Analysis of the new tourism economy (through Irish examples)

Résumé du document

A service can be defined as the non-material equivalent of a good. Service provision has been defined as an economic activity that does not result in ownership, and this is what differentiates it from providing physical goods. It is claimed to be a process that creates benefits by facilitating a change in customers, a change in their physical possessions, or a change in their intangible assets .

In contrast, an experience is described as: The sensation of interaction with a product, service, or event, through all of our senses, over time, and on both physical and cognitive levels. The boundaries of an experience can be expansive and include the sensorial, the symbolic, the temporal, and the meaningful .
In this age of competition, distinguishing experiences from services is what opens up economic possibilities for businesses to gain competitive advantage. If societies are to seek continued economic prosperity, the next step in this process is that they must stage experiences – as in the past, this new industry will add sufficient value to their economies to employ the masses (goods and services are no longer enough)
As we can see in the diagram below , Staging Experiences is the next step in the progression of economic value. Some key characteristics of an experience which distinguishes it from other economic offerings is that it should be:
-Relevant to the needs of customers
-Differentiated from its competitors
-Priced at a Premium Level

Extraits

[...] Some of the richest experiences involve elements of all four. An experience can be created by any company in any sector. For example, Progressive Corp has created an insurance experience for their clients. Its claims adjusters arrive at the scene of the accident in vans fitted out with everything to help turn a crisis into soothing "drama". There is a place to calm down, refreshments on hand, and access to a mobile phone. The claims adjuster will arrange for the vehicle to be towed away and repaired and provide for onward travel for the customer or over night hotel accommodation Success in the experience economy We have seen that there are many different types of experiences which can be offered to customers. [...]

[...] With transformations, the customer is the product! The individual buyer of the transformation essentially says, “Change Examples of transformations include a company about to be put into liquidation being turned into a very successful firm or a customer who spends beyond his means achieves financial stability. Whilst experiences are memorable and are sustained for a time, transformations are inspirational and must be sustained through time Our Research Once we had understood what makes an experience and the difference between a service and an experience, our task was to choose three Irish tourist attractions and to evaluate them based on criteria we had selected. [...]

[...] There was no staff during the tour which we felt detracted from the experience. GAA MUSEUM & CROKE PARK STADIUM TOUR The reception desk is right in front of the entrance doors and it is always manned. The staff was friendly and helpful, allowing me to charge my camera when the battery died! And also by printing off the German guide for me. The girl who conducted the tour was excellent, conveying the information in a simple and interesting way and was always willing to take questions Bibliography Service Management, Operations, strategy and information technology, James A Fitzsimmons, McGraw- Hill inc. [...]

[...] Unless a fee is charged, your experience is not an economic offering[8]. You may design a wonderful experience to compliment a service which you are selling but unless you actually charge for the experience, it cannot be called an economic experience. However, just because you are charging for an experience there is no guarantee that it will be successful. In the above section, we mentioned that one way of creating a successful experience is to include elements of entertainment, educational, escapist and esthetic experiences. [...]

[...] She managed to convey to us exactly what it felt like on a match day inside the dressing room or wherever she brought us. It definitely appealed to our senses, helping us to feel like the players would on a match day. Experiences should be relevant to the needs of customers. Did you feel that this experience was relevant to your needs? Do you think there are any customers whose needs wouldn't be satisfied by this experience e.g. disabled users, foreign visitors? GUINNESS The Guinness storehouse tour is well organized and easy to follow. [...]