Tourists as Experience Collectors: A New Travelling Mind-Set

Abstract

While literature on experiential tourism suggests that travellers are increasingly more interested in unique experiences, little has been said about the nature and dynamics of tourists seeking new destinations/travelling experiences. Using theoretical arguments derived from literature on collecting, we re-conceptualise frequent travellers as collectors of travelling experiences and destinations, rather than tangible souvenirs, and explore the underlying and implications of this process. Findings from our 22 in-depth interviews with frequent travellers indicate that this is a pervasive and prevalent process across many tourists. We argue that interested organisation market travelling experiences ‘sets’, and offer opportunites to materialise and exhibit collectors’ experiences.

Keywords:

• Collecting travelling experiences
• frequent travelers
• experiential tourism
• leisure
• leisure activity