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This chapter presents a research paper with empirical investigation on tourism experiences specific to heritage attractions. It analyses the five principles of experience economy within the context of heritage attractions. The study aims to find out if heritage attractions are using the principles of experience economy to provide a fulfilling experience for visitors. The principles of the experience economy are having consistent theme, using positive cues, eliminating negative cues, offering memorabilia, and engaging the five senses.

The survey method was used to collect data from three separate heritage attractions in Jamaica. Frequency distribution was used to determine the observations in the sample.

Results of the study reveal that majority of visitors either agree or strongly agree that many of the elements comprising the principles of experience economy are in place. One similar drawback among the attractions is that they all use visual and aural messages which can distract or contradict the theme and consequently visitors’ experience.

A limitation of the study is that it did not take into consideration the relationship between visitors’ experience and their expectations as well as visitor satisfaction.

This study will inform management of heritage attractions of the importance of having implementing the principles of experience economy so as to provide a fulfilling experience for visitors.

This chapter investigates the current trend toward both creative and experiential tourism in cities in terms of the development and marketing of local attractions.

Creative tourism in cities is profiled through a literature review and further investigated by means of a case study at a local attraction in Toronto, Canada. The choice of a site was one of a creative city and the re-purposing of a formerly industrial site for visitation.

The study of Evergreens Brickworks demonstrated the use of marketing techniques to identify markets and match visitors with experiences. The visitor segmentation method determined that pre-scheduled and bookable activities offered for locals need to be offered on a different basis for tourists, who may be one time visitors to the site. The product-market match process suggested areas in which products could be modified or indeed created.

This practical study offers lessons for other local visitor attractions and their managers desiring to identify market segments and match them with appropriate activities creating experiential tourism at the site level within the creative city context.

While many studies of the creative tourism concept and cities have been undertaken within the context of destinations this research offers a site-specific perspective as well as marketing perspective that will be of practical value to attraction managers.

Towns and cities across Canada face rapidly changing economic circumstances and many are turning to a variety of strategies, including tourism, to provide stability in their communities. Community Economic Development (CED) has become an accepted form of economic development, with recognition that such planning benefits from a more holistic approach and community participation. However, much of why particular strategies are chosen, what process the community undertakes to implement those choices and how success is measured is not fully understood. Furthermore, CED lacks a developed theoretical basis from which to examine these questions. By investigating communities that have chosen to develop their tourism potential through the use of murals, these various themes can be explored. There are three purposes to this research: (1) to acquire an understanding of the “how” and the “why” behind the adoption and diffusion of mural-based tourism as a CED strategy in rural communities; (2) to contribute to the emerging theory of CED by linking together theories of rural geography, rural change and sustainability, and rural tourism; and (3) to contribute to the development of a framework for evaluating the potential and success of tourism development within a CED process.

Two levels of data collection and analysis were employed in this research. Initially, a survey of Canadian provincial tourism guides was conducted to determine the number of communities in Canada that market themselves as having a mural-based tourism attraction (N=32). A survey was sent to these communities, resulting in 31 responses suitable for descriptive statistical analysis, using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). A case study analysis of the 6 Saskatchewan communities was conducted through in-depth, in person interviews with 40 participants. These interviews were subsequently analyzed utilizing a combined Grounded Theory (GT) and Content Analysis approach.

The surveys indicated that mural development spread within a relatively short time period across Canada from Chemainus, British Columbia. Although tourism is often the reason behind mural development, increasing community spirit and beautification were also cited. This research demonstrates that the reasons this choice is made and the successful outcome of that choice is often dependent upon factors related to community size, proximity to larger populations and the economic (re)stability of existing industry. Analysis also determined that theories of institutional thickness, governance, embeddedness and conceptualizations of leadership provide a body of literature that offers an opportunity to theorize the process and outcomes of CED in rural places while at the same time aiding our understanding of the relationship between tourism and its possible contribution to rural sustainability within a Canadian context. Finally, this research revealed that both the CED process undertaken and the measurement of success are dependent upon the desired outcomes of mural development. Furthermore, particular attributes of rural places play a critical role in how CED is understood, defined and carried out, and how successes, both tangible and intangible, are measured.

Customer experience (CX) has become a major concern of business managers around the world and is considered a determinant factor of continuing corporate success. Despite the growing number of research studies focusing on the topic, knowledge remains underexamined in general, and specifically in terms of online users. Understanding how online platforms inspire travel experience is increasingly pertinent as visual contents acquire insignificance. This is especially relevant when travel is restricted such as during the COVID-19 outbreak. Nevertheless, there is a gap in the literature research on online CX in online visitor attractions. The study aimed to investigate the visitors' reviews of online visits during the lockdown. The research has followed the Netnography approach as modern qualitative research to understand the online CX of visiting virtually the attractions.

The results revealed three dimensions of cyber-tourist experiences related to the tourism-driven with its four subdimensions, the emotional reaction and expectation, and satisfaction and behavior intentions. The study adds to the better knowledge of the modern research methods dealing with the cyber-customer experience (CCX) by examining the Netnography method.

This research is a pioneering attempt to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on tourists' experience and to highlight the opportunities for tourism practitioners to profit from the online presence, to be more accessible, and to increase their traffic to guaranty their online visibility.

Although the concept of destination is often described as an economic term that describes places of interest for tourists and visitors, currently, there is still little awareness in the extant literature about regional, city, village, resort, or even standalone tourist destinations. This chapter aims to clarify the meaning of destinations. It distinguishes the differences between common locations and tourist destinations. It uses case studies to describe places, placemaking, and the experiencescapes of various destinations. This contribution implies that tourist attractions differentiate themselves from other places, as they offer accessible attractions with amenities.

The objective of the current study was to examine the relationship between visitation patterns of museums at home when compared to museums visited on holidays taken. The data were collected from a sample of residents of Alta, a fjord town in northern Norway. A multiple discriminant analysis was first conducted to ascertain the factors that increased the probability of visiting a museum at home. The variables that correlated significantly with the discriminant function were collectively named “cultural consumption”. Subsequently, a bivariate correlation analysis was performed in order to examine the relationship between the significant discriminant function and the frequency of visits of the same sample to museums on their holidays. Theoretical and practical implications of the study are also discussed.

Late spring, early summer 2020, theme parks across the World started to publish their plans for reopening. In this regard, this chapter ventures into critical questions like what did theme parks learn from the first ‘reopening’? What worked and what has changed? Have or will visitors return? Drafted as an exploratory paper this chapter brings forth the strategies adopted by the theme parks in the quest to return to the normal.

The aim of this chapter is to offer a conceptual model for tourist experiences in the destination and suggest implications for different stakeholders in creating experiences for tourists.

This conceptual paper explores tourist experiences based on previous literature and through a brief case. A holistic destination experience model is also suggested including the role of DMOs, host community and industry which are considered under the overall experiencescape.

Literature review and analysis of case study suggest that the destination experience can be framed based on the roles of different actors in a destination. Characteristic of the destination and stakeholders do play important roles in involving tourists in experience production.

Findings might provide insights to DMOs and other stakeholders in the destination concerning their roles in creating a holistic positive destination experience for tourists which is crucial for differentiation. Future research might also concentrate on different elements of destination experience and interrelationships of different stakeholders.

Although there are numerous papers on experiences from individual services (e.g., hotels, airlines, restaurants) in the destination, literature on overall stakeholder and creation of holistic destination experience has been overlooked. This chapter offers a theoretical model that would assist policy-makers to design experiences in the destination by looking at the roles of different stakeholders and to improve the competitiveness of the destination.

This study explores the potential of cultural heritage product in the promotion of Kenya's tourism. The Ministry of Tourism Strategic Plan 2008–2012 identified the untapped tourism potential in the areas of eco-tourism, culture, conference and cruise as an opportunity for the future of Kenya's tourism. The report isolated inadequate development of the cultural product as a major weakness in Kenya's tourism. Invention in the cultural heritage tourism product (CHTP) would ease overdependence on beach and wildlife tourism for sustainability and leverage Tourist Destination Kenya's (TDK) competitiveness. This can only be achieved if a blueprint for heritage conservation and tourism is developed and implemented. To achieve its objective, this study employed observation, in-depth interviews and a review of secondary data to investigate current CHTP practices. The research was extended to cultural and heritage site visits. The sites were selected in a non-probabilistic manner based on their cultural significance. The study established that Kenya has a rich CHTP which has not been fully exploited for the purpose of tourism. It observed that the promotion of cultural heritage tourism in Kenya is weakened by lack of proper policies and poor perception of culture as a tourism product. It concluded that cultural tourism has the potential to withstand the ravages of COVID-19 due to its structure and nostalgic characteristics. This study recommends a policy framework heralding effective CHTP management and a post-COVID-19 recovery program marked by new protocols. The study is novel in its methodology, choice of sites and COVID-19 reality.