TY - CHAP AB - Purpose The aim of this chapter is to discuss the experience-centric strategy from the aspect of innovation management, its contribution to designing and managing valuable tourism experiences, especially in context of guided tours.Methodology/approach The study reviews literature on experience-centric approaches and innovation, it discusses the concepts of experience-centric innovation and experience innovation, particularly the role of experience design and market intelligence in experience-centric service processes. It analyzes empirical data from interviews with eleven tour providers.Findings Creating novel experiences through product innovation was found as the most common type of innovation on frames of guided tours. The group size was identified as an influential feature of the experience design, and imitation has proved to be a major threat. The role of knowledge management and dynamics of knowledge were explored, too, and tour guides were identified as experiential knowledge collectors and/or creators; thus their role in knowledge management is crucial alongside the market intelligence. In contract with theoretical proposition, costumer-driven innovation is not seen by tour providers as a crucial issue in creating memorable experiences.Research limitations The chapter studied only traditional guided tours where the customer meets the service provider, and the data was collected only in Budapest.Originality/value The chapter emphasized the role of market intelligence and experience design in the process of experience-centric service provision for a successful innovation – in frames of a theoretical model. The empirical results identified some main issues and obstacles in implementation of the experience-centric approach and innovative tools and processes in context of guided tours. SN - 978-1-78635-289-7, 978-1-78635-290-3/ DO - 10.1108/978-1-78635-290-320161002 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78635-290-320161002 AU - Zátori Anita ED - Marios Sotiriadis ED - Dogan Gursoy PY - 2016 Y1 - 2016/01/01 TI - Experience-Centric Approach and Innovation T2 - The Handbook of Managing and Marketing Tourism Experiences PB - Emerald Group Publishing Limited SP - 21 EP - 44 Y2 - 2024/03/28 ER -