Connecting Experiences to Quality: Understanding the Meanings Behind Visitors' Experiences

Abstract

The “meaning” of experiences, such as the one described above, is of interest to researchers who find that people seek an optimal experience (i.e., flow) through which they may feel deep involvement, intense concentration, lack of selfconsciousness, and transcendence of a sense of self, all of which lead to an intrinsically rewarding experience (Csikzentmihalyi and Csikzentmihalyi, 1988). Is this true for tourists? And why is it important that we understand the way in which tourists consider and reminisce about their experiences?