Conceptualising tourist experiences with new attractions: the case of escape rooms
22 Mar 2017-International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management (Emerald)-Vol. 29, Iss: 5, pp 1322-1339
TL;DR: In this paper, an exploratory empirical study of visitors' experiences with selected top-rated escape rooms in the USA and Europe was carried out by means of netnographic research and automated content analysis.
Abstract: Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to theoretically and empirically explore tourist experiences with the niche-like, yet global phenomenon of escape room attractions.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory empirical study of visitors’ experiences with selected top-rated escape rooms in the USA and Europe was carried out by means of netnographic research and automated content analysis.
Findings
The results show that this attraction provides new, peak, unique and fun experiences through the challenging activities and social component of the game play. The findings provide an insight into both the authenticity of experiences with novel attractions and the group aspects of fun and flow concepts.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are restricted to online reviews on the TripAdvisor website and are possibly biased because of the use of a non-random sample.
Practical implications
Theoretical implications are discussed and explicated as future research questions. They are relevant for the conceptual development, research and management of playful experiences within urban and special interest tourism. Societal implications are also addressed.
Originality/value
This paper is a preliminary in-depth examination of the escape room phenomenon from the customer experience standpoint. It is of relevance for the conceptualisation and improvement of tourist experiences with new and fun attractions.
Citations
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TL;DR: The concept of the Bucket List has achieved rapid and widespread recognition as discussed by the authors, which is used to communicate specific suggestions of desirable tourism experiences and uses what can be termed the experiential imperative discourse, where the language, tone and framing of the text positions the experience described as essential and obligatory.
40 citations
TL;DR: The analysis of students' opinions shows that such activities are well received regardless of background (engineering or education) or gender, and emotions that arise from the experience are mostly positive and the students state that they have developed both specific and transversal competencies.
37 citations
Cites background from "Conceptualising tourist experiences..."
...…affects teamwork and collaboration in both the purely physical escape room (Pan et al., 2017) and escape room that combine the physical and virtual world (mixed reality) (Warmelink et al., 2017), the application to the elderly sector (Zhang et al., 2017), tourism (Kolar, 2017) or crowdsourcing....
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..., 2017), tourism (Kolar, 2017) or crowdsourcing....
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TL;DR: This paper developed a measurement scale for cultural experiences across different contexts, including attractions, events and tours, in Hong Kong and found that the conative dimension of experience elicits the highest experience scores from visitors, but affective experiences are more significant in distinguishing between different experience contexts and visitor groups.
30 citations
TL;DR: This paper examined the sentiment differences in the content of cruise tour online reviews across North Americans and Europe, as representing the two largest cruise markets, and found that North Americans' reviews conveyed a more positive affect and had a more subjective and intimate tone while those written by Europeans contained a smaller amount of sentiment-bearing words and their tone was more objective.
Abstract: The study aims to examine the sentiment differences in the content of cruise tour online reviews across North Americans and Europeans, as representing the two largest cruise markets. Dictionary-based sentiment analysis has been carried out on 1127 reviews on guided tours retrieved from TripAdvisor. The results indicate significant differences in the sentiment score of the reviews, with North Americans’ texts being more emotionally charged than the European ones. In addition, North Americans’ reviews conveyed a more positive affect and had a more subjective and intimate tone, while those written by Europeans contained a smaller amount of sentiment-bearing words and their tone was more objective. The study’s contribution lies in (i) providing evidence for the influence of culture on electronic word-of-mouth communication in terms of varying sentiment expression, (ii) demonstrating the effectiveness of sentiment analysis for recognizing cultural differences and (iii) enhancing the current understandi...
28 citations
Additional excerpts
...Previous studies have explored travel opinions in various tourism contexts such as accommodation (Amblee, 2015; Berezina, Bilgihan, Cobanoglu, & Okumus, 2016; Xie, Chen, & Wu, 2016), restaurants (Mkono, 2013; Yang, Hlee, Lee, & Koo, 2017; Zhang, Zhang, & Law, 2014), attractions (Cong, Wu, Morrison, Shu, & Wang, 2014; Kolar, 2017; Pearce & Wu, 2014) and destinations (Jalilvand & Samiei, 2012; Tham, Croy, & Mair, 2013; Wong & Qi, 2017)....
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...…& Okumus, 2016; Xie, Chen, & Wu, 2016), restaurants (Mkono, 2013; Yang, Hlee, Lee, & Koo, 2017; Zhang, Zhang, & Law, 2014), attractions (Cong, Wu, Morrison, Shu, & Wang, 2014; Kolar, 2017; Pearce & Wu, 2014) and destinations (Jalilvand & Samiei, 2012; Tham, Croy, & Mair, 2013; Wong & Qi, 2017)....
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TL;DR: In this paper, a comprehensive model of group flow antecedents and consequences is proposed and empirically verified by means of survey research and SEM methodology, and the results indicate that key determinants for group flow experiences are the collective challenge/skills balance, and theming and storytelling.
Abstract: This paper theoretically and empirically aims to explore customer group flow experiences with an urban adventure game called “escape rooms”.,A comprehensive model of group flow antecedents and consequences is proposed and empirically verified by means of survey research and SEM methodology.,The results indicate that key determinants of group flow experiences are the collective challenge/skills balance, and theming and storytelling. Group flow, in turn, significantly affects participants’ revisit intentions and word-of-mouth communications, as well as group cohesion and subjective quality of life.,The supported research model provides an insight into how group flow experiences can be facilitated by means of gamification and yields important managerial implications. These are systematically discussed in regard to antecedent and consequence constructs.,This paper is one of the first papers to systematically examine the antecedents and consequences of group flow experiences at adventure game-based attractions. It contributes to the understanding and management of peak experiences in contemporary hospitality and tourism.
20 citations
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Journal Article•
TL;DR: The authors offer five design principles that drive the creation of memorable experiences that engage all five senses to heighten the experience and thus make it more memorable.
Abstract: First there was agriculture, then manufactured goods, and eventually services. Each change represented a step up in economic value--a way for producers to distinguish their products from increasingly undifferentiated competitive offerings. Now, as services are in their turn becoming commoditized, companies are looking for the next higher value in an economic offering. Leading-edge companies are finding that it lies in staging experiences. To reach this higher level of competition, companies will have to learn how to design, sell, and deliver experiences that customers will readily pay for. An experience occurs when a company uses services as the stage--and goods as props--for engaging individuals in a way that creates a memorable event. And while experiences have always been at the heart of the entertainment business, any company stages an experience when it engages customers in a personal, memorable way. The lessons of pioneering experience providers, including the Walt Disney Company, can help companies learn how to compete in the experience economy. The authors offer five design principles that drive the creation of memorable experiences. First, create a consistent theme, one that resonates throughout the entire experience. Second, layer the theme with positive cues--for example, easy-to-follow signs. Third, eliminate negative cues, those visual or aural messages that distract or contradict the theme. Fourth, offer memorabilia that commemorate the experience for the user. Finally, engage all five senses--through sights, sounds, and so on--to heighten the experience and thus make it more memorable.
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TL;DR: Green and Bavelier as discussed by the authors found that playing "action" video and computer games has the positive effect of enhancing student's visual selective attention, but that finding is just one small part of a more important message that all parents and educators need to hear: Video games are not the enemy, but the best opportunity we have to engage our kids in real learning.
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