The Auditory Dimension of Tourism Experiencescapes: The Role of Sounds in Marketing Christmas Tourism Experiences

• Main Author: Hylton, Vanessa
• Other Authors: fi=Yhteiskuntatieteiden tiedekunta|en=Faculty of Social Sciences|
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: TourCIM; Rovaniemi
• Online Access: https://lauda.ulapland.fi/handle/10024/65204; http://nbn-resolving.org/URN:NBN:fi-fe2022093060577

Meaningful experiences have been acknowledged as the core of touristic experiences. Researchers in the fields of social sciences as well as economics have studied the characteristics of experiences and defined the experiencescape as a multisensory dimension of experiences. Due to the increasing presences and possibilities of technological service components, marketing can be considered a part of each touristic experience. Thus, not only the experience itself but also the marketing activities for tourism experiences can involve a variety of senses, such as auditory elements. This research is focusing on the auditory dimension of tourism experiences with a focus on Christmas tourism experiences. Since theming is a core element of both marketing and service design in tourism, the study aims to contribute to the research of the auditory sense and its ability to strengthen the Christmas theme of tourism experiences. For that aim, semi-structured interviews have been conducted with a professional as well as with international guests of a Christmas theme park in Rovaniemi, Finland. The data has been analyzed through content analysis. The findings of this study indicate that the perception of sounds and their perceived Christmassyness tremendously depends on an individual’s personal experiences and cultural background. Further, the results show an important role of other senses, such as visuals. Since social media has become an integral part of the touristic customer journey and offers a variety of multimedia elements to include in marketing activities, a focus on the auditory dimension of Christmas experiences within social media marketing provides an interesting angle for future research.