Importance of Experiences in Tourism and Hospitality - Essay Example

Heading: Tourism and Hospitality Essay Customer Inserts His/Her Name Customer Inserts Grade Course Customer Inserts Tutor’s Name 17, 08, 2011 Introduction People in the modern world are departing from the traditional product and service consumption towards experiential service consumption. This paper highlights the nature of experience economy, the significance of experience in tourism and the importance of experiential marketing in tourism. This analysis develops both the conceptual and the experiential aspects of tourism in order to highlight the major issues involved in the field of tourism and hospitality. Nature of the experience economy Experience economy is the recent form of economic value which is different from the traditional goods and services. In the modern world, experiences are receiving more attention as source of economic output as compared to the past. Experience economy is distinct from the common traditional economic development stages because of its unique economic value offering. This is so because in the experience economy phase, the experience is more dominant in terms of economic value offering in the progress of economy (Williams 2006). In essence, experiences are activities or events that involve the participants, in a unique and personal way. They impart lasting memories and lasting sense of experience to an individual mind development. Unlike the traditional goods and services, there is a significant involvement of the customer and thus creating lasting impact. This is so because experience is customer-oriented or rather customer-involved(Fyall & Garrod 2005). More so, customers are integral part of the process and thus essential part of the offerings which cannot be alienated from the experience itself. The tourism industry is responsible for the enhancement of experience economy and thus an integral part of the process. Companies offering tourism and hospitality services are the main stages of the experience, its employees are the actors while customers enjoy the experience to their satisfaction level. Importance of experiences in tourism and hospitality Experience is thus an integral part of tourism and hospitality; this is because tourists are looking for experiences that are memorable in their tourism pursuit. Such experiences include, views, feelings, both physical and psychological transformation that is essentially obtained when a tourist is actively involved in all these dimensions of experience (Barrows & Powers 2008). In the tourism and hospitality industry, experiential consumption entails relaxation, comfort, fun and psychic benefits. The services provided by tourism companies only serve as a means of optimizing the experience. This is because the consumption in tourism sector is basically driven by emotional/hedonic consumption rather than functional motives. As evident, experience that tourist have is the ultimate goal of the tourism sector, there are a number of destination in the world that form exceptional tourist stations. These destinations vary in importance with respect to the perception and the expectation of the tourist. Attraction features, and the attributes of the destination which meets the needs of tourist are the major driving factors which enhances increased demand to such destinations. Different elements of the destination also create a destination mix which are; the facilities, the attractions, the infrastructure/transportation and hospitality (Shanahan & Treuren 2003). These elements are critical in enhancing tourism experience. An experience should also give a lasting memory that cannot be described by words, during my trip to the Okavango Delta in Botswana, the magical environment of the region created in me a mix of escapism and a new experience. The ecosystem with almost all animals in the world created a unique view of the world totally different from the one I was used to. Crossing the Okavango River on a dhow or “mokoro” created unimaginable escapism and experience that I had never imagined. Experiential marketing and its applicability in tourism and hospitality Experiential marketing is a marketing strategy that integrates various elements of logic, emotions and the thoughts of the consumer in order to create a connection with the consumer in a unique way. The goal of this marketing strategy is to establish a unique connection with the customer in a way that the consumer will respond to the service or product that is being advertised in rational and emotional levels (Dimmock, Breen & Walo 2003). This is achieved by appealing to the customer’s senses by tapping special place within the clientele base. It therefore creates inspiring thoughts of pleasure and comfort on top of exciting thoughts of practicality. In order to manage experiential marketing, a marketer ought to have in-depth understanding of the target customer’s mindset. As evident from the concept of experiential marketing, its application in tourism and hospitality is indispensible (Fyall & Garrod 2005). The rationale for this statement is because of integral nature of experience in the tourism and hospitality industry. It is critical to address the core experiential factors such as emotional and psychological transformations essence of a tourist destination when marketing the destination. These experiential aspects appeal to the targeted audience in a unique way and hence tapping into special place within the consumer (Ahmad 2005). Since tourism and hospitality is primarily experience based, achieving a marketing strategy that addresses these key experiential marketing aspects is critical. Before deciding to visit the Okavango Delta, I have established an emotional connection with the place and experienced mental fantasy of place based on the advertisements that I had seen about the destination. I had actually imagined spending a night in cottage boat floating in the river with unique view of the night, a service which is offered in the Okavango. Conclusion The nature of experience economy has been identified as unique economic value offering which departs from the traditional products and services. The distinct nature of experience economy is based on the fact that it is customer-oriented. It captures the psychological and emotional needs of the customer as compared to the traditional services and products. Experience is thus an important part of the tourism and hospitality industry because of the fact that it entails relaxation, comfort, fun and psychic benefits. Notably, consumption in the tourism and hospitality industry is essentially driven by emotional/hedonic consumption rather than functional motives. On the other hand, experiential marketing tries to integrate a number of elements of emotions, logics and the thoughts of the consumer in order to create a connection with the consumer. It is therefore applicable in the tourism and hospitality industry because of the need to impart lasting memories in consumers. References Ahmad, G.2005, ‘Small Firm Owner-managers' Networks in Tourism and Hospitality’, International Journal of Business and Society, vol. 6, no. 4. Pp. 1-5. Barrows, CW & Powers, T 2008, Introduction to the Hospitality Industry, John Wiley and Sons, Canberra. Pp.413-419. Dimmock, KH, Breen & Walo, M 2003, ‘Management Competencies: an Australian Assessment of Tourism and Hospitality Students,’ Journal of the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management, vol. 9, no. 2. Pp. 23-29. Fyall, A & Garrod, B 2005, Tourism marketing: A collaborative approach, Channel View Publications, Michigan. Pp.231-245. Shanahan, M & Treuren, G 2003, Globalization: Australian regional perspectives, Wakefield Press, Sydney. Pp. 262-269. Williams, A 2006, ‘Tourism and hospitality marketing: fantasy, feeling and fun,’ International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 18, no: 6. pp.482 - 495 Read More