Tourist experiences
Tourism exists both to create and satisfy the desires of individuals for unique and meaningful experiences. Thus, understanding the nature of the tourist experience is crucial for understanding tourism.
At Wageningen University & Research, tourism experiences are investigated from a psychological and phenomenological perspective, with a key focus on experiences involving sound and wildlife experiences. In terms of the former, WUR researchers have focused on the embodied and affective nature of experiences involving music. In terms of the latter, the importance and efficacy of interpretation during guided activities, such as wildlife viewing tours, and the role of emotions in conservation intentions, has been explored.
Research on tourist experiences
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Emotions toward Wildlife
By dr. ir. Maarten Jacobs - Social scientists have learned a lot about human responses to wildlife by studying cognitive phenomena, such as wildlife... -
Cultural geographies of sound
By Karolina Doughty - How does music and sound connect people to the diverse places and spaces of everyday life? In what ways do sound and music... -
Wilderness Experience and Leadership Development
By Boy van Droffelaar
Internationally there is a wide acceptance that leadership performance is pivotal in the increasing complexity of...
Publications
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Influence of interpretation on conservation intentions of whale tourists
Tourism Management 42 (2014). - ISSN 0261-5177 - p. 123 - 131. -
The ethical potential of sound in public space: migrant pan flute music and its potential to create moments of conviviality in a 'failed' public square
Emotion, Space and Society 20 (2016). - ISSN 1755-4586 - p. 58 - 67.