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Making Sense of Destination Experience

Making Sense of Destination Experience. Cathy Guthrie PhD FTMI FTS September 2008. Outline. Background The Research Destination Experience Processes Elements of destination experience Visitor characteristics How visitors make sense of their experience Implications.

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Making Sense of Destination Experience

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  1. Making Sense of Destination Experience Cathy Guthrie PhD FTMI FTS September 2008

  2. Outline • Background • The Research • Destination Experience Processes • Elements of destination experience • Visitor characteristics • How visitors make sense of their experience • Implications

  3. Background and Context • 16 years as destination manager • Standard surveys – quantity, economic impact, destination benchmarking • Support for importance of customer care training • Really understand the visitor’s reactions • Gap in academic literature

  4. The Research • 56 interviews • Edinburgh (21 interviews, Oct 2004) • Greenwich World Heritage Site (36 interviews, May 2005) • 10-50 minutes per interview • Key topics, open ended questions • Interviews recorded, transcribed, analysed to identify key characteristics of destination experience

  5. Elements of Destination Experience Holiday Attitude Anticipations Motivations Place Interactive Mode People Reactions Perceptions

  6. Gourmet or Gourmand? • Gourmet • Quality not quantity • Connoisseurs, discerning • Engages and judges at intellectual level: • Cultural, artistic, behavioural standards to evaluate experience and impact of other people • Gets closer through appreciating historic, cultural or artistic merits • Making sense: compares against standards • Forgives from understanding

  7. Gourmet or Gourmand? • Gourmand • See and do as much as possible • Self image: seen everything, well travelled • Engages and judges at emotional level • Physical/emotional comfort of self and group used to evaluate impact of and interactions with other people • Gets closer through making connections with own personal or family situation/history • Making sense: compares against own previous experiences • Forgives through empathy

  8. Comparison Forgiven Not Forgotten Destination Experience Comparison Making Sense Standards Reporting Previous Experience Self vs. Others Home Holiday

  9. Experience Interactions Predispositions Anticipations Predispositions Comparison Justification Reporting Sense Making to Self Stories Word of Mouth

  10. So What? • Helps in planning and developing destination offer • Complement marketing messages with additional signposting • Impact of residents and non frontline staff attitudes/behaviour • Can be developed to add deeper insights to existing visitor surveys

  11. Cathy Guthrie PhD FTMI FTS Tel: +44 1467 620769 Mob: +44 7802 679489 E-mail: cathy.guthrie@dsl.pipex.com Questions?

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