I discuss what role physical means and more abstract dimensions can play in tourists’ experiences, and how organizations and businesses can use them for experience innovation. These discussions adopt both a visitor and a provider perspective.
The results of these examinations have implications for innovation in experience-based tourism. In this dissertation theming is considered a process that can lead to experience innovation. This type of experience innovation can be called theming innovation. Experience innovation is fundamentally about how organizations can stay relevant and survive in the future.
The dissertation contributes to the experience-based tourism, marketing, and management fields of study. In a larger context, the result of this dissertation contributes to answering how organizations and businesses can create new, profitable, and memorable high-quality physical environments. By theming their environments tourism managers and decision makers can create unique experiences, differentiate these from their competitors, and increase the sale of products and services.
The main findings of the doctorate
An intention of this dissertation has been to explore and more explicitly define what themes and theming in experience-based tourism is.
One important find is which theme factors contribute to a themed customer experience. Theme factors are the physical and non-physical parts of themed environments. Central theme factors that contribute to a tourists’ customer experience are:
- Name
- Employee interaction
- Lighting
Design and music contribute to the perception of themed environments in different ways depending on context and usage.
Another important find is which non-physical dimensions are vital to consider when you need to theme environments. Theming dimensions are the abstract and immaterial aspects of theming in experience-based tourism. These ten theming dimensions are:
- Authenticity
- Chronotope
- Cohesion (or cohesiveness)
- Digital technology
- Immersion
- Interaction/co-creation
- Multisensory
- Novelty
- Relatability
- Storytelling/narrative
A third and important find are the purposes of theming in tourism. The purposes of theming in tourism are:
- To ensure differentiation
- To increase sales of a brand or a product
- To create bonds between the guests and a theme, brand, or product
- To attract, stop, and make visitors stay
- To influence and modify their behavior
- To enhance the end-to-end experience
Finally, as an examination, this thesis contributes on how theme factors, theming dimensions, and theming purposes can facilitate experience innovation.
About the public defence
The public defence for Jonas Karlsen Åstrøm’ doctoral thesis takes place at Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Lillehammer campus, Tuesday 30 August 2022. The defence will also be streamed.
Read more about the public defence.
This public defence was held on 30.8.2022.