Imagination and Differences in Tourist Experience

The contours of a typology that has a basis in imagination and leisure theory and offers a starting point for constructing leisure typologies which can be differentiated and specified according to different settings and leisure activities are suggested.

Abstract

Abstract Tourists differ in their experience and appreciation of tourist sites. There have been many attempts to capture the differences between tourists in a number of typologies. The problem is, however, that these typologies are based on different theoretical considerations and methodologies. Therefore, they cannot be easily compared. In this article I will suggest the contours of a typology that has a basis in imagination and leisure theory and offers a starting point for constructing leisure typologies which can be differentiated and specified according to different settings and leisure activities. I have drawn inspiration from the typology that Cohen used in his 'modes of tourist experience' back in 1979. His theoretical will be thought reconsidered and reformulated. The new approach enables a translation into typologies tailored to particular free-time activities and free-time contexts, and comparison between different areas of leisure activity. Moreover, the newly formulated modes of experience offer a basis for considered policy intervention, linking types of experience to spatial or social conditions on which they depend.