Veragua at Home is an extension to the Veragua Rainforest’s current offer that aims to help travel enthusiast families experience authentic Costa Rican culture and biodiversity (with or without their physical presence), by connecting them to locals of Veragua for experiences before, during and after their travel.

During the Service Design course, teams were asked to find ways for Costa Rican tourism to become resilient during low seasons or unpredictable conditions like Covid-19. The team reimagined this brief by landing on the question: How could we make Costa Rica an ongoing conversation among tourists, connecting with them before, during and after their trip?

In order to complete the task, the team got the opportunity and decided to work alongside Veragua Rainforest, an expedition/research center located in the Caribbean rainforest which normally hosts cruise ship tourists for a full-day of adventure and community related activities. The research and co-design phase included on-site interviews with Veragua’s staff, local communities and partners in and around the province in Limon, as well as remote interviews with travel enthusiast families. Some important findings include the importance of the cultural factor for a complete experience of Costa Rica and the tourists’ need for a pre-travelling experience to engage better and feel attached to the destination.

Veragua at Home completes Veragua Rainforest’s service by adding a digital factor on the pre and post travel experience, as well as providing a more sustainable cash-flow for the company. For the pre-travel experience, tourists have the opportunity to take single classes or subscribe for at home experiences. Either way, tourists are provided with cacao points which can be used for on-site activities when they decide to visit. On the other hand, for the post-travel, tourists have the option to donate to the research center or share back some knowledge with locals.