Quality Tourism Experiences: Reviews, Reflections, Research Agendas

“Quality tourism experiences,” including its singular form, is a well used phrase in tourism industry literature and traveller dialogues. Yet definitions of a quality tourism experience remain elusive. Tourism studies, recreation and marketing literature similarly resonate with numerous applications of the phrase as well as its contributing terms. A social constructivist approach was applied to a literature review, in order to reflect on the status of “quality tourism experiences,” its meanings, as well as research approaches used and research agendas proffered. From the review emerged multiple interpretations and constructions as well as an emphasis on complexity. Research approaches were predicated to post/positivistic approaches. Research agendas essayed to understand specific dimensions of quality tourism experiences along with more holistic frames.

[1]  Diana LaSalle,et al.  Priceless: Turning Ordinary Products into Extraordinary Experiences , 2002 .

[2]  Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi,et al.  Optimal experience: The future of flow , 1988 .

[3]  D. Kerstetter,et al.  Connecting Experiences to Quality: Understanding the Meanings Behind Visitors’ Experiences , 2006 .

[4]  Bernd H. Schmitt Experiential marketing : how to get customers to sense, feel, think, act, and relate to your company and brands , 1999 .

[5]  J. Urry The Tourist Gaze: Leisure and Travel in Contemporary Societies , 1990 .

[6]  D. Kerstetter,et al.  An interpretation of special place meanings whitewater recreationists attach to the South Fork of the American River , 2002 .

[7]  P. Kotler,et al.  Principles of Marketing , 1983 .

[8]  William T. Borrie,et al.  The Dynamic, Emergent, and Multi-Phasic Nature of On-Site Wilderness Experiences , 2001 .

[9]  A. Parasuraman,et al.  Refinement and reassessment of the SERVQUAL scale. , 1991 .

[10]  Jaap Lengkeek,et al.  Leisure Experience and Imagination , 2001 .

[11]  H. Bowen,et al.  Chapter 2 – State of Knowledge: Mass Media and Its Relationship to Perceptions of Quality , 2006 .

[12]  H. Ayala Resort Ecotourism: A Paradigm for the 21st Century: , 1996 .

[13]  E. Cohen A Phenomenology of Tourist Experiences , 1979 .

[14]  Steven A. Taylor,et al.  Measuring Service Quality: A Reexamination and Extension , 1992 .

[15]  Atìla Yüksel,et al.  Comparative performance analysis: Tourists’ perceptions of Turkey relative to other tourist destinations , 2001 .

[16]  M. Bhat Application of non-market valuation to the Florida Keys marine reserve management. , 2003, Journal of environmental management.

[17]  J. Crompton Motivations for pleasure vacation , 1979 .

[18]  E. Goffman Frame analysis: An essay on the organization of experience , 1974 .

[19]  E. O'Sullivan,et al.  Experience Marketing : Strategies for the New Millennium , 1998 .

[20]  O. D. Awaritefe Destination environment quality and tourists' spatial behaviour in Nigeria: a case study of third world tropical Africa , 2003 .

[21]  Todd Gitlin The whole world is watching: Mass media in the making & unmaking of the New Left , 1980 .

[22]  Gianna Moscardo,et al.  Mindful visitors: Heritage and tourism , 1996 .

[23]  B. Carmichael Chapter 7 – Linking Quality Tourism Experiences, Residents' Quality of Life, and Quality Experiences for Tourists , 2006 .

[24]  Stephen P. Boyd Cultural and Heritage Tourism in Canada: Opportunities, Principles and Challenges , 2002 .

[25]  C. Grbich New approaches in social research , 2004 .

[26]  Judy Harris,et al.  Customer service on the Web: A cross-industry investigation , 2002 .

[27]  J. M. Rathmell What is Meant by Services? , 1966 .

[28]  A. Parasuraman,et al.  Service quality delivery through web sites: A critical review of extant knowledge , 2002, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.

[29]  E. Laws,et al.  Conceptualizing visitor satisfaction management in heritage settings: an exploratory blueprinting analysis of Leeds Castle, Kent , 1998 .

[30]  Philip B. Crosby,et al.  Quality Is Free: The Art of Making Quality Certain , 1979 .

[31]  D. Boorstin The image : a guide to pseudo-events in America , 1992 .

[32]  R. Brathwaite Value-chain assessment of the travel experience. , 1992 .

[33]  Thomas A. Schwandt Constructivist, interpretivist approaches to human inquiry. , 1994 .

[34]  Clyde A. Warden,et al.  Service failures away from home: benefits in intercultural service encounters , 2003 .

[35]  E. Cohen Traditions in the qualitative sociology of tourism , 1988 .

[36]  C. Campbell “Our Dear North Country”: Regional Identity and National Meaning in Ontario’s Georgian Bay , 2018 .

[37]  Martin Fluker,et al.  Understanding and Managing Tourism , 2004 .

[38]  Mary Jo Bitner,et al.  Evaluating service encounters: The effects of physical surroundings and employee responses. , 1990 .

[39]  M. Keane Sustaining quality in tourism destinations: an economic model with an application , 1996 .

[40]  G. Hofstede,et al.  Culture′s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values , 1980 .

[41]  Young-sook Lee Tourist Gaze: Universal Concept? , 2001 .

[42]  John W. Lounsbury,et al.  Leisure needs and vacation satisfaction. , 1992 .

[43]  Pauline J. Sheldon,et al.  The Role Of Foodservice I n Vacation Choice And Experience: A Cross-Cultural Analysis , 1988 .

[44]  Marc Gobé,et al.  Emotional Branding: The New Paradigm for Connecting Brands to People , 2001 .

[45]  R. B. Hull,et al.  Experience Patterns: Capturing the Dynamic Nature of a Recreation Experience , 1992 .

[46]  M. Uysal,et al.  The Role of Satisfaction with Leisure Travel/ Tourism Services and Experience in Satisfaction with Leisure Life and Overall Life , 1999 .

[47]  C. Levitt,et al.  "The Whole World Is Watching": Mass Media in the Making and Unmaking of the New Left , 1981 .

[48]  E. Hirschman,et al.  The Experiential Aspects of Consumption: Consumer Fantasies, Feelings, and Fun , 1982 .

[49]  Natan Uriely,et al.  Backpacking experiences: A Type and Form Analysis , 2002 .

[50]  Gender and tourist experiences: assessing women's shared meanings for Beatrix Potter , 1994 .

[51]  Shaun Smith,et al.  Managing the Customer Experience: Turning customers into advocates , 2002 .

[52]  A. Parasuraman,et al.  A Conceptual Model of Service Quality and Its Implications for Future Research , 1985 .

[53]  E. Goffman The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life , 1959 .

[54]  Clifford S. Russell,et al.  Valuing a Fishing Day: An Application of a Systematic Varying Parameter Model , 1982 .

[55]  S. Schwartz Universals in the Content and Structure of Values: Theoretical Advances and Empirical Tests in 20 Countries , 1992 .

[56]  J. Carman Consumer perceptions of service quality: an assessment of the SERVQUAL dimensions , 1990 .

[57]  James H. Gilmore,et al.  Markets of one : creating customer-unique value through mass customization , 2000 .

[58]  S. Clift,et al.  Gay Tourism: Culture, Identity, and Sex , 2002 .

[59]  Melanie Wallendorf,et al.  Market-Oriented Ethnography: Interpretation Building and Marketing Strategy Formulation , 1994 .

[60]  M. Alvesson,et al.  Reflexive Methodology: New Vistas for Qualitative Research , 2000, QMiP Bulletin.

[61]  Stephen W. Brown,et al.  A Gap Analysis of Professional Service Quality , 1989 .

[62]  G. Jennings,et al.  The travel experience of cruisers. , 1997 .

[63]  Norma P. Nickerson,et al.  Quality tourism experiences , 2006 .

[64]  K. Andereck,et al.  Tourism and quality of life , 2006 .

[65]  Lori Holyfield MANUFACTURING ADVENTURE , 1999 .

[66]  Joe Marconi Creating the Marketing Experience: New Strategies for Building Relationships with Your Target Market , 2005 .

[67]  G. Waitt,et al.  Gay Tourism: Culture and Context , 2006 .

[68]  D. Maccannell The Ego Factor in Tourism , 2002 .

[69]  J. Crompton,et al.  Two Case Studies Exploring the Nature of the Tourist's Experience , 1996 .

[70]  Thomas A. Schwandt Dictionary of qualitative inquiry , 2001 .

[71]  Patrick Long,et al.  Boomtown Tourism and Resident Quality of Life: The Marketing of Gaming to Host Community Residents , 1999 .

[72]  Nusser A. Raajpoot,et al.  Reconceptualizing Service Encounter Quality in a Non-Western Context , 2004 .

[73]  N. Denzin,et al.  Handbook of Qualitative Research , 1994 .

[74]  S. Craig-Smith,et al.  Learning to live with tourism. , 1994 .

[75]  J. H. Gilmore,et al.  Welcome to the experience economy. , 1998, Harvard business review.

[76]  E. Laws Tourism marketing: service and quality management perspectives. , 1991 .

[77]  D. Stehlik,et al.  Agricultural Women in Central Queensland and Changing Modes of Production , 2000 .

[78]  Karin Weber,et al.  Profiling People Searching for and Purchasing Travel Products on the World Wide Web , 1999 .

[79]  C. Teddlie,et al.  SAGE Handbook of Mixed Methods in Social & Behavioral Research , 2010 .

[80]  R. Butler,et al.  Tourism and Indigenous Peoples , 1996 .

[81]  A. Parasuraman,et al.  SERVQUAL: A multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. , 1988 .

[82]  B. Joseph Pine,et al.  The Experience Economy , 1999 .

[83]  C. Minca The tourist gaze (2nd ed.) , 2004 .

[84]  J. Urry The Tourist Gaze , 2002 .

[85]  D. Maccannell Staged Authenticity: Arrangements of Social Space in Tourist Settings , 1973, American Journal of Sociology.

[86]  A. Peshkin Angles of Vision: Enhancing Perception in Qualitative Research , 2001 .

[87]  K. Hollinshead ‘White’ gaze, ‘red’ people — Shadow visions: the disidentification of ‘Indians’ in cultural tourism , 1992 .

[88]  V. Kerry Smith,et al.  THE MANAGEMENT OF WILDERNESS AREAS: A SIMULATION MODEL , 1976 .

[89]  M. Csíkszentmihályi,et al.  Optimal experience: Psychological studies of flow in consciousness. , 1988 .

[90]  J. Small Memory-work: a method for researching women’s tourist experiences , 1999 .

[91]  Robert E Manning,et al.  Proactive monitoring and adaptive management of social carrying capacity in Arches National Park: an application of computer simulation modeling. , 2003, Journal of environmental management.

[92]  J. Ritchie,et al.  Tourism: Principles, Practices, Philosophies , 1990 .

[93]  K. Hollinshead Symbolism in tourism: lessons from "Bali 2002" - lessons from Australia's Dead Heart. , 2003 .

[94]  William T. Borrie,et al.  Approaches to Measuring Quality of the Wilderness Experience , 2001 .

[95]  N. Morpeth,et al.  The Impact of Tourism on Residential Experience in Central-eastern Europe: The Development of a New Legitimation Crisis in the Czech Republic , 1998 .

[96]  John Urry Sociology of time and space. , 2000 .

[97]  M. Uysal,et al.  Australian Visitors to US National Parks and Natural Areas , 1994 .

[98]  Chapter 13 – Some Reflections on Quality Tourism Experiences , 2006 .

[99]  Xavier Font,et al.  Environmental certification in tourism and hospitality: Progress, process and prospects , 2002 .

[100]  B. Howell Weighing the risks and rewards of involvement in cultural conservation and heritage tourism. , 1994 .