Show Notes — Can Transformative Travel Be Designed?The Learning Lens | Between Here and Benin

I spent an hour watching snails with my two-year-old before writing this episode.

Not because snails have anything to do with transformative tourism. But because that slow, unhurried hour gave me exactly what I needed — clarity. And it turns out that is the whole point of this episode.

In this episode, I answer the question that guided my doctoral research:

What factors or processes make transformative learning possible for a tourist in a five-week online tour?

I built that tour. I ran it. I studied what happened. And what I found came down to five things:

1. Human connection is the foundation.In a world increasingly enthralled with AI, human-centered experiences are becoming a luxury. And that luxury is critical for transformation to occur.

2. Design shapes everything.The storytelling, the pacing, the flexibility, the sensory details. Transformation happens to people who feel invited in, not passive observers. And listening to your guests and adapting in real time is not a sign of a poorly designed experience. It is the design working exactly as it should.

3. Reflection is the engine.An experience without a structured space for reflection is just an event. As one participant put it: "I realized how many assumptions I had because of the reflection questions."

4. Most tourism experiences are designed for the moment, not the process.The disorienting dilemma is Phase 1 of 10. What comes after is where most experiences go quiet.

5. Transformation requires integration support — especially after people go home.The later phases happen after travelers return home. And most operators have already moved on by then.

I also share the outcomes of all six participants in my study, and why the fact that every single one had a completely different transformative experience is not a bug. It is the whole point.

Plus: what snails taught me about reflection. And how Hello West Africa is designed around all five factors.

Want to go deeper?

I turned this research into a guide: Transformative Travel Can Be Designed. Here Is How. Seventeen pages, plain language, a framework you can actually use.

Get it here: THE GUIDE

The Ten Phases of Transformative Learning are listed in full at the end of this episode's newsletter. You can find them at the link below.

Between Here and Benin is written and hosted by Dr. Debra Kouda, co-founder and CEO of Hello West Africa. The Learning Lens publishes every other Thursday. Building in Public publishes every Tuesday.

Hello West Africa is currently seeking aligned founding partners and investors. Reply or reach out directly if you want to be part of building this.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit debrakouda.substack.com