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 Anticipations People Perceptions Interactive Mode Holiday Attitude Motivations Place Reactions

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

9. Anticipations Predispositions Experience Interactions 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. QUESTIONS? Cathy Guthrie PhD FTMI FTS Tel: +44 1467 620769 Mob: +44 7802 679489 E-mail: cathy.guthrie@dsl.pipex.com