Digital wallet for green travel : a design science approach for development of a proof of concept

Abstract

While travel and tourism industry are very beneficial for the economy, and for the travelers, it still contributes significantly to the environmental footprint. This study aims to investigate how digital wallets can be designed and implemented to support sustainability in travel. The objective was to develop a digital wallet system that increases travelers’ awareness of their environmental footprint and facilitates the compensation of carbon footprint. The research was conducted following a design science approach, through a combination of literature study, stakeholder interviews, and iterative system design. Based on the identified sustainability needs of tourism industry, a mobile-first web application was developed to resemble a digital wallet, and it was supported by a blockchain infrastructure. The resulting proof-of-concept, named Digital Wallet for Green Travel (DWGT), allows travelers to track and compensate for their environmental footprint. A novel concept, Proof of Travel Compensation (PoTC), was introduced and implemented as a digital asset storable on the blockchain in order to support verifiable and transparent records of sustainable actions. The study demonstrates the potential of using digital wallets to foster and track travel-related sustainability. It provides practical and conceptual contributions for industry stakeholders, policy makers, and researchers by proposing a novel approach to holding accountability, and by identifying gaps in available tools for estimating footprint.