Exploring the Determinants of Memorable Tourism Experiences

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of an exploratory research which investigates the determinants of memorable tourism experiences (MTEs) from travellers' perspectives. Data analysis involved 100 reported tourism experiences at two reputable travel blogs and 35 in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of frequent Australian travellers. Findings revealed 10 themes of positive MTEs of which 9 represent cognitive domain: (a) perceived meaningfulness (b) perceived opportunities to encounter authentic local experiences (c) perceived significance (d) perceived novelty (e) perceived local hospitality (f) perceived serendipity and surprises (g) perceived group mentality (g) perceived professionalism of local guides, and (h) perceived flexibility whereas the last theme (J) represent affective domain: positive emotions associated with MTEs.