BehaviorSMART: Insights from Milena Nikolova about the “Marriage of Psychology and Sustainability” in Tourism

Milena Nikolova

“It is a little bit like when you invite a guest to your house. You tell them whether or not to take their shoes off, where to sit, etc.”

Milena Nikolova has been part of the NorReg project from the very first steps and has added great value to the project through her “First Mile” approach, which can best be described as a journey of behavioral change.
Milena is the founder and “Chief Behavior Officer” of the business BehaviorSMART, which pursues the mission of transforming the travel and tourism industry by making sustainable practices accessible and actionable for everyone who is interested.

Milena's approach showcases the transformative power of psychology in tourism. Her journey began with her Ph.D. research in 2004 in the United States, where she got the chance to combine human psychology aspects with tourism sustainability in her research. One of her first main findings influenced her further work significantly: the industry’s sustainability strategies often contradicted the fundamental principles of human behavior.

“The approaches that were being introduced in the textbooks were not going to work, which is what we see – the industry has not been changed. So this is when I decided that this is a space for me.”

Milena is now a leading advocate for regenerative tourism, focusing on practical solutions for behavioral change. Her concept of the "First Mile" is simple but revolutionary.

Instead of “educating” tourists – a strategy most commonly suggested by tourism authorities that often fails – travelers are usually driven by the moment and take their vacation as a welcome opportunity to “take a break from their otherwise responsible values,” a phenomenon that Milena has observed as a typical mindset of leisure. To tackle this challenge, Milena subtly designed experiences to guide behavior, enabling travelers to seamlessly adopt sustainable practices without even realizing it – and it worked!

One example of her work is equipping visitors with small, reusable bags before they ventured into nature. A simple act, solely nudging, not forcing, encouraged and reminded travelers to bring back their trash and ensure that no trace was left behind.

As another example, Milena points out the simple trick of setting the framework in a way that does not give visitors the option to choose the unsustainable alternative any longer. Simply by not offering single-use water bottles anymore, the thirsty traveler will choose the reusable bottle by default.

“It is a little bit like when you invite a guest to your house. You tell them whether or not to take their shoes off, where to sit, etc.”

Milena’s approach is very practical, making these behavioral insights accessible to small tourism businesses. The First Mile tools are designed to be implemented immediately, without significant costs, making sustainability easy and natural.

Milena’s mission is clear: to create a world where the magic of travel harmonizes with the health of the planet through understanding human behavior and crafting environments that naturally foster regenerative actions. Her work continues to inspire, proving that sometimes the smallest changes at the beginning of a journey can lead to the most profound transformations.

If you want to learn more about the First Mile approach, sign up on the NorReg Membership page (www.norreg.is) and get access to the recording of Milena’s Masterclass on how to work with the First Mile approach.

More information about Milena and BehaviorSMART can be found here: https://behavior-smart.com/