People do not buy products, or even services; they purchase the total experience that the product or service provides. Experience management is seen as the way to remain competitive in markets where globalisation and technology have turned products and services into commodities. This book draws together academic and practitioner insights into the consumer experience by combining the perspectives of the tourist consumer with that of experience managers, supported by examples from tourism, leisure, hospitality, sport and event contexts. With contributions from established and emerging international scholars, it is organised into three sections: understanding experiences, researching experiences and managing experiences. It aims to provide students, researchers and managers with a stimulating overview of the current research and managerial issues in the field and as well as a resource to guide their further reading.
Introduction - Michael Morgan, Peter Lugosi, and J.R. Brent Ritchie
Section 1: Understanding the Consumer Experience in Tourism and Leisure: Concepts and Issues
1 The Dimensions of the Tourist Experience - Sarah Quinlan Cutler and Barbara Carmichael
2 Searching for Escape, Authenticity and Identity: Experiences of 'Lifestyle Travellers' - Scott Cohen
3 The Shaping of Tourist Experience: The Importance of Stories and Themes - Gianna Moscardo
4 The Role and Meaning of Place in Cultural Festival Visitor Experiences - Kelley McClinchey and Barbara Carmichael
Section 2: Researching the Experience
5 Research Processes for Evaluating Quality Experiences: Reflections from the "Experiences" Field(s) - Gayle Jennings
6 Researching Visual Culture: Approaches for the Understanding of Tourism and Leisure Experiences - Ian Gilhespy and David Harris
7 "Been There, Done That": Embracing our Post-trip Experiential Recollections Through the Social Construction and Subjective Consumption of Personal Narratives - Richard Wright
8 Capturing Sensory Experiences Through Semi-Structured Elicitation Questions - Ulrike Gretzel and Daniel R. Fesenmaier
Section 3: Managing the Experience
9 Delivering Quality Experiences For Sustainable Tourism Development: Harnessing A Sense Of Place In Monmouthshire - Claire Haven-Tang and Eleri Jones
10 Theatre in Restaurants: Constructing the Experience - Darryl Gibbs and Caroline Ritchie
11 Tourism Memorabilia and the Tourism Experience - Nicole Ferdinand and Nigel L. Williams
12 The Experience Economy Ten Years on: Where Next for Experience Management? - Michael Morgan
