Conceptualizing the Tourist Experience as a Form of Consumption

Abstract

Abstract

This article offers a theoretical analysis of the literature on consumption experience, first tracing the origins of the concept, which emerged from critiques of the utilitarian view centered on consumer rationality. Early approaches emphasize a decision-making logic based on the objective evaluation of benefits, whereas later work introduces an experiential perspective that acknowledges the multisensory, emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and social dimensions of experience. The experience unfolds through stages ranging from anticipation to recollection, highlighting that perceived value is constructed before, during, and after consumption. The article then differentiates between ordinary experiences typically routine and functional and extraordinary experiences, characterized by their emotional intensity, memorability, or transformative potential. Consumption experience is also conceptualized as a dynamic interaction between the consumer, the offering, and the physical and social environment. In the context of tourism, this conceptualization becomes particularly salient : travel simultaneously involves immersion, hedonism, learning, and the pursuit of meaning. Finally, various explanatory theories of tourist experience psychological, experiential, and cognitive shed light on the mechanisms through which tourists construct, interpret, and evaluate their experiences.

Keywords: Consumption experience,Experiential approach,Ordinary and extraordinary experiences ,Consumer–environment interaction , Tourism ,Cognitive and psychological theories.