A Typology of Technology‐Enhanced Tourism Experiences

The service experience in tourism

The study of the comparative characteristics of cultures in international tourism is an issue of significant importance in today's globalizing world. International tourism is becoming more and more popular, and travel is accessible to more people than ever before. As different cultures come into contact around the world, understanding and respecting cultural differences become key aspects of successful travel. The purpose of this article is to look at the importance of comparative research in the context of international tourism and to discuss why understanding cultural differences is important for travelers and local communities. In addition, this article will explore the tools and methods used in comparative culture research in tourism, as well as provide examples of what conclusions can be drawn from such research. The purpose of this article is to understand the importance of comparative cultural research in the context of international tourism and to present the tools, methods and benefits associated with this research area. The article aims to highlight why understanding cultural differences is important for travelers and for the development of tourism, as well as promoting the idea of culturally sensitive international tourism. Methodology. In comparative studies on the characteristics of cultures in international tourism, qualitative methodology was mainly used. This methodology includes literature analysis, interviewing, field observations, and document analysis. Field research allowed us to obtain direct knowledge about the cultures of different regions and their influence on tourist behavior. The analysis of the literature allowed us to explore the existing knowledge about cultures and their impact on tourism.The qualitative methodology allowed for a more subjective view of the issue and understanding of cultural nuances. This research has helped identify differences and similarities between cultures and influenced the development of culturally sensitive strategies in international tourism. Culture plays a key role in the tourism experience. Customs, values, language and traditions vary greatly between different countries and regions. Understanding these differences can help travelers avoid misunderstandings and integrate into local communities in a way that respects their culture. Comparative cultural studies in tourism can identify similarities and differences between different groups of people and understand what factors influence tourist behavior. They can also help develop marketing strategies and tourism development plans that are tailored to the needs of different cultural groups. Results. This article will present examples of specific comparative research in the field of international tourism that provide valuable tips for travelers and tourism industry professionals. The conclusions from this research can contribute to the creation of a more open and tolerant world in which traveling becomes not only an adventure, but also a way to bring different cultures and people together. The rest of the article will discuss various aspects of comparative research in international tourism, including are research methods, challenges and benefits. Ultimately, this article aims to highlight that cultural comparative research is essential for the promotion of sustainable and culturally sensitive international tourism. Practical implications. The practical importance of this topic for international tourism is enormous. A comparative study of the characteristics of cultures in international tourism allows for a better understanding of cultural differences and expectations of tourists from different regions. This, in turn, makes it possible to adapt the tourist offer to the needs and preferences of different groups of tourists. Introducing culturally sensitive strategies in international tourism can help avoid cultural conflicts and improve the quality of tourism experiences. For example, understanding cultural differences can help to appropriately adapt the gastronomic offer, customs and rituals, and communication with tourists. Moreover, this research allows for the identification of trends and cultural changes, which is important for the tourism industry. They can help develop new tourism products and reach new markets. It is also worth emphasizing that an international tourist who feels understood and accepted in the place he visits has a greater chance of leaving a positive mark and returning in the future. Therefore, research on cultures in international tourism is extremely important for the long-term and sustainable development of this industry. Value/originality. The importance and originality of this topic in scientific research and the practice of international tourism cannot be overestimated. A comparative study of cultural characteristics in international tourism is important for many reasons. First, it represents a novel approach to analyzing interactions between tourists of different nationalities and destination cultures. The originality lies in the possibility of comparing different cultures during travel and examining the impact of these interactions on tourist experiences and intercultural relations. Secondly, this topic is of great practical importance. In international tourism, which is constantly developing and evolving, understanding cultural differences and tourists' expectations becomes crucial. This study can provide tools and guidance for the tourism industry on how to better tailor its offerings to the needs of tourists from different parts of the world. Third, analyzing the cultural aspects of travel can contribute to promoting sustainable tourism. Understanding and respecting the culture of destinations and minimizing the environmental impact of tourism are key to today's travel challenges.

Stress in everyday life is common in our postmodern society leading some people to seek relief and fulfilment from a range of leisure and lifestyle activities such as travel experiences. Travel in itself, even adventurous or unstructured travel does not guarantee that travellers will receive positive benefits from their experiences. However, the notion of mindfulness may play an important role in producing positive consequences from different experiences. Thus, this study explores the nature and experiential benefits of ‘meditative mindful’ tourist experiences that can be experienced during travel. Mindfulness is a mental state that may facilitate positive experiences. Understanding the importance of mindfulness is becoming a mainstream field of academic study in many therapeutic settings. However, there has been little discussion of mindfulness theory as it might be applied to tourism studies. Previous research in tourism has mainly focused on socio-cognitive mindfulness related to visitor learning rather than meditative mindfulness experiences. These include contexts such as tourist-wildlife encounters, appreciation of scenery, or through interaction with other people. The conceptual framework in this thesis is based on the Eastern notion of meditative mindfulness and has been used in Western therapeutic studies. In the past decade, evidence of the effectiveness and application of meditative mindfulness has grown dramatically due to a developing dialogue between Buddhist traditions and Western clinical psychology. There is a growing interest in whether meditative mindful experiences can occur outside of formal therapeutic settings, including travel. However, it is not clear how meditative mindful tourism experiences might be defined or whether they occur at all during travel. Furthermore, few studies have investigated the antecedents and consequences of meditative mindful experiences in tourism contexts. This thesis presents an exploratory study of the occurrence as well as the antecedents and consequences of the meditative mindfulness phenomenon in a tourism context. A qualitative methodology based on an interpretive constructivist paradigm was adopted for the data collection. Taiwanese backpackers in Australia were selected as respondents and snowball sampling was used to recruit participants. In total, 43 semi-structured interviews were completed, and a total of 77 instances of meditative mindful experiences were identified. The semi-structured interviews were conducted in Brisbane (at backpacker hostels) and at Uluru (Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park), as these two main sites provided the best opportunities to meet Taiwanese backpackers. Two interview protocols were used in screening and extended interviews for qualifying and exploring the three research objectives. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using content analysis. NVivo 10 qualitative analysis software was used to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the data analysis process. The findings indicated that meditative mindful experiences occurring in tourism contexts were characterised by three constructs of awareness (‘paying attention’, ‘living in the present’, and ‘non-elaborative awareness’). An operational definition of tourist experience associated with meditative mindfulness is proposed as “paying attention to a present moment experience, without elaboration on it”. In addition, the study clarified and contrasted three related concepts (meditative mindfulness, socio-cognitive mindfulness and flow). This thesis is the first study to empirically identify tourist experiences that have been associated with meditative mindfulness. The findings also identified the antecedents and consequences of meditative mindful tourist experiences. The four main types of identified triggers that facilitated tourists experiencing a mindful state were labelled as travel-induced relaxation, aesthetic appreciation, atmosphere of quietness, and curiosity-developing. Natural encounters and participation in specific activities were found to foster a state of being mindful. The mental process of meditative mindfulness contributes to relaxation and tranquillity and helps to create memorable experiences. Such psychological and physical benefits were identified among backpackers. A theoretical framework to provide a better understanding of the phenomenon and mental process of tourist meditative mindful experience is also discussed. This model is considered to be a useful tool for academics and the tourism industry to scope the mental and spiritual dimensions of tourist experiences for backpackers. An examination of how mindfulness occurs and how it can be further developed in tourism experiences is expected to be useful for tourism stakeholders. Business operators or policy makers should be aware of how to design engaging experiences and, in particular, how they can enhance affective, sensory or mental experiences through encouraging an awareness of the present moment and non-judgmental thinking during on-site visits. This may help tourism industries to better understand how to design holistic engaging experiences that benefit tourists’ understanding of an alternative access to personal fulfilment. A number of areas for further research are also discussed.

This article advocates a new agenda for (media) tourism research that links questions of tourist experiences to the role and meaning of imagination in everyday life. Based on a small-scale, qualitative study among a group of 17 respondents of diverse ages and backgrounds currently residing in the Netherlands, we offer an empirical exploration of the places that are of importance for people's individual state of mind and investigate how these places relate to (potential) tourist experiences. The combination of in-depth interviews and random-cue self-reporting resulted in the following findings: 1) all our respondents regularly reside in an elaborate imaginary world, consisting of both fictional and nonfictional places; 2) this imaginary world is dominated by places that make the respondents feel nostalgic; 3) in this regard, the private home and houses from childhood are pivotal; 4) the "home" is seen as topos of the self and contrasted with "away"; 5) the imagination of "away" emerges from memories of previous tourist experiences, personal fantasies, and, last but not least, influences from popular culture. We conclude that imagining and visiting other locations are part of a life-long project of "identity work" in which personal identities are performed, confirmed and extended. By traveling, either physically or mentally, individuals anchor their identity—the entirety of ideas about who they are, where they come from, and where they think they belong—in a broader, spatial framework.

The Center out There: Pilgrim's Goal

PurposeGrowing recognition of the metaverse has implied its far-reaching impacts on the tourism and hospitality industry. This paper sets out to detail the status of metaverse-related research in tourism and hospitality, propose intriguing directions for future studies and highlight multiple areas that call for immediate attention from practitioners in navigating the metaverse phenomenon.Design/methodology/approachThis viewpoint paper referenced the extant academic discussion on the metaverse, based on which timely suggestions for academia and practices are proposed.FindingsThis viewpoint paper presents an account of the metaverse and discusses the status of metaverse-related research in hospitality and tourism. It then proposes intriguing avenues for future research around the topics of marketing, reconceptualizing service quality, attitude and behaviors, electronic customer-to-customer interactions, transformative impacts on the society well-being and research methodology. Multiple areas that call for immediate attention from practitioners in navigating the metaverse phenomenon are also highlighted. Both scholars and industry organizations are called upon to assume some responsibility for mapping out protocols to guide the appropriate development, use and governance of metaverse worlds. Governments and policymakers are further encouraged to consider the ramifications of metaverse development for individuals and society and to devise proactive mitigation strategies.Practical implicationsThis viewpoint paper proposes several directions for future business practices in the areas of co-creation, experiential consumption, and emerging critical issues in healthcare, human resources, and social media services. It expects to inspire more discussion about the potential impacts of metaverse on the wider society. Its practical significance will further expand the theoretical foundation of the metaverse research and makes this viewpoint paper an intriguing prospect.Originality/valueThe nascent stage of academic discussion intended to guide the development of metaverse is noteworthy, which forms a notable contrast with the growing recognition of its potential of co-creating transformational experiences in hospitality and tourism. This viewpoint paper joins the current academic conversations acknowledging this phenomenon in hospitality and tourism. Provided the notable topicality and empirical relevance, the expanded scope and rich content the present viewpoint paper provides for metaverse will offer a fruitful ground for future research to tap further into currently underrepresented areas.

We argue in this chapter that tourism practice is emotionally charged, but tourism research is less so. In fact, emotion research in tourism was mostly borrowed from marketing studies, which limits its application mainly to customer satisfaction and customer loyalty issues. Little is known as yet about the complex nature of the emotion concept and the dynamic relationship between tourist experiences and emotional states. Therefore in this chapter we aim to: (1) clarify the emotional concept and the underlying theories in modern psychology; (2) identify the crucial connections between tourist experiences (pre-, on-, and post-trip) and emotional states; and (3) assess the main domains of interest for future emotion research in tourism. We propose a conceptual framework to bridge consumer behavior and destination management/marketing research through studying emotional states. Further, we argue that human interactions between host and guest (as well as among guests), emotional valence of tourism activities (and on-line behaviors), as well as attention to eliciting emotion in destination marketing/branding and service design are the main issues for a future research agenda. To investigate these issues, combined use of (qualitative) self-reported techniques and (technologically advanced) observation techniques will be crucial.

Tourism research has always sought to find ways to improve tourists’ experience evaluation and create added value for them. However, the academic community has focused on the on-site and post-travel stages of tourists, and neglected the pre-travel stage. This study examines the influence of guided mental simulation of an upcoming tourist experience on subsequent on-site tourist experience and experience evaluation. The research simulated real-world experience with tour videos shot from the first-person perspective, and measured the variables using both eye movements and self-reporting. Multivariate ANOVA and multigroup analysis were then performed on the data. The results showed that a process simulation of tourists having an engagement experience and an outcome simulation of tourists having a sight-seeing experience resulted in a higher engagement level and higher emotional response during the on-site experience, higher evaluation of the experience, and a greater impact of engagement level on their evaluation. This study expands the research on tourists’ psychological experience in the pre-travel stage. Results indicate that the period from the moment consumers book or purchase the tourist product to the moment they actually embark on the tourist experience is a valuable marketing window.

The large-scale development of the world tourism market, which combines the formation of different types (directions) of tourism and the expansion of the network of tourist destinations, in recent decades has made international tourism one of the key engines of socio-economic progress. And all thanks to the creation of many jobs, a large segment of commercial enterprises, significant profits from foreign trade contracts and infrastructure development. Dynamic development, diversity of social functions and growth of the role of tourism as a branch of the world economy in the context of globalization raise before researchers and practitioners the question of harmonization of tourism with natural, sociocultural, environmental and economic, information and technological capabilities of individual countries and regions and the world economy. in general, ie the need to consider the entire industry of tourism services in terms of the concept of sustainable development. Considers the definitive characteristics of the concept of “professional and business tourism”, the main approaches to understanding the concept, the main methods of research of professional and business tourism, the problems of professional and business tourism in Ukraine and prospects for its development, foreign experience of professional and business tourism and opportunities for Ukraine. The analysis of features of development of professional and business tourism in Ukraine and its prospects is carried out. Theoretical and methodological bases of research of professional and business tourism are substantiated. The main approaches to the understanding of professional and business tourism, methods of research of professional and business tourism, methods of research of professional and business tourism are also revealed. Prospects for the development of professional and business tourism in Ukraine, directions of modernization of the sphere of professional and business tourism, foreign experience of professional and business tourism and opportunities for Ukraine are considered.

Purpose This paper aims to analyse the development of research on gastronomic tourism experiences and chart its relationship to foundational management and marketing literature as well as the tourism and hospitality field. Design/methodology/approach The author develops a literature review of papers in specialist journals and the SCOPUS database to identify major research themes and the evolution of experience and gastronomic experience research. Findings Gastronomy is an increasingly important element of tourism experiences. Gastronomic experience research in tourism mirrors the evolution in management and marketing theory from rational information processing approaches to emotional and hedonistic approaches and analysis of relationality and co-creation. The paper sketches a development from Experience 1.0 (producer-orientated) to Experience 2.0 (co-creation) to Experience 3.0 (foodscapes) in gastronomic experiences in tourism research. Research limitations/implications Increasing complexity of gastronomic experiences requires a more holistic analytic approach, including more attention for relational and co-creational processes. Linking together different experience elements and experience phases requires more holistic and contextual research approaches. Practical implications Hospitality organizations should recognize the differentiated and complex nature of gastronomic experiences, the different touchpoints within the customer journey and their relationship to experience outcomes. The development of hybrid gastronomic experiences offers both opportunities and challenges for the future. Originality/value This quantitative and qualitative literature analysis underlines the need for a more holistic approach to gastronomic experiences, covering different experiential phases and contexts of production and consumption.

This chapter briefly addresses the history and general contemporary use of the focus group as a qualitative data collection tool, and then examines its application within tourism research. It explains the key aspects of focus groups, exploring the various stages of planning, recruiting, conducting and analysing focus groups. The chapter concludes with a case study that used focus groups to explore (i) UK tourists' experiences of tourism, (ii) what the term 'ethical tourism' meant to them, and (iii) whether their opinions and concerns regarding the impact of tourism influenced their future purchasing behaviour. Emphasis in this section is placed on recounting the experiences associated with conducting focus groups, rather than on the findings and analysis of the research questions.

This study focuses on the tourism experience of people with visual impairments, which is further marginalized from tourism research in people with disabilities, in order to understand whether people with visual impairments have a need and want, as well as how to enjoy travel. Using a phenomenological approach, this paper investigates the structure and comprehension of the meaning of their travel experiences. Individual interviews, participant observation, and a literature review were used to generate the final 23 themes and ten essential themes, which were based on van Manen's four existential themes (lived body, lived space, lived relation, and lived time). Despite the fact that people with visual impairments are invisible, they have formed a tourism experience by imaging the place and object through other body sensory organs such as smell, touch, and hearing, and tourism has become a very important link for the blind to expand their radius of life and meet their new self and world. Tourism is essential in broadening their life radius and space, as well as providing a path to meet a new self and the world. The results also showed that congenital visual impairment perceived the threshold of travel more strongly than acquired visual impairment. They can, however, perceive travel satisfaction, value, and positive effects more than anyone else, increasing self-independence and well-being. The findings of the study presented the academic significance of the tourism experience for individuals with visual impairments, which has been excluded from tourism research, as well as the fundamental rights of tourism for all and the implications for achieving tourism justice.

The tourist experience is a widely explored phenomenon in tourism research because of its importance to the design and provision of quality products and services and the enhancement of destination branding. Various theories and theoretical frameworks have been applied to understand tourist experiences, including the constructivist, experiential, and emotional perspectives. However, recent systematic literature reviews of the theoretical underpinnings of tourist experience research is lacking. This study aims to address this gap by conducting a contemporary systematic literature review of the progress of theoretical developments in tourist experience research. This review explores the evolution of theoretical frameworks applied in previous studies and summarizes them into four main stages: descriptive, experiential, transformative, and scope-expanding. This study is significant in identifying different dominant theories over time. It enhances our understanding of the theoretical foundations of tourist experience research and provides insights into possible theories that could guide future research. This study concludes by examining the practical implications for destination managers and policymakers in dealing with the changing patterns of tourist consumption of experiences, one of the most important issues for tourism destination marketing and development. This involves adapting strategies to meet the growing demand for personalized, authentic, and interactive experiences.

The tourism experience has always been a hot topic in tourism research. However, the tourism experience of people with visual impairment (PwVI) has its own particularity. This paper explores the unique tourism experience of PwVI based on travel notes written by them. Since PwVI are often accompanied by volunteers when travelling, this paper also discusses the impact of the interaction between volunteers and PwVI on the tourism experience, and analyses the intermediary role of the sense of helplessness experienced by PwVI in the above impact. The empirical results based on a self-administered questionnaire completed by visually impaired groups show that ① the interaction between volunteers and PwVI has a significant positive correlation with the seven unique tourism experiences of PwVI, and ② This correlation is partially mediated by the sense of helplessness. The results show that positive interaction helps to reduce the sense of helplessness of PwVI and thus improves their tourism experience.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to provide an overview of the research conducted on hospitality and tourism articles published in Q1 category journals from 1990 to 2023. This study also aims to measure the topic prevalence in selected journals throughout the years, their change over time and similarities of journals.Design/methodology/approachLatent dirichlet allocation algorithm is used as a topic modeling method to identify and analyze topics in hospitality and tourism research over the past 30 years.FindingsThe results of the study indicate that hospitality and tourism research has recently focused on topics such as employee behavior, customer satisfaction, online reviews, medical tourism and tourist experience. However, the results also indicate a negative trend in topics such as hotel management, sustainability, profession, economic growth and tourist destination.Practical implicationsThis study can be used to examine the evolution of research patterns over time, find hot and cold themes and uncover untapped or understudied areas. This can aid academics in their investigations and practitioners in making sound strategic decisions.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the existing literature by providing a new approach and comprehensive analysis of hospitality and tourism research topics. It delineates an overview of the progression of hospitality and tourism research over the past 30 years, identifies the trending topics and explores the potential impacts that these identified topics may have on future studies.