Experiential Consumption and Marketing in Tourism with a Cross-Cultural Context

Citation

Spiekermann, L. (2020), "Experiential Consumption and Marketing in Tourism with a Cross-Cultural Context", Journal of Tourism Futures, Vol. 6 No. 2, pp. 199-200. https://doi.org/10.1108/JTF-06-2020-152

Culture defines how we live and interact; once people started to travel and showed interest in other cultures, it has been a challenge to preserve culture. Tourist numbers still increase and tourism can add to culture but also jeopardize the protection and authenticity of cultures. The book Experiential Consumption and Marketing in Tourism with a Cross-Cultural Context gives an interesting insight in different cases where different cultures interact and tourist experiences are created.

This book is a part of the Advances in Tourism Marketing series and an outcome of the 7th Advances in Tourism Marketing Conference in Casablanca in 2016. Scholars who attended the conference and those with an interest and expertise in experiential consumption and marketing in tourism contributed to this book. The focus of the conference was the art of living together which refers to the interaction of cultures with the tourism industry. A total of 31 academics from Europe, Florida and Japan contributed to this book. The book is divided in four parts with a total of 15 chapters, whereas the first and last ones are an introduction and conclusion by the editors, respectively. The other 13 chapters cover different case studies linked to destination experiences (Part 1), motivations and identity (Part 2), narratives and storytelling (Part 3) and gastronomy experiences (Part 4). The red line throughout the book is an insight in businesses offering cultural experiences and aims to engage tourists with other cultures.

The first part of the book, destination experiences, discusses a great variety of concepts and cases. The chapters point out a range of gaps between literature and the reality but also give suggestions for the tourism industry. It helps to understand how tourists perceive a destination and what aspects and factors play a role in their experiences. Therefore, it illustrates how experiences are formed and influenced. In addition, the link between tourism and terrorism is explored highlighting the fact that the two are strongly connected and should be considered as a powerful factor for the future of tourism. Part two focuses on tourist motivation to visit Macau and on the identity of Chinese outbound tourists. Main drivers for tourists have been investigated to establish if tourists mainly go to Macau for gambling or not. Moreover, the behavior of Chinese tourists has been researched in regard to their nation’s social identity. Thus, the chapters point out the link between motivation and the destination image, as well as the need to understand the link between tourists and the host community to provide tailor-made services.

The part about narratives and storytelling is linked to the heritage sector, as culture is the core business and needs to be communicated correctly to tourists. However, managers in this sector are only providers of space for experiences and need the tourists as co-creators. But the focus also lays on the pre-experienced storytelling which customers mostly perceive via the website of a heritage site. Therefore, the importance of stories is to create experiences with those from different cultures. Finally, chapters focus on gastronomy experiences and the role of local gastronomy in destination marketing, as food can not only be a physical need and supporting attraction but also a key travel motivation. Also, wine tourism can be elaborated further to match customers’ interests and achieve return visits. Therefore, elements which lead to memorable gastronomic experiences have been pointed out.

In relation to this journal, the Journal of Tourism Futures, the book can contribute to the future by pointing out and developing statements or models which can be useful for further research and the understanding of the different concepts. Additionally, new insights in the tourists’ mindset, in terms of motivation and perception, can help to create whole experiences in the future. Overall, the book provides advice and tips for managers in the tourist industry with the attention on destination marketing and the creation of experiences. The book gives an insight in different cultures and focuses on the current experience economy but gives indicators for the chance of experiences in the future and different factors which will have to be taken into consideration.

To conclude, the book has a clean and appealing structure. The chapters of all four parts start with a short outline of their objectives and state the key words. In terms of the structure and readability, the entire book and all chapters are well designed, which makes it appealing to read. However, the cases do cover rather specific aspects, and therefore, not all chapters might be attractive for all readers. At the same time, this is what makes the book interesting, the insight in different fields and studies with diverse cases.