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The aim of this chapter is twofold: (i) to explore the issue of experience within the context of the hotel industry and (ii) to analyze the contribution of collaboration between businesses in providing valuable experiences in hotel settings.

Extensive literature reviews have been done on dimensions and outcomes of tourist experiences and on collaboration/business venture’s contribution in providing memorable experiences in the hotel industry. A case study is then used to illustrate how hotel operations are collaborating to provide tourism experience opportunities.

(i) Collaboration between hotel operations makes a significant contribution in providing special guest experiences; (ii) Investment in business ventures is a good investment because it constitutes a potential source of competitive advantage; (iii) A collaborative platform wisely designed creates a series of business benefits.

This study is explorative in nature. Based on a single case study of a business network, the suggestions are indicative rather than conclusive. Thus, more empirical studies and analyses are needed to fully validate the chapter’s suggestions.

The collaborative approach is a requirement for hotel businesses in providing valuable tourism experiences and in overcoming the issues and challenges arising within the context of experiential tourism. This collaboration offers a way of enriching and deepening guests’ experiences, based on endogenous resources and meeting the tourists’ requirements.

Offers insights on tourism providers’ collaborations in offering attractive experience opportunities to their customers.

This chapter identifies issues in the development and marketing of culinary tourism experiences with the goal of determining the value of collaborative forms of product development and marketing.

A literature review examines approaches to marketing of culinary experiences identifying a gap in the study of collaborative approaches such as networking, partnering, and alliances. A case study investigates these themes.

Through the analysis of an in-depth case study of an experiential culinary tourism event in a small city in Eastern Canada (a Restaurant Week) it is determined that informal collaboration in the form of partnership is essential to building and marketing collaborative culinary tourism products and experiences.

This investigation has value for academics studying culinary tourism development and for practitioners implementing collaborative forms of the development and marketing of such tourism offerings and experience.

In the context of culinary tourism, a case study illustrates the value of collaboration in developing and marketing experiential culinary products. Findings indicate informal collaborative partnerships are essential to building and marketing culinary tourism products and experiences, addressing a gap in the literature and providing value for practitioners.

It is observed that many destinations are implementing sport tourism offerings to enhance their ability to attract visitors through satisfying their desires of new experiences. This has led to a highly competitive sport tourism market and as a result destinations engage in various marketing techniques and promotional tools to gain an advantage. For that reason this research was undertaken to acquire a greater understanding of the importance of promotional tools to successfully and efficiently market sport tourism experiences.

The construct of this study comprises of two stages. The aim of the first stage is to evaluate the specific tools used to promote sport tourism and sport tourism experiences in Barbados by examining the responses of various sporting and tourism bodies. The second stage of this research was conducted to present and analyze how marketing/promotional tools could contribute to better market sport tourism experiences.

The research found that many of the promotional tools implemented in Barbados during their marketing process correspond with those used internationally. However, problems of poor and insufficient sporting facilities as well as little collaboration between tourism and sporting entities, hamper the success of Barbados as a sport tourism destination. This further minimized Barbados’ ability to market favorable tourism experiences. This therefore shows that while promotional tools are essential in attracting tourists, other elements must also be taken into consideration to ensure sport tourists have positive experiences which would lead to a successful sport tourism destination.

Few studies in this area have been undertaken in the Caribbean. This study attempts to fill this gap by examining the implementation of sport tourism offerings to attract visitors to Barbados.

The aim of this chapter is twofold: (i) to perform a synthesis of the academic research regarding the changes of tourist consumer behavior brought about by social media; and (ii) to suggest a set of strategies for tourism businesses to address resulting challenges.

Extensive literature reviews have been executed on the motivating factors and the effects of online reviews.

This analysis of the related research identified three main topics, namely: (1) the antecedents, the factors motivating tourists to write online reviews; (2) the impact of eWOM on providers of tourism services (business perspective); and (3) the influence of online reviews on consumers’ behavior (demand perspective). This chapter focuses on the impact of online reviews on tourism businesses and suggests suitable strategies.

This study is based on a literature review and implications indicated by previous studies; hence the suggestions are indicative rather than conclusive. A need exists for empirical studies to fully validate the chapter’s suggestions.

This chapter outlines a series of adequate strategies formulated for business practitioners divided into two fields, namely managerial and marketing activities.

This study provides practical recommendations/suggestions for tourism businesses in addressing the challenges and opportunities raised within the online context.

This chapter sought to overcome the current theoretical lack of understanding of the memorable tourism experiences (MTEs) phenomena and provide a conceptual framework for guiding destination managers who seek to design and deliver memorable experiences appropriate to their particular destination.

This chapter employed literature-based research methods. More specifically, it sought to (1) summarize the understanding of MTEs gained from a review of others’ work, and conduct a retrospective examination of my own empirical research on the topic; and (2) convey the insights I have formulated regarding the implications for destination managers of this understanding for designing, delivering, and evaluating programs, which may increase the probability a visitor will return home with truly memorable experiences.

The literature review and the content analysis and synthesis identified seven conceptual and theoretical components of MTEs, such as hedonism, refreshment, novelty, local culture, meaningfulness, knowledge, and adverse feelings.

The current study suggested what characteristics of tourism experiences lead to strong memorability and how to measure each component of MTEs. Thus, the findings provide important implications for destination managers to develop tourism programs that last long in visitors’ memories.

Previous researchers suggested some practical strategies to prepare environments and design experiences. However, a comprehensive, theoretically sound understanding of the fundamental factors of MTEs was left out. This study investigated tourism experiential factors that enable and facilitate MTEs. It also tried to demonstrate the managerial importance of these theoretical components to the design of “on the ground” destination programs, which initially create excitement and anticipation among potential visitors (within the context of a highly competitive marketplace), to the point where a given destination is selected over a multitude of others and where it subsequently delivers the kind of high-quality “truly memorable” experiences that fully meet the inflated expectations initially “promised” by the destination brand.

This chapter looks at how sensitivity to event design and the creative process for an arts event also can have an impact on its ongoing management and tourist experience, by applying a new assessment tool, sustainable creative advantage (SCA), to gauge its performance.

A case study approach was used to assess SCA for the Sculpture by Sea, Bondi, Sydney 2015, in order to discuss how its management enables satisfying arts leisure experiences. Two key activities in the research were (1) in-depth interviews with organizers, full and volunteer staff, artists, gallery owners, and participants and (2) participant observation of touristic performances and other forms of engagement with the sculptures.

In its 19th edition, the event could still be considered a fresh and inspiring experience for tourists. However, crowding on weekends can affect the experience for all participants. Tactile tours are a unique feature of the event and could be promoted more to tourists, particularly the disabled.

Applying SCA needs careful timing, in order to collect information when interviewees are available and the event itself is running. Approaches should be made to organizers before, during, and after the event for information.

Event organizers could use SCA to understand more about controlling tourist experiences and how creative management and marketing of an event can have an impact on overall participant satisfaction.

Could also offer insights to academics studying glocality and events, the relationship of curatorial power to content/experience, or how such events can add to the study of leisurescapes in cultural tourism.