Festival Experiencescape: The Coexistence of Tangibility and Intangibility

Author Bios (50 Words for each Author)

Li-Hsin Chen, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor, The International Master's Program of Tourism and Hospitality, National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism, Taiwan. Her research interests include coffee/tea tourism, bicycle tourism, dual attitudes model, indirect measurement, experiencescape, service design, and multi-sensory marketing.

Abstract (150 Words)

With management research tending to focus on the broader experience economy, studies of festivals’ relationships to experiential consumption have been relatively rare. Therefore, theoretical examination of the influences of tangible and intangible aspects of experience in the context of festivals is overdue. Accordingly, this longitudinal qualitative study goes beyond the existing festivalscape model, by introducing the cutting-edge concept of experiencescape into festival studies. The process of how memorable experience is generated within the experiencescape of Japan’s Fuji Rock Festival is investigated using participant observation, interviews in multiple travel phases, and collective memory work. The results indicate that the festival experiencescape is composed of three main dimensions – physical settings, the socio-cultural environment, and service/management factors – and that it is constantly evolving as festivalgoers’ attentiveness changes across travel phases. The significance of the socio-cultural dimension of a festival is discussed in the paper’s sections on its theoretical framework and managerial implications.

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Festival Experiencescape: The Coexistence of Tangibility and Intangibility

With management research tending to focus on the broader experience economy, studies of festivals’ relationships to experiential consumption have been relatively rare. Therefore, theoretical examination of the influences of tangible and intangible aspects of experience in the context of festivals is overdue. Accordingly, this longitudinal qualitative study goes beyond the existing festivalscape model, by introducing the cutting-edge concept of experiencescape into festival studies. The process of how memorable experience is generated within the experiencescape of Japan’s Fuji Rock Festival is investigated using participant observation, interviews in multiple travel phases, and collective memory work. The results indicate that the festival experiencescape is composed of three main dimensions – physical settings, the socio-cultural environment, and service/management factors – and that it is constantly evolving as festivalgoers’ attentiveness changes across travel phases. The significance of the socio-cultural dimension of a festival is discussed in the paper’s sections on its theoretical framework and managerial implications.