Tourism experience, events and public policies

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Hardie, A. (2007). Washing the wutong tree: Garden culture as an expression of women’s gentility in the late Ming. In D. Berg & C. Starr (Eds.), The quest for gentility in China. New York: Routledge. Ko, D. (1994). Teachers of the inner chambers: Women and culture in seventeenth-century China. California: Stanford University Press. Liu, H., Yeh, C.-K., Chick, G. E., & Zinn, H. C. (2008). An exploration of meanings of leisure: A Chinese perspective. Leisure Sciences, 30(5), 482–488. Said, E. W. (1978). Orientalism. London: Routledge. Salazar, N. B., & Zhang, Y. (2013). Seasonal lifestyle tourism: The case of Chinese elites. Annals of Tourism Research, 43, 81–99. Widmer, E. (2006). Foreign travel through a women’s eyes: Shan Shili’s Guimao lüxing ji in local and global perspective. The Journal of Asian Studies, 65(04), 763–791. Ó 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Available online 26 February 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2014.03.003

Tourism experience, events and public policies Yoná S. Dalonso a,⇑, Júlia M. Lourenço b, Paula C. Remoaldo b, Alexandre Panosso Netto c a

University of the Region of Joinville, Brazil University of Minho, Portugal c University of São Paulo, Brazil b

Introduction Studies of tourism experience have been on the increase but a great number are applied to companies and organizations, not to regions and destinations. While the focus of these studies remains the same regarding psychological, geographic, social and economic impacts, their application to destinations implies an extra dimension. It is necessary to consider the special characteristics of each destination since these are a merger of services and products. This study discusses the influence of events in the construction of public policies in destinations from the tourism experience perspective. The research theoretically explores the connections between the importance of joining the desires of the tourist while experiencing destinations (tourism experience) and the ability to organize and maintain the implementation of the tourist potential (public policies). The ‘‘intertwining model”, a theoretical policy model for destinations based on event segment development (Dalonso, Lourenço, Remoaldo, & Panosso Netto, 2013) was applied in two Christmas destinations (Gramado, Brazil and Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland). This model presents a strategic tool for measuring the influence of events and their interface with the different actors involved, while providing governments with milestone theoretical practices for tourism policies applied in destinations. Tourism experience, events and public policies The desire to build unforgettable memories from the experiences lived during trips follows the current trend for unique consumer experiences of goods and products. Formerly identified as one of the biggest challenges for a destination (Cohen, 1979), the creation of events and shows that enable the tourist to feel and live the emotion of a place in a constant creative process of innovation has grown into a consistent topic of research designated as tourism experience (Andersson, 2007; Morgan, Lugosi, & Ritchie, 2010; Panosso Netto & Gaeta, 2010; Quan & Wang, 2004; Richards & Wilson, ⇑ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (Y.S. Dalonso), [email protected] (J.M. Lourenço), [email protected] (P.C. Remoaldo), [email protected] (A. Panosso Netto).

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2006; Ryan, 2010; Uriely, 2005). For this reason, experience became a relevant concept and practice in the area of tourism. The economy of tourism experience comes with the idea that the tourist cannot be seen as a passive consumer. The consumer shall be seen as a co-creator, not just of their own experiences, but also of the places visited through the stories told and the photographs shown to several audiences. The tourism sector is not independent of this discussion, not least because its survival depends on an understanding of the changes that society goes through. The context of the consumer in tourism presents characteristics that favour experience and that lead us to reflect on the authenticity of products and services (Mkono, 2013). Besides this, it is clear that any tourism activity generates an experience, whether good or bad. Therefore, tourism planners try by all possible means to provide tourists with an unforgettable and unexpected experience. To some researchers, the touristic phenomenon is built upon the interaction of stakeholders, giving place to a complex network of relations (e.g., Bramwell, 2006; Dredge, 2006). In this wide context, the creation and implementation of public policies must consider the actors involved in the process, including the tourist or visitor, and the place/location where tourism occurs, thus avoiding fragmentation of the destination (Dalonso et al., 2013). Regarding public policies for the event segment, it is possible to identify both positive and negative impacts for the destination where these events take place and the involvement of all the actors of the destination (Dalonso & Lourenço, 2011). There are several models that discuss the interrelations of this complex process and more recent studies about events in the context of tourism experience (Tan, Kung, & Luh, 2013; Whitford, 2011). Methodology A theoretical model that establishes an interrelationship between events and public policies in a destination called ‘‘Intertwining Model” is applied to the case studies. This exploratory temporal model (Fig. 1) consists in a graphical sequence of phases that have to be identified. According to the proposed model, the key rationale for these temporal divisions is the existing policies, first at the local level and

P h a s e s

Local/Regional Policies & Funding Programs

Local Policies & Programs

Planning Policies

Event 1

Potential Mega Event

Resources

Local/Regional/National Policies & Funding Programs

Event n

Mega Event

Mega Event

Event 2

Event 1 Equipments

Event 4

Products

Event 3

Event 2

Event Branding

Destination Branding

Actors

Stakeholders

local and regional organizations

municipal government

local community

tourism companies

local tourist

t0

t1

t2

Fig. 1. Intertwining model.

t3

t

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afterwards at higher levels: regional and national. This increase in importance of policies should ideally evolve into higher public funding programs. Therefore, at the start, the destination has to have resources, equipments and products framed within a context of local planning policies. In a second phase, these policies start to encompass other sectors besides planning as well as the events and stakeholders. The actors’ perceptions or at least their adhesion to the events and their arrival at the destination is also accounted for in the model. A third phase originates when a mega event occurs and for that regional policies and funding programs have to be in place so that the event branding is successful. The last phase involves destination branding and a myriad of smaller events developing around the mega event and for that national policies and funding are needed. From the analysis and application of the model it is possible to identify in a timescale (t0, t1, t2, t3) the phases of the policymaking process. All this process depends on the articulation between the main stakeholders involved, often represented by municipal managers, touristic companies, local and regional organizations and the local community. These stakeholders play a fundamental role in the desired development of local tourism. Therefore, both graphical sections interact as the bottom section shapes the process above but is also shaped by it as the destination evolves into more events and consequently more tourist flows in the case of a successful destination. Though the ‘‘intertwining model” characterizes itself as a methodology for the analysis of the life cycle of the destination, its application allows an analysis of the process that led to the appearance of the touristic activity and the history of the creation of public policies in a destination through longer periods of time. This explanatory model describes what happened in two successful case studies, the cities of Rovaniemi (Finland) and Gramado (Brazil) which developed their tourism policies around the Christmas event and, from which policy could learn post-hoc. Conclusion Models can help to analyze the path of the development of public policies in the destination, their interrelationship with the events segment and the articulation of the involved actors in order to consolidate the proposed brand for the destination. Such models, as in the example of life cycle models, have proven to be efficient in the analysis of processes that are developed during long periods of time. Particularly in the case of this model it is possible to graphically identify the route of destination’s public policies development over the years as well as the influences of events in the construction of destination brand. Likewise, the model allows us to understand the importance exerted by the articulation of the stakeholders involved in the process. The application of the model proved to be efficient in the case of Gramado and Rovaniemi. However, both destinations present singularities. In fact, both have a history of local and regional organizing that enables the construction of successful public policies. Meanwhile, its application to other destinations depends on the existence of a vocation in the events segment, translated into long time public policies. The model presented in this paper may be used as a strategic tool to ascertain the influence of events on public policies implemented in destinations as well as a platform for enlightened discussion to enable destinations to consolidate themselves as a successful model. References Andersson, T. D. (2007). The tourist in the experience economy. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 7(1), 46–58. Bramwell, B. (2006). Actors, power, and discourses of growth limits. Annals of Tourism Research, 33, 957–978. Cohen, E. (1979). A phenomenology of tourism experiences. Sociology, 13, 179–201. Dalonso, Y. S., & Lourenço, J. M. (2011). Brazil and the FIFA World Cup 2014: A look beyond the spotlight. Tourism and Management Studies, 7(1), 518–528. Dalonso, Y. S., Lourenço, J. M., Remoaldo, P. C., & Panosso Netto, A. (2013). Public policies for tourism in Brazil: An analysis of the National Tourism Plan for cities. Configurações, 10, 16–32. Dredge, D. (2006). Policy networks and the local organization of tourism. Tourism Management, 27, 269–280. Mkono, M. (2013). African and western tourists: object authenticity quest? Annals of Tourism Research, 41, 195–214. Morgan, M., Lugosi, P., & Ritchie, B. (2010). The tourism and leisure experience. Bristol: Channel View Publication. Panosso Netto, A., & Gaeta, C. (2010). Turismo de experiência. São Paulo: Senac.

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Quan, S., & Wang, N. (2004). Towards a structural model of the tourist experience: An illustration from food experiences in tourism. Tourism Management, 25(3), 297–305. Richards, G., & Wilson, J. (2006). Developing creativity in tourist experiences: A solution to the serial reproduction of culture? Tourism Management, 27, 1209–1223. Ryan, C. (2010). Ways of conceptualization the tourist experience: A review of literature. Tourism Recreation Research, 35(1), 37–46. Tan, S., Kung, S., & Luh, D. (2013). A model of ‘‘creative experience” in creative tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 41, 153–174. Uriely, N. (2005). The tourist experience conceptual developments. Annals of Tourism Research, 32(1), 199–216. Whitford, M. (2011). A framework for the development of event public policy: Facilitating regional development. Tourism Management, 30, 674–682. Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Available online 3 April 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2014.03.003