Integrating Western and non-Western cultural expressions to further cultural and creative tourism: a case study

The term cultural industries was coined more than half a century ago, but at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the broader concept of creative industries, covering a wide range of cultural, design and digital activity, captured the imagination of public policymakers at national and city levels. Paralleling these developments has been the recognition of the phenomenon of cultural tourism and, more recently, the emergence of the idea of creative tourism, that is, tourism programmes designed to engage tourists actively in cultural activity. This paper presents a case study of a creative tourism event which took place in 2012 in the City of Manchester in the UK. The festival, which celebrated West African culture, utilised existing cultural institutions of the city and drew on the talents of local and visiting members of West African community to engage not only tourists but also indigenous and Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) residents of Manchester in a variety of cultural activities. It thus used the focus of creative tourism to seek to foster community and cultural development as well as tourism

Festival Spaces and the Visitor Experience

A festival implies a special use of space for both the organiser and the visitor. On the practical level of events management, it is a series of temporary per - formance venues presenting special organisational problems. For the festivalgoers, it is a space set apart to which they come seeking an extraordinary experience. This experience can have an emotional and symbolic significance, which they then come to associate with the place itself. For this reason, festivals and special events are increasingly used as part of strategies to regenerate or reposition urban areas or coastal resorts. Events attract additional visitors, creating economic benefits for retail, leisure and other businesses. The publicity can be used for place marketing aimed not only at attracting visitors but also new businesses and investment to the area (Jago et al., 2003; Morgan et al, 2002). They can also give a boost to the cultural or sporting life of the residents and increase local pride and selfesteem. Festivals are part of the area’s ‘experience economy’ to use Pine and Gilmore’s (1999) term, creating a temporary ‘creative space’ which can attract visitors (Richards and Wilson, 2006). But how should that space be designed to optimise the experience of the festival-goers and contribute to the success of the event? Answering this question requires an awareness of how festival-goers perceive the impact of the location and its layout on their enjoyment of the event. The role of space can best be explored within a wider conceptual framework that maps the visitor experience of the event. This chapter is based on research into the 2005 Sidmouth Folk Festival, a long-established event which saw a significant change in ownership and organisation from previous years. This sparked a lengthy discussion on an enthusiasts’ internet message board about how successful it had been. One aspect of this was the rival merits of a festival based in a showground and one spread over existing venues around the town. An analysis of these discussions was used to explore the elements of the event experience and the ways in which festival-goers evaluate i

The accommodation experiencescape: a comparative assessment of hotels and Airbnb

PURPOSE: Accommodations providers in the sharing economy are increasingly competing with the hotel industry vis-à-vis the guest experience. Additionally, experience-related research remains underrepresented in the hospitality and tourism literature. This paper aims to develop and test a model of experiential consumption to provide a better understanding of an emerging phenomenon in the hospitality industry. In so doing, the authors also expand Pine and Gilmore’s original experience economy construct. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Using data from a survey of 630 customers who stayed at a hotel or an Airbnb in the previous three months, the authors performed a multi-step analysis procedure centered on structural equation modeling to validate the model. Findings The authors demonstrate that the dimensions of serendipity, localness, communitas and personalization represent valuable additions to Pine and Gilmore’s original experience economy construct. Airbnb appears to outperform the hotel industry in the provision of all experience dimensions. The authors further define the pathways that underlie the creation of extraordinary, memorable experiences, which subsequently elicit favorable behavioral intentions. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The findings suggest the need for the hotel industry to adopt a content marketing paradigm that leverages various dimensions of the experience economy to provide customers with valuable and relevant experiences. The industry must also pay greater attention to its use of branding, signage and promotional messaging to encourage customers to interpret their experiences through the lens of these dimensions. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The study expands a seminal construct from the field of services marketing in the context of the accommodations industry. The Accommodations Experiencescape is offered as a tool for strategic experience design. The study also offers a model of experiential consumption that explains customers’ experiences with accommodations providers

Using segmentation to compete in the age of the sharing economy: testing a core-periphery framework

Airbnb has emerged as a credible competitive threat to the hotel industry. Consequently, hotel brands are having to rethink the experiences they provide to customer in an increasingly competitive environment. Despite these trends in the industry, experience-related research that examines and informs these developments remains under-represented in the hospitality and tourism literature. The present study offers a systematic approach to examine the potential differences in experiential consumption in the accommodations industry. Using a multiple-group analysis approach, it examines the moderating effects of individual characteristics and situational factors on the nature and dynamics of experiential consumption in the accommodations industry. The findings of the study culminate in the core-periphery framework of the hospitality consumption experience that can provide a relevant theoretical lens for future research into the different sectors and types of experiences within the hospitality and tourism industry. The study also outlines important implications for the hotel industry’s strategic experience design initiatives, from the standpoint of product development, the segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP) process, and marketing communications.Accepted manuscrip

Boston Hospitality Review: Spring 2016

Understanding the Momentum and Motivations of Foreign Investors in U.S. Hospitality by Ken Wilson and Liya Ma -- Creating Memorable Experiences: How hotels can fight back against Airbnb and other sharing economy providers by Makarand Mody -- Rebranding Before the Digital Age: 4 Strategies Used by the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers During the 1992 Democratic National Convention by Leora Halpern Lanz, Juan Lesmes, and Erinn Tucker -- Federal Minimum Wage Debate: Are Gubernatorial Politics Behind a Hotel Line Employee Wage? by Nicholas Thomas and Eric Brown -- Rethinking Substance Use and Abuse Among Hospitality Employees by Amir Shani -- Consumers’ Desires in Hostels: Addressing Latent and Explicit Needs in United States Hostels by Emily Horto

A netnography study to uncover the underlying dimensions of customer experience with resort brands

The interest in customer experience has increased at a phenomenal rate. However, research to capture the true meaning of the concept is limited. This study aims to address the question of what are the underlying dimensions that constitute the construct of customer experience. The netnography method is utilized to validate a priori concepts that have been identified in the literature within the context of resort-hotel brands in a Sharm El Sheikh resort in Egypt. The results identified eight dimensions; comfort, educational, hedonic, novelty, recognition, relational, safety and sense of beauty which are consistent with major studies on experience

Extracting meanings of event tourist experiences: A phenomenological exploration of Limassol carnival

The common examination of the event and tourism experience can reveal the attached meanings that exemplify the valued characteristics of a destination in the perceptions of tourists. From this standpoint, this study employed a phenomenological approach conducting eight unstructured interviews to explore the experience and assigned meanings of tourists who attended the carnival in Limassol, Cyprus. Results indicate that the meanings of tourist experiences in the carnival were extracted as continuously evolving products shaped by the interaction of two interrelated dramaturgical states, namely the generalized sociality and perceived community metamorphosis, and the interfering dimension of obstruction referring to organizational aspects constraining the tourist experience. The findings of this exploratory phenomenological study bring into the fore the need for more effectively incorporating events into a destination's product mix by designing experiences that leverage event meanings in synergy with unique destination features, thereby enhancing their impact on tourists. On these grounds, it is argued that the phenomenological perspective applied on the study of event tourism can enable destination marketing and management to develop a joint framework for cross-leveraging events and destination assets, hence, synergistically optimizing both social and tourism ends for host destinations. To this end, the study highlights the need for future research to start exploring systematically the relationship between the meanings of tourist experiences and the characteristics of a destination's product mix

Perfect weddings abroad

Approximately 16% of UK couples are currently married abroad. However, academic or practitioner focused research that explores the complex nature of a couple’s buying preferences or the development of innovative marketing strategies by businesses operating within the weddings abroad niche sector, is almost non-existent. This exploratory paper examines the role and relevance of marketing within the weddings abroad sector. The complex nature of customer needs in this high emotional and involvement experience, are identified and explored. A case study of Perfect Weddings Abroad Ltd highlights distinctive features and characteristics. Social networking and the use of home-workers, with a focus on reassurance and handholding are important tools used to develop relationships with customers. These tools and techniques help increase the tangibility of a weddings abroad package. Clusters of complementary services that are synergistic and provide sources of competitive advantage are identified and an agenda for future research is developed