Grounding Tourism Experience Design in Experience Theory
(A2020-63815)

AUTHORS

Juergen Gnoth, University of Otago

KEYWORDS

Experience ; Design; Well-Being

ABSTRACT

This study proposes a theory-based, experience-centric model for tourists’ well-being development that assists service and tourism experience designers in how to align their resources, and optimise their chances to create strong relationships, and tourists to bond with the destination. The Tourism Experience Model TEM reveals four ideal classes (Weber, 1949) of value-propositions to help optimise tourism experience design and therefore well-being outcomes. Expanding on well-being theory and SDLogic, the neo-Kantian model of perception details how two simple questions of tourists’ behaviour can reveal indicative information of the dominant mode of experiencing. Each mode forms a class, determining how ideal constellations of resources will be framed, based on the variables of autonomy, competence and relationship needs, motivations, attitudes and values, and emotional orientation. The TEM encompasses all tourism experience and details how to increase eudaimonic happiness.