Harnessing tourism for growth and improved livelihood
Challenge
After two years of intensive research and data compilation, the World Bank’s Africa Region Finance and Private Sector Development Unit had devised a strategy for tourism development in Sub-Sahara Africa in an effort to: formalize its involvement in tourism in Africa, create a framework for future interventions, and prioritize tourism-related activities. To garner support and funding from the World Bank’s key internal and external stakeholders, the research team needed to succinctly explain their findings and recommendations in a format easily accessible to The World Bank’s Africa-based staff and partners.
Solution
As project lead for Blue Marble Creative, Lisa co-conducted a series of work sessions with the research team to help identify the project’s key messages and explore various ways to present them. After several iterations of data visualizations, a shared understanding and appropriate story sequencing emerged. A strong visual identity for the project and a collection of graphics to represent core findings were critical components for building awareness of the work and explaining complex ideas that might otherwise be lost in cultural translation.
For the next several years, the Africa Tourism Strategy team continued to promote its work and publish updated recommendations and findings as the project evolved. As part of a promotional campaign for AFTFP Tourism's book entitled “Tourism in Africa: Harnessing Tourism for Growth and Improved Livelihoods,” Lisa created an informational booklet and one-sheet which was shared at the United Nations World Tourism Organization's 2013 General Assembly.
Packaging the research and resulting strategy into an engaging set of collateral has made technical and detailed information accessible to a large number of people. The research team has been able to share their recommendations in a universal format with multiple audiences who have different cultural perspectives. Visually articulating the strategy has made core concepts tangible and enabled the research team to gain support for the implementation of their plan.
