. But insight showed that while people enjoyed browsing, many dropped off before reaching the planning stage. There were clear gaps around personalisation, perceived travel difficulty, and awareness of what Ireland had to offer beyond the green landscapes.
To address this, we developed a new cross-site feature called MyIreland. The goal was to create a light-touch planning tool that would encourage exploration, reduce perceived travel barriers, and offer a more tailored experience.
Insight
We introduced an omnipresent floating action button (FAB) across the site. Tapping it opened up MyIreland, an overlay experience showing a personalised feed of content cards curated from user behaviour and preference data. These included beautiful imagery, quotes from locals, and tailored recommendations.
Users could save any page or piece of content using a heart icon that appeared throughout the site. Saved items were added to the user’s board, a visual list that could also be viewed on a map. The map helped address a major concern among users: not understanding how to get around or how close key locations were.
To extend functionality, we converted MyIreland into a progressive web app (PWA). This allowed access to device features like geolocation, notifications, and shared boards. Travellers could plan collaboratively with friends, and when arriving in Ireland, would receive localised updates and content based on where they landed.
We also included privacy controls, content deletion tools, and nudges to download the web app. Once installed, users unlocked new features, such as location-based welcome panels with local weather and emergency contact info.
Result
MyIreland evolved Ireland.com from a content hub into a smart travel companion. It gave users new ways to save, plan, and personalise their experience. Tourism Ireland gained richer insight into content preferences and user behaviour, while the web app gave them a clearer view of conversion from interest to actual arrival.
The experience was simple but powerful – an ever-present, device-aware feature that helped travellers make decisions and feel supported at every stage.
Good stuff
The project helped elevate the customer experience and blur the line between inspiration and planning, using lightweight tech and smart UX to create something genuinely helpful – without ever forcing the user to change how they browse.
MyIreland Webapp
Date: 2020 / 2021
Company: Tourism Ireland
Project: My Ireland Webapp
Role: UX/UI design, Design oversight, Experience Strategy,
Team:
Alex Beck (UI Designer)
James Seabrook (Frontend Developer)
Mat Lloyd (Product Owner)