Project Overview
NEOM, Saudi Arabia’s ambitious futuristic region, approached us with a vision to create a compelling digital presence tailored specifically for travel industry professionals. The goal was to design and launch the Travel Trade Website, a B2B platform that would invite and engage travel business owners—tour operators, agencies, and industry stakeholders—to discover NEOM’s untapped destinations and form strategic travel partnerships.
This initiative was part of NEOM’s broader mission to position itself as the next global travel destination by creating tools that empower partners to promote and include NEOM in their travel offerings. The platform needed to reflect NEOM’s innovation-led values while providing clear, practical information and resources for potential partners.
My Role & Contribution
As the UX Designer embedded within the product and design team, I played a central role in shaping the platform’s structure and user experience. My contributions included:
- Participated in discovery sessions with NEOM stakeholders and product owners to define user personas (e.g., travel agents, DMCs, wholesalers).
- Synthesized insights into clear business goals and user needs to ensure alignment with the platform’s purpose.
- Mapped stakeholder requirements into a phased feature strategy based on priorities.
- Defined user journeys and use cases specific to B2B users—e.g., exploring NEOM destinations, understanding partnership models, and accessing sales toolkits.
- Created an intuitive information architecture that emphasized clarity and quick access to critical sections like Destination Highlights, Resources, Events, and Registration.
- Developed low- to mid-fidelity wireframes to validate layout and flow with internal stakeholders and product managers.
- Used rapid prototyping to test the experience across multiple screen sizes and devices, ensuring responsiveness and accessibility.
- Collaborated with the UI designer to ensure the visual language reflected NEOM’s premium and futuristic branding.
- Helped align UX patterns with NEOM’s broader digital design system, ensuring consistency and scalability.
- Participated in internal usability reviews and refined the experience based on cross-functional feedback.
- Worked closely with developers to support implementation by providing detailed annotations and design rationale.
Impact & Outcome
- Delivered a scalable, user-centric platform tailored for the travel trade sector, helping NEOM extend its B2B outreach.
- Successfully launched the MVP version, allowing users to explore NEOM’s offerings, download curated content, and express partnership interest.
- Stakeholders praised the clarity of navigation, visual storytelling, and usability for non-technical users.
- The platform is now serving as a cornerstone for NEOM's travel trade engagement strategy, with future enhancements planned based on real user feedback.
Reflection
This project was a powerful example of how UX design can support visionary goals through practical digital execution. Working on the NEOM Travel Trade Website allowed me to bridge strategic objectives with real user needs, while collaborating in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary team. It reaffirmed the value of grounding futuristic ambitions in intuitive, purpose-driven experiences.