Staging Natural Environments: A Performance Perspective
Abstract
Although the gazing qualities of the natural environment play an essential role in the communication of tourist experiences, the natural environment is an under-communicated and underused element in the staging of tourist activities. To illustrate the potential staging strategies for tourism firms as they relate to natural environments, this paper presents a discussion of two cases from northern Norway: a dog-sled race and a Northern Lights hunt. Interpretative data analysis of the respective cases’ staging strategies was undertaken to shed light on how each case opted to stage the natural environment. Viewed as separate from the exploration of the cases, the paper includes a discussion of the staging dimensions of exploration, play, and learning. Furthermore, the benefits linked to the use of these dimensions were brought to the fore as important to efforts at involving tourists in the offered activities and in facilitating cocreation.
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Acknowledgements
Acknowledgment
The research in the present study is part of the research programme “Service Innovation and Tourist Experiences in the High North: The Co-Creation of Values for Consumers, Firms and the Tourism Industry,” financed by the Norwegian Research Association, project no: 195306/140.
Citation
Mathisen, L. (2013), "Staging Natural Environments: A Performance Perspective", Advances in Hospitality and Leisure (Advances in Hospitality and Leisure, Vol. 9), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 163-183. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1745-3542(2013)0000009012
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2013 Emerald Group Publishing Limited