STEPS-AI: Sustainable Travel & Eco-Planning Solutions with AI

PROJECT ID

SME Name:

Total Fun

Country:

Portugal

Subsector:

Tour operator / travel agency

*Thematic Axis and Specific Topic:

  • Axis: Digital transition of tourism SMEs
  • Topic: Automation of business processes

*These are Cross-Re-Tour-specific thematic axes inspired by the Transition Pathway for Tourism. The thematic axis were chosen based on what category best reflects the main contributions of the project.

PROJECT SUMMARY & NEEDS

Project summary

The project focused on developing an AI-powered sustainable travel platform that helps travellers and travel agents choose greener tourism options. The solution will provide personalised low-impact itineraries, carbon footprint tracking, smart mobility and carpooling options, and recommendations for emerging destinations to reduce over-tourism. By combining automation, sustainability data and partnerships with local communities, the project promotes regenerative tourism, supports local economies and encourages more responsible travel choices. It positions Total Fun as an innovative leader in sustainable and digitally enabled tourism.

Exploitation Area(s):

  • Client Nudging
  • Staff Nudging

SME needs adressed:

  • Create / diversify tourism offer
  • Improve resource efficiency

OUTPUTS & OUTCOMES

Solution implemented

Total Fun developed an AI-powered sustainable travel platform with an embedded Carbon Footprint Tracker, enabling travel itineraries to be dynamically adapted according to carbon footprint, local sustainability criteria and regenerative tourism opportunities. Client inquiries received through social media are supported by an AI chatbot that provides personalised recommendations and real-time prompts, encouraging travellers to choose more eco-friendly options. At B2B level, an automated AI Travel Assistant helps travel agents identify, recommend and book sustainable options in real time, improving decision-making and service quality.

Cross-Domain Innovation element

The solution adapts AI, automation, carbon tracking and behavioural nudging techniques from sectors such as e-commerce, corporate sustainability, smart mobility and digital customer service to the tourism sector, helping both travellers and agents choose more sustainable travel options.

Key ouputs:

  • AI-powered sustainable travel platform with embedded Carbon Footprint Tracker, linked to 15 + eco-friendly destinations promoted and integrated into the platform
  • AI chatbot for social media client inquiries and traveller nudging
  • automated B2B AI Travel Assistant for travel agents
  • 16-hour training programme for employees in CRM/ERP, AI assistant, automation workflows, marketing automation
  • adhesion to the Empresas Turismo 360º programme,
    the official ESG framework for the tourism sector operated by Turismo de Portugal

Key outcomes (Quantitative)

  • staff confidence and skills increased from 1.9 to 3.7 out of 5
  • Staff spent 55% less time manually sorting and forwarding client requests
  • manual data entry was reduced by around 40%
  • end-to-end processing cycle reduced from 120+ minutes manually to approximately 7 minutes
  • platform provided accurate recommendations in 90% of tested cases
  • 28% of clients selected lower-carbon alternative
  • expected 10% turnover growth by reaching eco-conscious and B2B clients.

Key outcomes (Qualitative)

  • improved staff confidence in using AI for travel planning and client support
  • faster and more consistent handling of client requests
  • stronger ability to promote lower-carbon travel options
  • more personalised and responsive client interactions
  • greater awareness of the environmental impact of travel choices
  • stronger positioning as an innovative, sustainability-oriented tourism provider

Lesson learned & Best practices:

The main practical lesson is that AI-driven sustainability integration is feasible and affordable for tourism micro-enterprises, not only for large operators, when it is applied to clear operational bottlenecks. In Total Fun’s case, automating lead routing, CRM inputs and client follow-up created immediate efficiency gains, while carbon comparisons and sustainability nudges made greener choices visible at the moment of decision. At community level, nudging clients toward local accommodation, lesser-known destinations and lower-emission transport supports more distributed and responsible tourism patterns. Other SMEs should replicate the combination of simple automation, staff training and client-facing sustainability prompts, while avoiding overcomplicated systems before workflows, data quality and staff roles are clearly defined.

CONTACTS

Website / Social Media

https://travel.totalfun.pt/
https://www.instagram.com/totalfunpt/