How off-track tourists create their own event: a customer-dominant logic perspective

Abstract

PurposeAdopting a customer-dominant logic perspective, the purpose of this paper is to understand how some tourists decide on unusual trips and how they associate meanings to transform their experience into an event.Design/methodology/approachThis research is exploratory and involves three qualitative data collection techniques. The authors conducted individual interviews complemented by travel narratives with tourists that decided to undertake off-track travel. The third method is ethnographic and focuses on tourists participating in a singular ritualistic festival.FindingsSeveral factors explained how off-track travelers associate meanings to turn their real-life experience into a successful event. These factors cover three main concepts: discovery, social link and identity.Practical implicationsThe authors propose managerial implications for ordinary service providers in the tourism sector. Managers should attempt to provide tourists with a framework within which they can create their own events and take initiatives. They must be supportive of tourists re-enhancing their experience and making efforts to create their own event.Originality/valueThis research explains how services must be less standardized to satisfy tourists looking for immersion, exoticism and authenticity and to support their initiatives.